Venus in Blue Jeans: Why Mothers and Daughters Need to Talk about Sex

Based on a series of interviews with a diverse group of 23 teen girls and, separately, their mothers, this empathetic study deftly illuminates their fears, dreams, goals, frequent misconceptions and daily concerns as they navigate the often dangerous waters of female adolescence in the 1990s. The voices of both generations of women are honest and forthright, and nullify many myths about the mother-daughter relationship. Bartle, an Allegheny University educational psychologist, writing with Lieberman (The Real High School Handbook), reveals that while mothers may not always know everything their daughters are up to, they are very realistic about the issues and pitfalls of young womanhood, drawing on their own experiences and media portrayals of the threat of disease and violence. Their most common hopes for their daughters include ""wanting the girl to enjoy good health, to develop positive self-esteem, to be well-educated, and someday have a satisfying career that would provide financial independence."" They try to deliver the sex education their girls need to retain the freedom to reach these goals, with help from peers, schools, churches, girls' clubs and doctors--but, most often, not from fathers. With 30 years of teaching and counseling behind her (as well as her own raising of a daughter), Bartle writes from experience, and her never-condescending voice reports and comments on her findings with authority. Her advice on opening and using the lines of dyadic communication to shape the sexual choices of young women is frank, aware of differences in lifestyle and caring. Author tour. (June)