Tween Boys Targeting Tween Girls at Landon School
I do not know where to begin. . . I read with horror in this morning's Washington Post about a group of incoming freshman at Landon School in Bethesda who had planned a fantasy league targeting freshman girls - the idea behind this league is that the boys identified certain girls and planned to earn points (not unlike a fantasy sports league) for various sex acts with the girls.
The boys rated the girls on height, weight, bra size and likelihood to perform sex acts. The boys had planned a "opening day" party - complete with t-shirts - and had invited the girls. Points were to be tallied during the party for sexual encounters, and there was a cash prize for the boy with the most points. As far as I can tell, the girls had no knowledge of the league or the purpose of the party.
The girls were divided into teams - one such team was titled "Southside Slampigs", and some girls on that team were described as "willing to get down and dirty" or "fun to play with sexually". The league was set-up on a website (the site has since been removed) and discovered when a mother of one of the targeted girls found the site.
This "incident" took place last summer, and the fantasy league was shut down before school began. Three incoming freshman boys were given "in-school suspensions", whatever that means.
Well, actually, I want to know what that means. This wasn't misguided cyber-bullying - this was outright sexual predatory behavior. Names were named, reputations damaged, and a culture of misogyny is being perpetuated (one of Landon's graduates, George Huguely V, has been accused of murdering his girlfriend, Yeardley Love, at the University of Virginia only weeks ago).
Parents of the targeted girls feel that not enough was done in response to this incident. One parent spoke of the betrayal felt by his daughter who had thought these boys were her friends. N.Y. Times columnist Maureen Dowd has written an excellent piece on this story.
Well, readers, what do you think? Does the punishment match the crime?
This is an original DC Metro Moms Blog post. When she has a break from her three tween daughters, Ms. Twixt blogs at www.MsTwixt.com and tweets as www.twitter.com/MsTwixt
Follow Technorati