Guardian interview with Juno Dawson

[RoyalCorgi]

The Guardian is once more peddling male fantasies of what a teenage girl is:

www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/11/juno-dawson-trans-alice-wonderland-interview-spice-girls

Dawson has written a novel based on Alice in Wonderland, but with a trans lead character:

'Wonderland is also a wake-up call to anyone who believes gender reassignment might be a happy-ever-after. Alice has recently returned to school after three months in hospital following a suicide attempt. “While I’m delighted with my perky little boobs,” she says, “I was profoundly disappointed that my urge to cut myself didn’t vanish with the first milligram of oestrogen to pass my lips.” Her problems, Dawson points out, are those of all too many young women. “When I’m at the Hay book festival or at Yale, these teenagers come into my signing queues and they are scarred. It must be talked about because it permanently affects girls.”'

Yes, teenage girls are really delighted with their perky little boobs, you misogynist little creep.

We can conclude that the Guardian didn't do as good a job at bringing those other books to our attention.

*Ok, the usual suspects are frothing (despite having not read the book) that in WONDERLAND, my 17 year-old trans Alice has a sexual relationship.

The didn’t care about cis Lexi or Jana having sex in Clean or Meat Market so...what can we conclude?*

Didn't bother to read Clean or Meat Market so can't comment. I have massive objections to 1) teen girls being displayed as rapists (FFS) and 2) completely unrealistic versions of teen girls sex lives that could be the basis of something on pornhub

I don't think even Rowling would start from an assumption that of course everyone should have and must have read all of her books, and she'd have far better grounds for doing so than Dawson.

Ok, the usual suspects are frothing (despite having not read the book) that in WONDERLAND, my 17 year-old trans Alice has a sexual relationship.

Is that Dawson's interpretation of our discussion on here? Because if so, that's an interesting spin on it.

Alice dyes her hair blue and has an “active, app-based sex life with married men from outlying commuter towns”.

Is that now typical behaviour for 17-year-olds?

Honestly, if I knew a 17yo girl was meeting up for sex with random married men via an app, I'd be hugely concerned. That's not healthy sexual development. It's a huge red flag.

‘notice how the cow is not making a sound like human women do’

Sorry, unintentionally hilarious. Unlike ... cow women?

Why was it the biology teachers, so often? Anyone considering the reason just about zero girls chose biology in my school post S2 might have considered the reason being the grotty, grotty teacher that delighted in 'flirting' with the 12/13 year old girls.

I think he got made depute head, in the end. Probably just trying to keep him the fuck away from the pupils. Euch. Still makes my skin crawl when I think about it.

When I was 17 "married men from outlying commuter towns" would have seemed about as sexually appealing as an old shoe.

despite having not read the book

Why would I spend money to read soft porn. Yuck. I’m glad that it’s been talked about by women, who all have experience of growing up female. It means that it can be discussed from the female point of view, rather than through the eyes of someone who grew up male and have a pornified view of young women and girls.

Honestly, if I knew a 17yo girl was meeting up for sex with random married men via an app, I'd be hugely concerned.

Is that what the girls in Dawson's other books were doing as well? If so, if you're reading this Dawson, it's not OK in those books either. HTH.

When I was 17 "married men from outlying commuter towns" would have seemed about as sexually appealing as an old shoe.

Reminds me of Paris Lee's delight in having a one night stand with five strange men simultaneously, including the cab driver if I recall correctly, and 'every hole being filled', or something like that.

It all sounds very much to me like a gay male's sexual fantasy. Random married men from outlying towns?

Teenage girls don't tend to be aroused by the thought of having sex with a stream of strangers.

Reminds me of Paris Lee's delight in having a one night stand with five strange men simultaneously, including the cab driver if I recall correctly, and 'every hole being filled', or something like that

And then there was the other one we know who said something about being as slutty as you can.

Sensing a theme here...

It would be a very unusual sort of 17 year old girl who'd feel that her sexual options consisted mostly of random married geezers from places less interesting than the one she lives in. This is only one of many indications that perhaps Dawson, having had such a very different life experience, isn't best qualified to advise teenage girls on how to navigate sex and dating.

From a look at goodreads, Dawson's other books all seem to have the common themes of a damaged teenage girl protagonist having sex (or being abused), drugs, and a 'desirable' lifestyle ('it' girl, model).

So edgy. Much drang.

If libraries were still open, I'd get one of them out to see what I thought of the portrayal of teenage girls having sex. But they're shut so we'll just have to imagine. The description of the rapist twins doesn't fill me with much hope though.

Having said that, perhaps Dawson's aim in this book is to demonstrate how utterly unlike teenage girls transgender teens who were raised as boys are?

Ah yes, Paris Lees article about the 'sexiest things about sex' where Paris ripped apart a female journalist's take on sex and came in to replace it with their own heavily pornified and male flavoured view instead - still a womans viewpoint though apparently...

www.vice.com/en_uk/article/nnq44q/paris-lees-the-21-sexiest-things-about-sex-696

Crikey, Paris is really bovvered by a woman writing an article about sex.

Alice dyes her hair blue and has an “active, app-based sex life with married men from outlying commuter towns”.

Basingstoke? Slough? Guildford? The thrill!

Honestly, if I knew a 17yo girl was meeting up for sex with random married men via an app, I'd be hugely concerned.

Yet we don't seem to be allowed to discuss what might be going on there.

I think we should be able, ON A SITE PRIMARILY FOR MOTHERS ,to talk about the huge push towards sexualising children and young girls .
I feel really angry now.

Strangely when my friends and I were all 17, sex with random married suburban blokes was not something we hoped for .

Not me and my friends. I also joined the Army at 18 and never ever hankered after any suburban married man. Nor did the thousands of young women I served with.

I mean, I suppose there's a fetish for everything and all, but if there is one for married suburban blokes I'm fairly sure it's not particularly common among 17 year old girls. Actors, yes. Rock stars, yes. At this point reality TV stars possibly. Athletes I suppose. Dave the chartered account from Surbiton though?