Writing Exercise

Quotes from the reading:

1. Unfortunately, moral codes and legal demarcations complicate rather than regulate desire. And judgments like "right" and "wrong" only build barriers between people and encourage shame within individuals.

2. Sex can look like love if you don't know what love looks like. It gives you someone to hold on to when you can't feel yourself. It is heat on your body when the coldness is inside of you. It is trying out trusting and being trusted.

3. What happens when we are not allowed to know our own bodies, when we cannot safely respond to and explore our own desire?

4. The question is rather, what do young women need to make sex a dynamic, affirming, safe and pleasurable part of our lives? How do we build the bridge between sex and sexuality, between the isolated act and the powerful element that, when honed, can be an important tool for self-actualization?

5. We need to learn that bodily pleasure belongs to us; it is our birthright.


My response to the quotes:

1. I think that in our society, we usually make choices on what to be based on what it seen as “right” and “wrong.”
And I agree with the author that, it can “build barriers between people.”

2. I like this quote. It is poetic and says a lot about what sex is viewed as. I especially like the last line, “It is trying out trusting and being trusted.” Sex has a lot to do with trust, and I think that what she says holds true.

3. In my opinion, I think our society makes certain ‘private parts’ of our bodies seem so wrong that it seems wrong to even know about our own body. I like her quote because of that, it bring attention to this idea.

4. I like these questions. Her questions are really something to think about, but they can never really truly be answered.

5. I like this idea, that pleasure is something we have a right to. And it is.



In relation to Fledgling:

The essay begins with the author telling readers that she had sex at eleven years old. This is about how old Shori, the main character of Fledgling looks to be. This just goes to show that although it seems weird to imagine a ten or eleven year old having sex, it does happen and you can see an example of it right in this essay. I think her views on sex can relate to the book because she says how we always dictate our lives on what society thinks is “right” and “wrong.” The book often points out how Shori’s lover, Wright, feels awkward at first about his sexual relations with her. In society, if Shori was actually as young as she looked to be, it would be extremely wrong of what they were doing. However, there was more to it than that, and they were in love. I think this can go back to one of the quotes I pointed out: “We need to learn that bodily pleasure belongs to us; it is our birthright.” It is their right to have pleasure with each other, regardless of what others think.