Monica Potts, a journalist hailing from Clinton, is set to release her new book, “The Forgotten Girls: A Memoir of Friendship and Lost Promise in Rural America,” on April 18. This poignant memoir sheds light on Potts’ escape from Clinton to pursue higher education while her friends and peers were trapped in a cycle of drugs, abuse, and homelessness.
You are viewing: The Forgotten Girls: How Rural America Shapes Their Futures
In an exclusive excerpt from her book titled “How Rural America Steals Girls’ Futures,” published in The Atlantic, Potts paints a vivid picture of life in Clinton, where sex education was riddled with misconceptions. This narrative resonates with anyone who grew up in a small Southern town.
The Burden of Expectations
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In Clinton, the discussion of sex was tightly intertwined with society’s perception of young girls and their future prospects. The concept of girls becoming fully realized adults, experiencing sexual freedom and fulfillment, was deemed unimaginable. Instead, they were expected to either become partners who served their future husbands or face the risk of ruin.
Teenage girls who became pregnant faced stigmatization, only for societal attitudes to shift upon the birth of their babies. Suddenly, these young mothers were revered. Clinton’s schools were filled with student-mothers, and even those who graduated would return for school events with their babies in tow. The cycle continued, with generation after generation struggling to care for their newborns, relying on the support of their extended families due to their own inability to provide.
Seeking Solutions
To combat the high rate of teenage pregnancies, the community turned to the church. In 1993, the Southern Baptists launched True Love Waits, an organization that advocated for abstinence until marriage. As early as middle school, Potts’ friends began wearing “promise rings,” dedicating their commitment to their serious boyfriends as a form of pre-engagement promise.
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Beyond the church, the information about sexuality that Potts and her peers received was largely misinformation. In a seventh-grade health class, their teacher used a simple visual aid: a circle representing the microscopic holes in a condom, with a tiny dot within it. He explained that the circle represented the minuscule size of the holes, and the dot symbolized AIDS, an even smaller threat. Consequently, the message was clear: sex was dangerous, and abstinence was the only foolproof solution.
Embracing Change
The prevalent message from both church and school was that young girls needed to maintain their purity for their future husbands. The notion that sex could either lead to death or pregnancy left them without any autonomy or choice.
Monica Potts’ memoir provides a raw and eye-opening account of the struggles faced by young girls in rural America. Her story challenges the prevailing narratives and calls for a reevaluation of the education and support systems in these communities. By sharing her experiences, Potts empowers future generations to question the status quo and strive for a more inclusive and comprehensive approach to sexual education.
Note: The article is a rephrased version of the original content. The images from the original article have been retained.
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: Blog
