This really made me disgusted.

[Kfamr]

I was flipping through channels earlier, I barely watch TV, but I stopped flipping through channels on Oprah.

They were talking to and about Teenage Prostitutes. Not even teenage, because one girl said she was 12 I believe when she started. It was so disturbing, disgusting, and sad. These girls came from good homes, had good lives, and good grades. 12 year old girls shouldn't even THINK of selling their bodies.. and was makes it even more sick is some of the men they had sex with and some of the men that payed them KNEW they were 12, 13, so on...


http://www.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/...20030925.jhtml


So sick, so so sick, and very unfortunate on both sides of the 'deal'.

[leslie flenner]

I didn't see the show. But about 3 weeks ago heard an interview on NPR with the writer/jouralist who recently had an article published in NY Times Magazine (have since lost his name). He interviewed girls who are held captive by men who send them out- these girls are all from other countries, Russia, Mexico, etc. They range in ages 5 to 17. They are told that if they tell anyone, they will be killed. It was very difficult for him to interview the young woman he did (she has escaped but is in fear for her life). His wife had to be present to ease her fear some. The interview was at least a half hour to an hour and because it was already on when I got to it (in my car) i missed a lot. I believe the story is in Feb issue but not sure. It is so sad sad sad. These girls will never be "normal".

[Dogz]

That is very sad. I don't see why they would even think about that.

[leslie flenner]

See if you can open this! the author is Peter Landesman, his story ran on 1/25. A letter to the magazine pointed out that there is a difference between prostitutes and sex slaves. still sad, sad, sad....

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstrac...A80894DC404482

[leslie flenner]

For the life of me, i can not get to the whole story! I can open letters regarding the story and the abstract but can't get to the original story! I must be computer stupid!

[leslie flenner]

I didn't see the show but because i work in human services can be pretty safe to guess that young girls prostitute themselves (this is not sex slave situation) because it's all they know. They think themselves worthless, useless, have been sexually abused by men as children (there's the false sense of being loved- dad, brother, whoever, is only nice when...otherwise he's hitting yelling, shaming and degrading...). They verbalize this by saying they need the money (which they do if runaways). Or by saying it doesn't bother them emotionally.. etc. They are able to rationalize their behavior in the safest way possible which is to disconnect from the sexual act/have no feeling about it. Unfortunatly, there are human feelings about it and as successful as they are with stifleing the feelings, it is a potential volcano of hate and anger at themselves, strangers, and family members who failed to rescue them.
This is not my field of expertise! I'm just guessing here- if there is other perspectives, I'd love to hear them!

[catnapper]

I'm not surprised. my husband intercepted a letter from a 6th grader today that was basically spelling out how much she liked her boyfriend kissing her... um... there. My husband caught her passing the note in class and told her that he'll be calling her mom after he'd read it (silently of course.) This girl was begging to keep her mom from finding out.

I've mentioned before that students in his middle school are pregnant - few with their second baby before leaving the 8th grade.

Kids today are so much wiser about these things than I was at the same age. Part is due to seeing their parent's casual view of sex, another is due to what they listen to music-wise and what they watch in the movies and on tv. It seems they want so badly to grow up. They are 12 pushing to be 30.

[Kfamr]

I'm 16 feeling 30, but there's no way i'd 'give myself up' at this age. No way.

[leslie flenner]

don't know why you feel 30 years old and hope it's not because of an abusive situation..
People have a hard time putting themselves in the shoes of these girls... It is hard. But if you've been abused all of your life, it's all you know, no one has been loyal to you in the family, no protection from harm... (some children are sound asleep when parents wake them to beat them or have sex with them), your (one's) perception of life and survival is so distorted in the sense that they do not go about solving problems the same way we do- they literally have no idea how to..
All they know is how to survive- get money for food, roof, and at worst, drugs to dull the pain of what they are doing to themselves (although it's "dull the pain of this awful world"- it's themselves and their memories that they can not fathom at all- Imagine how mind blowing it must be to have someone you trust violate you...For a child, there are no words, no way to reason this..So even if there is no memory or limited memory- the child has already learned that he/she is not worthy- and should be physically hurt and punished for this unworthiness.
Does this make any sense? Again, I do work with people who have been sexually molested at a young age but because of their defenses (schizophrenia) are not able to engage in insightful therapy and carry this burden throughout their lives.

[catnapper]

Originally posted by Kfamr
I'm 16 feeling 30, but there's no way i'd 'give myself up' at this age. No way.

Funny, I'm 31, feeling 40... my husband's 40, acting 16

Good for you waiting! Its smart for several reasons... the most obvious is to keep from getting diseases and pregnant. For me, it was me realizing that I wasn't emotionally ready. There's no reason to rush that aspect of yourself and life before you are mature enough to handle ALL consequences of 'giving yourself up.'

[catnapper]

Originally posted by leslie flenner
Again, I do work with people who have been sexually molested at a young age but because of their defenses (schizophrenia) are not able to engage in insightful therapy and carry this burden throughout their lives.

Wow. Do you come home everynight feeling like the weight of the world is on your shoulders? I can't imagine how hard it would be to listen to these stories and then send them back home to the place that started it all in the first place.

You are right though. A lot of my husband's problem kids are from really scary sections of towns (one kid's father was shot down during a drug deal gone bad) or from homes with parents that just don't care. The girl in the note I mentioned? Her mom was 15 when the girl was born. The mom had 3 other kids real close together, so she probably doesn't know any better. Its sad. I shake my head and try very hard to give my kids a good home where they feel safe and are encouraged to talk about anything that concerns them.

[Kfamr]

It's just the fact that I'd never waste my time with the idiot kids my age. That doesn't mean i'd give myself to a much older guy, just wait until my generation grows up a bit.