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Timothy Grills
Doctor Gossage
ENG 302 / T/TR 12:30 – 1:45
11/26/2016
“Lust”: The Pressure Young Women Face

Lust is defined as “an intense longing”, a “craving” or, most commonly, an “intense or

unbridled sexual desire” (“Lust”). In “Lust” by Susan Minot, a young girl going to an all-girls

school called Casey Academy decides to explore that sexual desire by exploring her body and the

bodies of various men around her. Again and again, though, the protagonist of this short piece of

fiction is put into perilous situations; her body is definitely into the sexual attention that she

receives, but it’s evident that her mind isn’t. “Lust” expresses that the pain is all too common for

young women to be involved in these sorts of happenstances. Because “Lust” incorporates

gendered politics into its words, an analysis would work best with a political form of gendered

criticism: feminism. Feminist criticism is critical in understanding the feminine point of view in

almost any piece; using it in this piece allows readers to better understand the young speaker and,

possibly, the motivations of the people around her in the story. For example, “Lust” describes

that, though men aren’t necessarily happy about the outcomes of the sexual encounters in the

short story, it is also recognized that many of them still find themselves trapped inside of a

vicious societal cycle that identifies women as objects to be handled. “Lust”, in turn, exposes this

societal fault. By describing various sexual encounters that the speaker has with many young

men throughout the piece, “Lust” articulates the psychological harm that comes to women that

live in a society that doesn’t appreciate them like civilization should; by visualizing the various

sexual encounters that the young speaker has and how she feels about them, “Lust” is also able to

expose patriarchal society in such a way that shows that society devalues and degrades young
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women who have sex while also saying that the very same society expects young women to give

into the sexual urges of young men.

Sexual and reproductive rights were major issues that second-wave feminism had its hand

in. Women whom were part of the second-wave movement were generally considered to be more

radical than feminists in other waves of the movement when we’re specifically talking about the

first three waves of feminism, and, as the movement continued, this proved to be true. Third-

wave feminism arose in the mid-90’s as a response to the assumed radicalism of the second-

wave. During the period of third-wave feminism, previously organized constructs of feminism

were deconstructed. Young women, especially, were vastly powered during this wave; many of

the ideals that second-wave feminists such as high heels and lipstick were readopted by third-

wave feminists in an attempt to reclaim what they had given up (Rampton). In “Lust”, it is

evident that the piece was created during the time that second-wave feminism was more

prevalent because there is a specific focus on the sexuality of the main character and the use of

her body. In the first paragraph of “Lust”, there is a mention of a boy named Leo, “the first one

[she] ever saw nude” who also happened to have sex with her in her neighbor’s pool when it

wasn’t filled with water in the spring (Minot 230). In the very next paragraph, it talks of Roger

“in his illegal car” and “always going for [her] zipper” (Minot 230). Dually, the awareness that

the speaker has for her own sexuality is mentioned when she says that “it was different for a girl”

(Minot 231). While the speaker’s sexuality is framed in such a way that shows men receiving

pleasure from her, the speaker, herself, still seems to be stuck in-between supposedly conflicting

ideals: sex and love. So, while “Lust” is very much inspired by second-wave feminism, it has a

tinge of third-wave feminism inside of its pages as well. Readers could infer that both forms of
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feminism are of equal importance when reading this short story because of the year it was written

in: 1984.

In 1984, “Lust” was published at the height of a discourse between second-wave

feminism and third-wave feminism; this is crucial to understanding what “Lust” is really all

about. While second wave feminism did a lot of good for women, many felt that it wasn’t

inclusive enough for all types of women. Young feminists during this period of feminism were

especially prominent in trying to use third-wave feminism to embrace different types of identities

(Mann & Huffman 68-69). Third-wave feminism, because of the nature of its inclusivity,

encourages young women to take part in the social movement. Age, of course, has a lot to do

with feminist identities along with race, gender, and culture. Often, the world of feminism is

focused too much on older women; the opinions and voices of old-school feminists such as

Gloria Steinem are heard relatively frequently, but young feminists are often omitted. That’s

where the speaker in “Lust” comes into play. Though it isn’t clear whether or not the speaker in

the piece would identify with feminism one way or another, it is clear that the piece takes into

account the viewpoint of a younger generation of women.

