Lesson Eight - Response

The strongest argument in Jean Kilbourne’s ""Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt"; Advertizing and Violence" is on page 423 of Rereading America. There is an advertisement for a bar in Georgetown showing an enlarged picture of a cocktail with the heading “If your date won’t listen to reason, try a Velvet Hammer.” I believe this to be the strongest argument because the advertiser is saying directly to get a girl drunk so she will do what you want.

I found a cartoon on the website www.idrewthis.org which pertained to the subject of my research paper; to what degree and at what age should students be taught sexual education. Throughout America schools are teaching students an abstinence based program while they should be teaching abstinence plus methods of birth control and how to have safe sex. In this cartoon there is a teacher giving students a lesson on safe driving. The teacher says that “Seatbelts and air bags are not 100% effective in preventing injury in traffic accidents. There is not such thing as “safe driving.” The only way to be safe is to never drive. So, don’t.” As the students are leaving the class they are talking about how the class was so easy and they are going to go drag racing in the parking lot. A little caption at the end says “What if the public schools’ “Abstinence Only” policy applied to other things than sex?” This cartoon portrays what my research paper is about. To view this comic online you can go to http://www.idrewthis.org/guestcomics/octan%20idtcomic.png. I have attached the cartoon as well.