JACKASS SEY de worl' no level. Jackass sey nuff time dis sex ting jus' 'phoney'.
So last week this newspaper carried the story of a girl whose life has been terribly affected by a combination of technology and prejudice. As the story goes, the third former at a prominent high school (and you know that in Jamaica when we say 'prominent' we mean 'uptown') performed oral sex on a fellow at a track meet. He took her picture with his cellphone and, in trying to send it to his friend, spread the business to more people than he intended to.
Suffice to say that the little girl became the talk of those who knew, naturally, but what happened after was most unnatural. She was given the boot by her school, her mother reportedly slapped and spat on her and space in a school abroad is being sought for her.
The boy? Nothing has been mentioned of him being punished or criticised. And certainly all concerned must know who it is, even if only a small part of him is in the picture.
SEXUAL ACTIVITY
The world is not level at all when it comes to sex, is it? Look at all that has happened to this young girl, who cannot be more than 14, which will affect her for the rest of her life, while the boy who caused all of this, at least by spreading the matter further than the two of them, is unaffected. In fact, Jackass believes that his standing will rise among his peers, as they blow the matter out of proportion and chew over it for years to come.
We continue to treat men and women differently when it comes to sex and almost invariably it is the woman who gets the dirty end of the stick for the same act that they partake in. Jackass could never comprehend how when two persons have sex it elevates the status of the man, who has made another conquest, while it drops the standing of the woman, who has added another entry into her 'file'.
In addition, as we continue to use women to sell everything from tyres to floor cleaner and elevate younger and younger female singers in miniskirts to some shortened version of 'stardom', how can we not expect younger and younger girls to get involved in sexual activity? This is what they see celebrated all around them, is it not?
And on the matter of the child giving oral sex, she did not invent the act. She must have heard of it from somewhere or seen it somewhere (and Jackass must wonder if the outraged Mommy did not have a mouth in this matter of her precious, now in her view tarnished, daughter's knowledge) and put it into practise, no doubt to her everlasting regret.
It is not, of course, the first time that a young girl has had her reputation and her future put in jeopardy for doing the same things that boys do, with boys, Jackass must add in acknowledgement of these topsy-turvy times. It is the easiest thing for a woman to acquire the reputation of a 'sketel' and the hardest thing to shed.
Jackass sey di worl' no level. Jackass sey dem a mash up de girl life when she need help mos'.
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