In theory, older women no longer have to deal with the debacles that come with being

young: from having their first kiss to their first intimate experience with another person.

Generally speaking, many older women have already faced the perils of youthful sexuality or

have, at least, come to recognize them. Unfortunately, second-wave feminism failed to highlight

those problems. “Lust”, because of this, is a definite third-wave-inspired piece. The protagonist

of the piece, a young woman going to high school, goes through a sequence of events, sexual in

nature, that second-wave feminism would have ignored. The piece even goes as far as saying

what comes after those sexual experiences by mentioning “Then comes after. After when they
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don’t look at you. They scratch their balls, stare at the ceiling” (Minot 237). “Lust” is, obviously,

not a piece that teenaged straight men can glamorize; young men probably wouldn’t want to see

themselves as the men in the piece because they use and abuse the main character for their own

sexual gratification. However, this doesn’t mean that the men that do happen to follow in the

footsteps of the men in the piece are all bad people. Instead, they’re trapped in a never ending

cycle of abuse; when young men get what they want from women, they leave. When women give

men what they want, women end up unsatisfied by the results.

Stephen Wall, author of “Asking Too Much”, highlights this dissatisfaction and takes it a

step further: “the girl—and by implication all the girls—has her code” (Wall). The code that Wall

refers to is actually a line in the story: “if you flirted, you had to be prepared to go through with

it. Sleeping with someone was perfectly normal once you had done it. You didn't really worry

about it” (Minot 233). What Wall is trying to convey by writing this is that girls do have to

follow this procedure. If girls are going to flirt with boys, they have to prepare for the

consequences to come. Girls pigeonhole themselves into corners that they are, then, unable to get

out of when they flirt with boys. Boys, however, are not set to this same standard—they can

move on from girl to girl without any repercussions. Men are not, typically, punished for

sleeping around, emotionally, physically, or otherwise. Yet, despite this, girls are set to unrealistic

standards when it comes to their own bodies and their ability to sleep around. Girls cannot,

realistically, move from guy to guy; society tells them that is not the way a young woman should

be. However, when a young woman doesn’t have sex and doesn’t feel the need to do sexual

things with young men, they are still reprimanded as shown in “Lust” through the speaker’s

mention that she “[hates] those girls who push away a boy’s face as if she were made out of

Ivory soap” (Minot 235). Women in American society can’t win: if they are sexual, they are
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classified as sluts and if they don’t want to have sex, they are considered prudes. In essence, even

girls are pitted against each other in the vicious cycle that the patriarchy has created for young

women.

It should be further noted that, in contrast of what “Lust” presents as truth, young women

are actually pressured, more often than men at least, to remain in a virginal state. Research by

Heywood, Patrick, Pitts, and Mitchell shows that teenage girls, though not often pressured in any

way by their friends or family to avoid or perform sexual acts, find that the pressure that they do

receive from their peers to be relatively leaning towards them remaining virgins. On the other

hand, boys who are pressured about sex are pressured into having sex instead of avoiding having

sex (5-8). The patriarchal system that has been created has left an unreasonable expectation for

young women to follow: to remain virgins. “Lust”, in its own words, encompasses that ideal and

twists it on its head; the piece shows a young lady whom is very in-tune with her own body and

ideals. She knows what she wants and she goes after it. However, young men in “Lust” are

presented vastly the same as in life in the sense that they ‘migrate’; young men know that they

are lustful and seek sex with no other commitments in mind while the female speaker, and, by

extension, all young women, in “Lust” delegate themselves to trying to find love by having sex

with these young men. The speaker knows that this is coming, even. The speaker of “Lust” goes

as far as to note that “the more girls a boy has, the better. . . for a girl, with each boy it’s as

though a petal gets plucked each time” (Minot 234). The fact of the matter is, under a patriarchal

system such as the one in place in America or other westernized countries, men are rewarded for

their constant movement. Women, on the other hand, are not. They are set to the standard that

they must remain virgins. Still yet, there is another standard that women must face: they have to
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give men what they want—if a woman do not, they are of no use to any man. Without sexual

exchange, women are merely useless to the male gaze.

