In this Book
- Love, Sex, and 4-H
- Book
- 2015
- Published by: Wayne State University Press
- Series: Made in Michigan Writers Series
summary
As the 1960s dawned in small-town Michigan, Anne-Marie Oomen was a naive farm girl whose mother was determined to keep her out of trouble—by keeping her in 4-H. In Love, Sex, and 4-H, Oomen sets the wholesomeness of her domestic lessons in 4-H club from 1959 to 1969 against the political and sexual revolution of the time. Between sewing her first dish towel and finishing the yellow dress she wears to senior prom, Oomen brings readers along as she falls in and out of love, wins her first prize, learns to kiss, survives her first heartbreak, and makes almost all of her clothes.
Love, Sex, and 4-H begins as Oomen struggles to sew a straight seam and works hard to embody the 4-H pledge of loyalty, service, and better living. But even as she wins her first modeling competition and masters more difficult stitches and patterns, Oomen finds that she is not immune to the chaos of the outside world. After the Kennedy assassination, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and her own short stay in a convent, Oomen encounters the biggest change of all—public school. In this new world of school dances, short skirts, and raging hormones, Oomen’s orderly life will be complicated by her first kiss, first boyfriend, first store-bought dress, and finally, first love. All the while, she must negotiate her mother’s expectations, her identity as a good 4-H girl, and her awareness of growing social and political unrest.
Oomen brings an insightful and humorous eye to her evolving sexuality, religious beliefs, and sense of self. Fans of memoir will appreciate the honest portrayal of growing up between rebellion and tradition in Love, Sex, and 4-H.
Table of Contents
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- Author’s Note
- p. ix
- Prologue: The Sixties
- pp. 1-2
- Part I: 4-H
- Decent Clothes, 1959
- pp. 5-10
- The Kiss, the Singer
- pp. 11-15
- The Club, 1959
- pp. 16-20
- Dish Towel, 1960
- pp. 21-26
- Skirt, 1961
- pp. 30-36
- Jackie, February 1962
- pp. 37-40
- Achievement Day, 1962
- pp. 41-45
- The Hem, 1962
- pp. 46-51
- Resusci Annie
- pp. 52-59
- Jams, 1963
- pp. 60-77
- Decision, 1963
- pp. 78-84
- Part II: Sex
- Going Public, 1966
- pp. 87-92
- Yellow, 1967
- pp. 123-128
- Someone Has a Car, 1967
- pp. 129-137
- Exploration Days, 1967
- pp. 138-146
- Junior, 1967
- pp. 147-153
- Store-bought, 1968
- pp. 159-163
- Lent, 1968
- pp. 164-170
- Denouement
- pp. 171-176
- Part III: Love
- 86 Days, 1968
- pp. 179-185
- Chicago, November 1968
- pp. 186-190
- Learning to Curse, 1969
- pp. 196-205
- Psychedelic, 1969
- pp. 206-210
- Achievement Day, 1969
- pp. 211-214
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 219-220
Additional Information
ISBN
9780814340790
Related ISBN(s)
9780814340783
MARC Record
OCLC
908127336
Pages
232
Launched on MUSE
2015-04-28
Language
English
Open Access
No