"Judy Blume's Forever wasn't a book that most readers just stumbled upon. "Obtaining, hiding, and reading it-and then sharing it with others-was a rite of passage for many teens who came of age during and after the sexual revolution," Anna Holmes writes of the teen novel. "Well-worn, dog-eared copies were passed around or hidden in closets, dresser drawers, and backpacks.""
"Part of the appeal of the book, which was published 50 years ago this October, was its choice to depict sex from the perspective of the female protagonist-"sexuality was (and still is) rarely depicted in popular culture from a woman's vantage point," Holmes points out. For a young person, a novel like Blume's was an invitation to imagine what life might be like someday."
Judy Blume's Forever depicted sexual relationships from a female protagonist's perspective, a portrayal rare in popular culture. Many teens obtained, hid, and passed around copies as a rite of passage during and after the sexual revolution. For young readers, the novel invited imagining future adult life and offered validation by reflecting desires and anxieties that felt too scary to voice. That representation helped readers feel seen and less alone. Discovering formative books during adolescence can shape identity, influence emotional development, and make coming-of-age transitions feel more understandable and less isolating.
Read at The Atlantic
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