“They get mad after, when you say enough is enough,” the speaker in “Lust” mentions,

defining this expectation for the audience (Minot 235). Either way, young women are,

metaphorically and literally, screwed: in every sense of the word. There is a defining

unhappiness in the life of the speaker. Even though she enjoys her body and even though she

enjoys the pleasure she receives from men, it’s obvious that she is still expecting more. Yet,

stranger still, she expects failure on the part of the men. She knows it’s coming, even if she

doesn’t want to admit it. Is the speaker in “Lust” really lustful in any sense of the word? Sure,

she is. Just like the young men in the piece, she has many sexual encounters. On the other hand,

what defines her, besides her gender, is her need to be needed. She wants love. She needs love.

She does not receive said love. In the words of the speaker, “the less they notice you, the more

you got them on the brain” (Minot 231). And, in truth, this mimics life. The less self-esteem a

young woman has, the more likely a young woman is to fall for someone who just isn’t

interested in them romantically, time and time again.

“Lust” explains that young girls, especially, are victimized by this trap. They try to adhere

to as many of the patriarchy’s expectations as possible and, time and time again, are let down by

the results. Some young girls even expect other girls to adhere to those same expectations. In

showing the reader the way in which the speaker is miserable and in showing them the way that

men treat her, readers are also able to see that the way that society feels about young women.

They can’t win if they have sex and they can’t win if they don’t have sex; for young women in a

patriarchal system, the landscape is dire. As in the words of “Lust”, men “[stalk] around, sure-

shouldered, and you have the feeling he’s got more in him, a fatter heart, more stories to tell”
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(Minot 234) but, for a girl, it’s much different. For a girl, you feel like “watered down stew”

(Minot 234). You “wonder how long you can keep it up” (Minot 235). Suddenly, “you’re gone …

the girl they were fucking is not there anymore” (Minot 237). “Lust”, in verbatim, exposes this

difference and challenges it.

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Works Cited

"Lust." Merriam-Webster.com, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lust.

Heywood, Wendy, Kent Patrick, Marian Pitts & Anne Mitchell. ““Dude, I’m Seventeen … It’s

Okay Not to Have Sex by This Age”: Feelings, Reasons, Pressures, and Intentions

Reported by Adolescents Who Have Not Had Sexual Intercourse.” The Journal of Sex

Research, The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, pp. 1-8. ResearchGate,

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287796845_Dude_I%27m_Seventeen_It

%27s_Okay_Not_to_Have_Sex_by_This_Age_Feelings_Reasons_Pressures_and_Intenti

ons_Reported_by_Adolescents_Who_Have_Not_Had_Sexual_Intercourse.

Mann, Susan Archer, and Douglas J. Huffman. “The Decentering of Second Wave Feminism and

the Rise of the Third Wave.” Science & Society, vol. 69, no. 1, 2005, pp. 56–91. JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/40404229.

Minot, Susan. “Lust.” Literature To Go, edited by Michael Meyer, 2nd ed., 2013, pp. 230-237.

Originally published in Lust and Other Stories, 1984.

Rampton, Martha. “Four Waves of Feminism.” Pacific University Oregon, Pacific University,

Oct. 25th, 2015, https://www.pacificu.edu/about-us/news-events/four-waves-feminism.

Wall, Stephen. “Asking Too Much.” Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by Janet Witalec,

vol. 159, Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center, libproxy.eku.edu/login?

url=http://go.galegroup.com.libproxy.eku.edu/ps/i.do?

p=LitRC&sw=w&u=rich43584&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE

%7CH1100043254&asid=05fc4d56f4d062705fd8147c7a4bd38e.