Objectification in The Girls Who Went Away

Johnna Purcell
WMNST 100U
17 March 2016

One goal of Womens Studies is to tell histories that are traditionally untold. Ann
Fesslers, The Girls Who Went Away, exemplifies this aim. In the book, Fessler records the
personal histories of women who became pregnant as teenagers between the end of WWII and

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the legalization of abortion in Roe V. Wade. Fessler focuses on this time in American history
because the rates of teenage sexual activity were increasing while the use of contraception and
choices for young women who became pregnant were limited. Fessler recounts the experiences
of these women from conception to reunion with their children, sometimes over 30 years later.
The book emphasizes the social norms and institutions that coerced women into giving up their
children. She underscores the emotional and psychological trauma that was associated with
surrendering a child. Despite the assurances of those advising young mothers at the time of their
birth and surrender, the experience of adoption went on to define the lives of many of the women
that Fessler interviewed.
In The Girls Who Went Away, there are multiple instances and different forms of
objectification portrayed. Objectification is often discussed synonymously with the sexual
objectification of women, but the term is broader than that. In all of the stories that Fessler
recounts the young women were largely treated as the objects of the situations happening around
and to them. These girls were not considered the subjects of the events that were both happening
to them and that they were participating in. From the conception of their children to the
surrendering of their babies, the girls were objectified in distinct ways for a variety of reasons by
individuals and institutions.
For many of these girls, this pattern of objectification began with their first sexual
experiences. Girls were instructed by their parents, dont let a boy touch you1implying that sex
is something that would happen to them and that they were responsible for stopping it. This is
what happened to almost all of these girls. They were pressured into having sex by their partners.
When they did have sex, many girls were not even aware of what was happening. Even if they
1 Ann Fessler, The Girls Who Went Away (New York: Penguin Books, 2006), 38

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were, many of the women expressed discomfort with the situation. These girls were frighteningly
uninvolved in their sex lives. They were objects in the act, not the subjects of their first sexual
experiences. This is problematic on multiple levels. First, informed consent is obviously lacking
in these scenarios. Additionally, for these girls this was only the first instance that their voice was
taken away. Being objectified in such a way throughout this process, many girls came to have
negative associations with sex for the rest of their lives.
Upon the discovery of their pregnancies, these girls were objectified in a different way by their
parents. Often, before going to their parents, these girls would start planning for how they were
going to raise their child. Many talked to their partners about getting married. Others saved
money that they planned on using to raise their children. But once telling their parents about their
pregnancy, these girls were largely excluded from the decision making process about their
pregnancy . On women recounted how when the decision was being made of what to do, They
are discussing what we are going to do, me not being part of the we. 2 Parents largely saw their
daughter's pregnancy as a problem to be solved and would take the process into their own hands.
While most parents only wanted what was best for their daughters, by trying to help them, they
objectified them. By failing to take the wishes of their daughters into account, these parents
treated their daughters as objects to which they would do what they pleased.
Girls were furthered objectified by the practices of doctors and caregivers at the
institutions for unwed mothers that they were sent to. At these institutions the girls were not
permitted to talk about their lives before coming into the home. Often times they were forced to
either assume new names or not use their last names. The women recount being objectified by
uncompassionate doctors, being told that they should have kept their legs together3or should
2 Ann Fessler, The Girls Who Went Away (New York: Penguin Books, 2006), 167
3 Ann Fessler, The Girls Who Went Away (New York: Penguin Books, 2006), 168

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have thought about the pain of childbirth nine months ago. These women were not humans
worthy of respect to the institutions and individuals charged with caring for them. Instead, these
girls were treated as objects simply there for the purpose of having a child and forgetting the
experience. Their pregnancies, were not about them, they were only along for the ride.
The objectification that these women underwent as girls went on to define their lives in many
respects. One woman states that she her entire life she has dealt with trying to find my sense of
power and voice. Because this whole experiences was just totally taken away in so many ways.4
Through this experience so early in life, these women were told that their voice didnt matter.
Their pregnancies were not about them, they were about the baby and the adopted family. Their
pregnancies were a problem to be solved. We traditionally only think of objectification as sexual
in nature But these girls were objectified in multiple ways, sometimes accidentally. What started
with sexual objectification was much more than that. Their names were taken away from them.
They were offered little support. They were distanced from their babies. These girls were the
objects of their teenage pregnancies and then had to work to become the subjects of their
subsequent lives.

4 Ann Fessler, The Girls Who Went Away (New York: Penguin Books, 2006), 82