Forever and the Power of Sex and Language in a YA Novel

Upon reading Trites’ chapter on Sex & Power, I thought about her idea that the authors of YA novels are adults, and that they can’t help but exert some of their own “power” over the novels’ basic ideas of sexuality in teens. In other words, adults feel they have a responsibility not only to examine sexuality in teens, but also to “warn” them about the consequences of having sex. In Judy Blume’s novel Forever, for example, Katherine is allowed the freedom of having sex with her boyfriend as a teenager (her parents and grandparents assume she will have sex and don’t forbid it in any way), but not without the warnings of pregnancy, diseases, and the need to be responsible. This novel, along with others, seems to focus more on the negative consequences of having sex as a teenager, rather than on the pleasures they feel in having sex. And, according to Foucault, a teenager’s power with regard to sexuality is a result of the “pleasure and knowledge of that pleasure” (Trites 97).

This idea that the genre warning teenagers of the consequences of sex is a bad thing made me wonder. While I think teenagers deserve to know about the pleasures of sex, I also think they need to know about the consequences of their actions as well. Forever does try to be true to teenagers and their sexuality, showing both the pleasures (especially for Katherine and Michael) and consequences (Sybil gets pregnant). Teenage novels that only explicitly talk about the pleasure of sex are not telling the whole truth or at least the possibilities that things won’t necessarily work out the way you plan in the end, as it didn’t for Katherine & Michael. Teenagers often think they are in love, and don’t end up together forever (there are exceptions of course, but it is rare to find that long lasting love in high school), once they get out into the world after school, and see that there is more to offer. So, I don’t agree with Trites, who implies that it is a bad thing to warn teenagers about the responsibility that sex carries. I guess the ideal situation would be to inform without really taking a side either way, allowing the choice to be solely theirs. And teenagers do wonder about sex and deserve to see both sides – the pleasure and the consequences. Trites gives some examples of novels that tend toward depicting sex honestly and without a “moral” or “lesson.” I think it would be difficult to teach such novels, though.

Homosexuality is also mentioned in Trites’ chapter, and I thought immediately of Artie and Erica. In Forever, Artie’s inability to come to terms with his own sexual orientation leads him to attempted suicide. His inability to come out of the closet, and therefore empower himself, is devastating to him, and he ends up in an institution because of it. Trites discusses the importance of language throughout this chapter, and I think it is very apparent that Artie’s powerlessness is a direct result of his lack of speech in coming out of the closet. If he could admit to himself and come to terms with it, he has a chance to live a full life. But that he cannot outwardly admit that he is gay (or even inwardly, really) causes him to try and take his own life, because it eats him up inside.

I thought that Katherine’s empowerment was also stifled. She had sex, after much deliberation, and yet she won’t admit it to her parents. She wonders if they can tell, but she doesn’t come out and tell them. Even though her parents were open with her and to the whole idea, she still cannot admit it to them, perhaps out of fear that they will change their mind, or just because she feels she shouldn’t be having sex, despite how she feels. Either way, it seems to hold her back from adulthood and real growth by the end of the novel.

Overall, I would try and teach Forever in my class because I think that the subject matter in general is important. I think it would be beneficial for students, who are inevitably going to think about and maybe have sex at a young age, to read about it and talk about it, if for no other reason than to feel empowered on the subject. It seems clear to me that not talking about sex is often what leads to the consequences discussed (pregnancy, disease, etc.), simply because teens are not informed. Their ignorance can then cause them to make unwise choices when it comes to sex. So I think giving the students a novel about something they want to discuss (but might be afraid to), and a novel that discusses sex in terms of love, and the consequences of having sex as a teenager (being ready, being protected, and the possibilities of pregnancy and disease), is a good idea in the classroom.