"Dating violence among teenagers is rising so alarmingly, schools should adopt preventive programs as soon as possible, researchers said. . . scientists found 59 percent of the girls were assaulted verbally, 30.5 percent sexually and 28 percent physically by their steady boyfriends. . . . Another 41 percent said they suffered verbal or emotional mistreatment from boys they were dating casually. . . Nearly 30 percent of the boys said their steady girlfriends verbally or emotionally mistreated them. . . they implemented a violence prevention program in the schools that included a dramatic presentation about dating violence and healthy dating and workshops on date rape, male issues, anger control, assertiveness training, media violence, effects of pornography and violence in intimate relationships."
--"Date Violence on the Rise," United Press International, 21 Aug. 1993.
". . . Most preadolescents are interested in nudity because their own bodies are changing and they want to know what to expect. . . 'They can be looking at these magazines as a way to gather information.' But there is a danger here. . . 'If you don't interpret what they are seeing, they believe this is the way every body is supposed to look, and then they're disappointed in their own body, or disappointed in the bodies of their partners. . . It's not a bad strategy to start by acknowledging that the bodies are, indeed, beautiful, even sexy. . . From there: 'You know, these photos have been airbrushed to make them look better. No one looks like this is real life.' To: 'People who get hooked on the message these magazines give about bodies can miss out on a lot of wonderful people in life, because they are so focused on the body.' To: 'Pictures like this really disturb me. I don't like to see women admired only for their bodies. That's sexist.'"
--Barbara F. Meltz, "Nudity and Children: When is it Healthy, When Not?" The Boston Globe, 4 February 1996.
"First, you'll need to do what you can to minimize the hypnotic pull produced by the culture's classical conditioning of your sexual arousal. Your conditioned arousal to sexual objects (such as leopard panties and black spike heels) and women's body parts (swelling breasts, shapely legs, curvaceous derrieres) cannot just be wished away; but you can lessen their power over you, and you can develop new, more functional habits. Instead of using sexualized objects in pornography to stimulate arousal for masturbation, you can substitute more relational and emotionally meaningful fantasies. For example, instead of imagining a naked stripper or bikini-clad stranger, imagine yourself in an intimate, loving, and sensual setting with someone you care deeply about. Learn to focus your attention on your physical responses and pleasure, instead of on the gyrations of a sexualized object. You can also change the way you've learned to visually work over women."
--Brooks, The Centerfold Syndrome, 183.
