HC-792 GirlsandSex TG 3
HC-792 GirlsandSex TG 3
HC-792 GirlsandSex TG 3
HarperAcademic.com
A T E AC H ER ’ S G U I D E T O PEG GY O R E N S T EI N ’S G IR L S & SE X 2
Contents
Interviewing over seventy young women about their sexuality and consulting with dozens of psychologists, professors, and
experts on porn, assault, desire and more, renowned journalist Peggy Orenstein pulls back the curtain on the reality of girls’ sex
lives in the modern world. In Girls & Sex, Peggy Orenstein examines the ways in which porn culture and all its sexual myths
have seeped into young people’s lives, what it means to be “the perfect slut” and why many girls scorn virginity, the reduction of
female pleasure in sex and the complicated terrain of hookup culture, the unfortunate realities surrounding blurred lines and
assault, and the internet’s role as a sexual educator.
Importantly, Girls & Sex lets young women speak for themselves as it contextualizes their stories and experiences in Orenstein’s
well-rounded research. Girls & Sex is a vital and necessary read for both male and female high school and college students.
Peggy Orenstein is The New York Times bestselling author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter, Waiting for Daisy, and Schoolgirls. A
contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine, she has been published in USA Today, Parenting, Salon, The New Yorker
and other publications, and contributes commentaries to NPR’s All Things Considered.
For more information, visit: http://peggyorenstein.com/
A T E AC H ER ’ S G U I D E T O PEG GY O R E N S T EI N ’S G IR L S & SE X 4
Writing Prompts
• Throughout Girls & Sex, Orenstein talks to a number of girls that describe double standards that exist in their relationships
with boys. What are some of these double standards? Do you notice any kind of pattern about them? Why do the girls tolerate
them?
• What kinds of pressures are placed on girls when it comes to sex, sexual experiences, and sexual identity?
• Why are there such drastic differences between how we teach girls and how we teach boys about sex?
• How can we improve education about consent and sexual assault on college and university campuses?
• Why is it that girls seem to bear the burden of responsibility when it comes to sexual relationships? Culturally, why does it fall
to them? How can we make it more equitable?