We must be about the same age, because this poem brings back a lot of memories! For me, the best (most unexpected) statement is in the first stanza--"they looked stunned."
To be honest, my feeling is that this is a poem worth revisiting after the first flush of emotion. Right now, it feels a bit petulant, but I think that there is a lot in the poem to explore: on one hand, the poem describes social changes that come along with growing up, on the other hand these changes are mediated by porn. But to me, the bell bottoms, smoking, & platform shoes (commodities springing out of the counterculture) are ambivalent social signifiers that don't align neatly with the goals of porn: I feel a lot more empathy for Debbie than it seems like the poem wants me to have.
In part, I think women have a very complex, interiorized relationship with fashion. Also, in retrospect, when I look back at the "Debbies" in my own neighborhood, they were often the girls with the troubled families: one girl's mother ran down our street slashing her wrists, and we were all out the next day counting blood stains on the cement.
A detail: saying the platform shoes weighed five pounds seems like an exaggeration, and to me it comes across as a little catty.
Thank you for the feedback. Wonderful detail and much for me to think about.
I would say I was not entirely without empathy for Debbie. I was trying to express our little-girl jealousy at her reaching womanhood before us, so I'd say our emotions were a mix of admiration and envy. We sure all dressed just like her as soon as possible. Maybe I should write a sequel... hmmm... :-)
Yes--it reminds me of going to the army & navy surplus store to buy those wide white canvas belts with rivets, and to Pier I, when all they sold were bead curtains & black light posters :)
We must be about the same age, because this poem brings back a lot of memories! For me, the best (most unexpected) statement is in the first stanza--"they looked stunned."
To be honest, my feeling is that this is a poem worth revisiting after the first flush of emotion. Right now, it feels a bit petulant, but I think that there is a lot in the poem to explore: on one hand, the poem describes social changes that come along with growing up, on the other hand these changes are mediated by porn. But to me, the bell bottoms, smoking, & platform shoes (commodities springing out of the counterculture) are ambivalent social signifiers that don't align neatly with the goals of porn: I feel a lot more empathy for Debbie than it seems like the poem wants me to have.
In part, I think women have a very complex, interiorized relationship with fashion. Also, in retrospect, when I look back at the "Debbies" in my own neighborhood, they were often the girls with the troubled families: one girl's mother ran down our street slashing her wrists, and we were all out the next day counting blood stains on the cement.
A detail: saying the platform shoes weighed five pounds seems like an exaggeration, and to me it comes across as a little catty.
Siri Devta
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I would say I was not entirely without empathy for Debbie. I was trying to express our little-girl jealousy at her reaching womanhood before us, so I'd say our emotions were a mix of admiration and envy. We sure all dressed just like her as soon as possible. Maybe I should write a sequel... hmmm... :-)
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