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teenwire.com Talks to Polly Author Amy Bryant
by Kate Rounds, 01.29.07
"It can be depressing when someone wants to have sex with you but doesn't want anything more than that." |
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It's the 1980s, and Polly Clark is looking for love — but finding sex instead. Jason breaks up with her after their first sexual encounter doesn't go as planned. Mike breaks up with her because he doesn't want to get serious. And Joey? Polly breaks up with Joey after she finds out he's cheating on her. Maybe her next boyfriend will be different.
Amy Bryant's debut novel, Polly, follows a teenage girl's sexual exploits from middle school through college and frankly addresses sex, birth control, and abortion. Amy, a Planned Parenthood temp working as editor of teenwire.com, took time out to talk about her novel and how she came to write it.
teenwire.com (TW): Your novel addresses many of the subjects covered on teenwire. What inspired you to write about a teenager, and why did you choose to focus on her sexuality?
Amy Bryant (AB): Sex is a big part of life and of being human in general. When you're a teenager you're just finding out about what it feels like to be a sexual person, whether that's through masturbating, having sex, or just experiencing sexual and romantic urges. It's a really interesting time in a person's life, because all of that is new.
TW: Polly doesn't learn about sex from her parents or from school, but from her peers. Is this what it was like for you when you were a teenager?
AB: There really wasn't much sex education in my school, if any. I had an older sister who was willing to answer a lot of my questions, but I wasn't always even sure what questions to ask. I definitely felt more comfortable talking about sex with my friends, but a lot of them weren't necessarily any more informed than I was. We kind of figured it out as we went along, which isn't a great way to learn.
TW: Polly is afraid to have sex for the first time. Why do you think so many teens are fearful about their first sexual experiences?
AB: One reason some teens are fearful about sex is that we live in a culture that really frowns on teen sex, and that feeling of doing something wrong can be hard to overcome. The second reason is that there isn't enough education on sex, so a lot of teens really have no idea what to expect: Is there something I'm supposed to be doing that I don't know about? Will it hurt? Will I embarrass myself? Will I get a sexually transmitted infection? Will I get pregnant? And that's just the physical stuff. The potential emotional consequences of sex are scary as well.
TW: Polly says, "I was still afraid to have sex. I wanted other things. Boyfriend things..." Do you think teenagers are confused about the difference between sex and relationships?
AB: Not all teenagers are confused about this, but certainly some teenagers probably are. And a lot of adults are too. Having sex doesn't always equal being in a relationship, and that can be a really hard and confusing lesson to learn. It can be depressing when someone wants to have sex with you but doesn't want anything more than that.
TW: Why is it important to present sexually active teenagers in a realistic, mature way?
AB: Who would buy a teenage character who didn't struggle with the issue of sex in some way? The specifics are different for everyone, but I don't think a story about a teenage girl who has no questions or problems in her sexual life would be very believable (or interesting).
TW: Polly's friend Carrie has an abortion. Why do you think it's important to write about real issues like abortion?
AB: By the time I graduated from high school six of my friends had had abortions. If my friends — and all teenagers — had access to medically accurate sex education and birth control, this probably wouldn't have happened. Given the proper tools, teenagers are perfectly capable of making good decisions, and I don't think they should be judged or treated like children when it comes to their sexual health — especially when it comes to unintended pregnancy and abortion. It's all part of becoming a responsible adult.
TW: How can fiction play a role in answering questions about sex?
AB: Fiction may not be the best place to find out about the complete mechanics of sex or answer specific how-to questions, but fiction is a great place to find out about what sex can do emotionally. When you read fiction you learn what characters are thinking and feeling as a result of the story that's being told, and that can sometimes make you feel less alone if it's similar to something you've gone through. Of course, the best fiction is also entertaining, and sex is pretty entertaining.
TW: Polly visits a Planned Parenthood health center for her first gynecological exam, where she receives a prescription for birth control pills. Why did you include this scene in the book?
AB: When I was young Planned Parenthood was the place to go for medical exams and for birth control. Planned Parenthood was affordable, confidential, and non-judgmental, and my friends and I were very grateful for that. Polly wanted to go on the pill, so it made sense to send her to Planned Parenthood.
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