Girls are now initiating more intimate contact, sometimes even sex, in a more aggressive manor, according to the accounts of many counselors, psychologists, magazine editors and teenagers. The message of empowerment has been translated by teenage girls into the worlds of dating and sex.

• Article written by the New York Times discusses the changing roles between males and females. It was only about a half-century ago when males were expected to initiate romantic and sexual activity with females. Now there has been a definite change in this trend. Whether they are influenced by the effects of feminism, which has taught girls to be assertive in all areas or life, or they have internalized the images of sexually powerful women in popular culture, American girls are more aggressive and daring than ever. Girls are now initiating more intimate contact, sometimes even sex, in a more aggressive manner, according to the accounts of many counselors, psychologists, magazine editors and teenagers. Many girls attribute their forwardness with boys to the gains of feminism, which promotes parity between boys and girls in fields like sports and education. The message of empowerment has been translated by teenage girls into the worlds of dating and sex. Dr. Ann Kearney-Cooke, a co-director of the Helping Girls Become Strong Women Project at Columbia University, says that as girls come to equal boys in places like student government, honor societies and athletic teams, they are also behaving much more like boys and several studies have shown that girls are now smoking and drinking as much as boys are.¹

¹She’s Got to Be a Macho Girl, The New York Times, November 2, 2002, pp. 1-5.

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