A Tangle of Discourses ~ Reflection

a)    Name of text- A Tangle of Discourses: Girls Negotiating Adolescence

Author of text- Rebecca C. Raby

b)   I chose the REFLECTION option

I really could relate to the five discourses of adolescence stated in this article, which included the storm, becoming, at-risk, social problem, and pleasurable consumption.  Everybody may have a different experience with how they experienced their teenage years. I first want to relate “The Storm” to my early teenage years. “This metaphor is used to describe an essentialized, ahistorical understanding of adolescence in which teens are inherently inclined towards experimentation, risk taking and uncertainty,”(431).  In the media, I was always taught that my teenage years were the best years of my life. As seen in the reading, this culture celebrates and idolized YOUTH.  I don’t know about you but I feel that my teenage years were not the best! These were the years that our bodies were changing, there was a lot of self-exploration/self-expression, all different types of experimentation was happening, bullying was occurring, SEX was happening, people and friendships were changing, and life was getting harder and really confusing at times. I just turned 20 in November and can already say being in my 20’s is much better than being in my early teens! My teenage years honestly stunk! In the reading, Raby mentions that adolescence “offers the luxury of making mistakes,”(434). I believe in this statement because we are in a stage our life where we can do and try different things and not worry about the consequences as much as we would in adulthood. We are in a sense, “allowed” to make mistakes.  The “at-risk” discourse makes me think about high school and it does relate to me.  There was a major concern for risks mentioned in the article, which included drugs, alcohol, depression, eating disorders, sexual diseases, etc.  When I entered my freshman year of high school, I was not expecting people to be already having sex and doing drugs. I felt like my innocence was stripped away from me as soon as I went to high school, and I was only 12! I felt so much stress in high school due to all of the pressures that I was starting to deal with. I wish I could go back in time and hang out with a different crowd. Did you guys have any similar experiences?!  What about dances? I was not expecting high school dances to be so disturbing. Due to people literally having SEX on the dance floor, our school created a new rule, which stated: If you BUMP AND GRIND, YOU CROSS THE LINE. We had so much supervision! This relates to the reading when Raby talks about prom….

“The prom is marked as a coming-of-age rite in which young people are expected to temporarily act more like adults (coupled, dressed up, refined). Yet proms are also highly regulated spaces, with a strong presence of teachers’ authority, and many rules to suggest that the students’ fling with adulthood has to be closely monitored and that not all that adulthood has to offer is really open to the students,”(439).  We are being taught independence and that teenage hood is a time of self-discovery but then on the other hand we are being hovered by the authority /older adults.  Being a teenager can certainly be a confusing and irritating time. I felt like this article relates to Unlearning the Myths That Bind us by Christensen. Our society’s culture industry teaches us how we are supposed to act, live, etc., and this is one of the many pressures that adolescents face, as mentioned in Raby's reading. 

c. Something I would like to talk about in class is the expectation(s) teenagers have by adults. We are told to be responsible and act like adults, but at the same time the adults are regulating us and treating the teens like children.

( mentioned on the bottom of page 438-439)