To Win Boys, Girls Should Shut Up, Says 1968 Scholastic Book

[Deleted12]

When we think of 1968, we tend to think of American youth in the jungle or the streets, changing the world through either protest or napalm, which is still pretty much the dividing line in American politics. But we too rarely remember the four-square silent-majority kids of R.N. Lawrence's Date Talk, a crowd that knew the surprising secret truth of youthful romance: To succeed in love, compliment your date's hat and be ready to discuss cybernetics.

Those, of course, are advanced tips. Before getting to them, teens should master the basics of good chatter. In the case of young girls, that means not chattering much at all. Lawrence advises:

"Boys have a way of wanting to be leaders -- and the fact is, they usually are. A lost ski party in the mountains would look for a boy to lead the way out. It's his job. Let him lead in talk, as well."

Lawrence adds: "Don't lead him. Would you on the dance floor?"

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist ... e_talk.php

[loveandwar]

HAHA!! That's a good one. :roll: For one of my end of the semester projects, I'm the only girl in a group full of boys. If I waited for one of them to lead, we'd get nothing done.

[Kitty]

Well, I am pretty quiet in RL, and boys can't seem to resist me... until we start talking about Harry Potter. That scares them off...

Can you still believe that some of that bullshit STILL shows up in teen mags now? Like, seriously? In 2011? Two months from 2012? Yeah. "Don't be too personal girls, and don't talk too much, and try not to sound smarter than he is, but figure out what he's saying anyway!"

:roll:

My boyfriend loves that I'm smart and not afraid to sound smart. so FAIL.

[darareaksmey]

Wow. I did want a guy that was smarter than I am. But how was I supposed to find him without talking to him and making sure he wasn't just bloviating? Good thing I wasn't old enough to care in 1968.

[GenerationCedarchip]

When we think of 1968, we tend to think of American youth in the jungle or the streets, changing the world through either protest or napalm, which is still pretty much the dividing line in American politics. But we too rarely remember the four-square silent-majority kids of R.N. Lawrence's Date Talk, a crowd that knew the surprising secret truth of youthful romance: To succeed in love, compliment your date's hat and be ready to discuss cybernetics.

Those, of course, are advanced tips. Before getting to them, teens should master the basics of good chatter. In the case of young girls, that means not chattering much at all. Lawrence advises:

"Boys have a way of wanting to be leaders -- and the fact is, they usually are. A lost ski party in the mountains would look for a boy to lead the way out. It's his job. Let him lead in talk, as well."

Lawrence adds: "Don't lead him. Would you on the dance floor?"

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist ... e_talk.php

The sad part? I was still being taught stuff like this in 1998! And not just on the fundiefarm.

[Letgo]

Wow, that brought back some memories! Thank you for the walk down memory lane. I can remember reading and discussing stuff like this in Home Ec. I am going to use some of the words on the list today and discuss Madagasgar. I've still got it!