18. Those Were The Days
Last week or so I happened to catch an old film on television, "A Summer Place", from the early 60s, with Sandra Dee, Troy Donahue, Dorothy McGuire and Richard Egan. It was like stepping into a time travel capsule. ZOOM!!! There I was, sixteen years old, standing in line at the movies with a group of girlfriends. It was a girlfriend’s birthday and going to the movies was part of the celebration, preceding an overnight slumber party. Do girls still have these, I wonder?
Sandra Dee, a super model of that day, famous for Gidget movies, was someone we all identified with... sweet, fresh, naive, somewhat awkward, and of course, interested in boys. Troy Donahue was the hunk du jour, tall and tan, with a deep voice. It makes me laugh to think how this film was considered so controversial at the time. Hmm, sixteen year olds today probably wouldn’t stop laughing if they saw this film.
The issues of extra-marital relations, pre-marital sex, and an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, were the themes of this movie; yet, there was no hint of nudity, a married couple slept in double beds, and there was no open mouth kissing. I’m sure that most of us sixteen year old girls really didn’t understand all of the subtle innuendo or subtext in the story, but of course we were too embarrassed to admit it, at least I was.
Boy, have we come a long way! Films today don’t leave all that much to the imagination anymore, not to mention how our attitudes have changed regarding sex in general. I decry the fact that young children are exposed to too much too soon in the way of our world, in spite of any efforts parents might make to shelter them for as long as possible. I might take issue with other aspects of how things are different now from way back when, but in general, I wouldn’t trade today for yesterday, under any circumstances.
Our daughters, nieces and granddaughters will never know what it is to fight the oppression and moral judgments made against them just for being a female who isn’t afraid of her sexuality. Young women still need to learn how and when to express themselves with taste, but at least they are free to express themselves openly. Remember that big hullabaloo over "burning the bra?" I remember going bra-less after that episode of women’s liberation history and thinking how revolutionary it felt.
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