Mini-Document Essay
Students
enrolled in English 1102 classes taught by VSU Instructor Diane W. Howard
during spring 2004 semester, read “Going Through the
Change,” Janice Daugharty’s first collection of short
stories. After reading the collection,
the students explored topics in the stories, relating them to their hometowns
or communities. Simply put, the students related the ideas in a literary piece
to their own lives, finding points or areas of similarity as well as areas of
disagreement. Once they identified points—in agreement or in contrast—the
students researched and wrote a mini-documented essay on the subject “Regional Identity.”
Men: Sexual Predators or Sexually Obsessed?
by Mary Kellerman
Throughout time, sex has always been
a taboo issue. Whether it be the “birds
and bees” talk with your parents, sexual crimes in the news or even sexual
exploration, this topic often makes everyone uncomfortable… especially in the
south. The problem with this awkward
silence is that everyone thinks about it, but no one
talks about it; however neglecting the subject doesn’t make sex, or the
problems that go along with it, disappear.
Janice Daugharty, a Southern author of over “23 novels and more than 50
short stories” (“Write Where You Know”), often addresses sex and many of its
unmentionable issues in her writing.
Many of these stories include men and their sexual dilemmas. By writing these taboo topics into her
elaborate plots, Daugharty opened the floodgate for discussion and raised the
question: Are men sexual predators or just sexually obsessed?
Since the creation of man and woman,
there has been sexual attraction. There
has also been sexual fascination, sexual exploration and sexual abuse. In the “Bible Belt,” sex is taught to be
reserved for marriage, but over time fornication has morphed into the modern
way of life for many people. The sanctity marital ideals have slowly manifested
into the sanctity of self- gratification.
Virginity and monogamy, which were once unspoken rules, have transformed
into rules that were made to be broken.
The media has altered our view on the acceptance of sex and its
boundaries and allowed society to embrace their desires of the flesh.
The world’s
sexual tolerance has gone from almost non-existent to completely compliant. Television, the same form of entertainment
that once wouldn’t display bellybuttons or even allow an actor to say
“pregnant,” is now depicting scandalous affairs on soap operas, flaunting
intimacy on reality dating shows, exposing bare breasts on the Super Bowl and
tainting the minds of small screen viewers.
The establishment of Playboy,
the first mainstream pornographic magazine, displayed a fantasy skin-fest and
brought sexual paraphernalia into the home.
The distribution of cinematic pornography in stores and on the internet
has made a fortune, because many people feel more open to sexually explore in
private, without possible judgment from the rest of society. Even bachelor parties, which were once meant to
celebrate the transition from single life to married life, have simply become
an excuse for men to go to strip clubs.
It’s no wonder, with the extensive sexual influence
surrounding modern civilization, that people become obsessed with pleasure and
have been reported to ‘hunt’ for their gratification. Sexual predators are people that have lost
respect for themselves and for others in pursuit of erotic satisfaction. Rape and other violent sex crimes have
exploded with the increase in sexual images in the media. As the popularity of sex increases, so do
people’s desires.
Convicted rapist and murder, Ted
Bundy, was reportedly affected by pornography at an early age (Rule 57). As his sexual desires grew, his patience and
respect for women and their bodies virtually disappeared. Bundy’s sexual struggle and violent
explosions led to the rape and murder of over thirty women across the
Rape has also been used as a form of
initiation. Many gangs have been
reported to make new members rape a woman as an induction ritual (Kidman). However, most sex crimes do not occur as a
form of commencement. Rape commonly
happens as a distorted act of anger. In
fact, “anger rape accounts for approximately forty percent of rape occurrences”
(
Janice Daugharty often writes about
men and their sexual downfalls.
Daugharty’s characters and stories frequently parallel people and issues
in reality. Daugharty’s short story,
“Like God Made Eve” depicts two young men, Kyle and Alamand, at a strip
club. The two men are in search of a
girl named Joy, Kyle’s ex-girlfriend and Alamand’s secret ex-lover. Kyle and Alamand stop at the bar thinking
that Joy might be working there, but end up staying for hours watching three
women dance. Alamand, who “had never
seen a woman naked before” (“Like God Made Eve” 117), was fascinated and began
day-dreaming about his former love with Joy. Kyle, on the other hand, seemed to have
forgotten all about Joy in the midst of gyrating and nudity. The two men became so engrossed in their
sexual desires, that they completely lost track of their former goal.
“Nightshade,” another short story by
Daugharty, made reference to many sexual issues
including homosexuality, pornography, incest and a brief mention of a girl who
remembered “her daddy molesting her as a baby” (“Nightshade” 89). However, the most shocking form of male
sexual aggression was depicted in Daugharty’s short story, “Dogs in a
Pack.” This story illustrated a woman, Mamie, and her three daughters, Allie, Kiki
and Minnie, being attacked by two rapists, Minut Man
and Cowboy. The men, thinking they were
busting in on a “whole drove of” (“Dogs in a Pack” 4) helpless women, broke
into their home and held the four at gun point.
Minut Man and Cowboy continued their
degradation by molesting Allie and Kiki. Nevertheless, there was a mishap with the
firearm before one of the girls could be raped and Mamie
held the two at gun point until the police arrived.
Many of Daugharty’s stories
exemplify strong women and their struggles to over come adversity… adversity
often brought on by men and their sexual frustrations. While sexual crimes, sexual exploration and
sexual exploitation become more prominent in today’s media, our nation
continues in the same path… growing in acceptance. However, given a historical account of how
sex was accepted and perceived in the south, one can easily see that while much
has changed nationally, the “Bible Belt” remains steadfast in its non-sexual
morale.
The question of whether men are
sexual predators or just sexually obsessed is simply answered as both. It’s obvious that a majority of a man’s
thoughts somehow encompass the idea of sex.
However, the ability to respect women and restrain those desires is what
separates a normal, sexually preoccupied man from a sexual predator.
Works Cited
Daugharty, Janice. “Write Where You Know.” Writer’s Digest. May 1997. 77. 5. 32.
--- . “Dogs in a Pack.” Going Through the Change.
--- . “Nightshade.” Going Through the
Change.
--- . “Like God Made Eve.” Going Through the
Change.
Hollandsworth, Linda P. “Reviews.”
Studies in Short Fiction. EBSCO
Publishing, Spring 1996. 33. 2. 300.
Kidman, John.
“70 Girls Attacked by Rape Gangs.”
Rule, Ann. The
Stranger Beside Me – Ted Bundy: The Classic Case of
Serial Murder.
United Way. “Crime Victim Services”. 1981.