Jenny Humphrey's Big "Mistake"

Gossip Girl is a classic teen drama, chronicling the lives of extremely privileged Upper East Side teens throughout their high school and college years.  This show is one that many real-life teens have turned to not only for idolization of the characters, but also for advice and guidance (in relationship terms).  I myself have watched every episode (some of them twice), and know that between my sisters, friends, and I, we all have looked to the characters and “learned” from them and their mistakes and experiences in some way or another. 

One thing that I think Gossip Girl does really well is portray virginity loss in multiple different contexts and settings.  When looking back, the characters all lose their virginities in different ways, and experience various outcomes/consequences afterwards.  Most notably, Jenny Humphrey’s experience is one that I believe a lot of viewers can learn from.  Jenny is Dan’s younger sister, and is constantly trying to fit in with the “it” crowd.  After stirring up drama with Blair (the queen bee), Jenny is confronted by her and yelled at.  Feeling distressed and vulnerable, she makes a decision in the heat of the moment to lose her virginity to Chuck (a notorious womanizer and Blair’s lover).  

Afterwards, Jenny feels regret and is upset, as this interaction clearly meant nothing to Chuck and was not at all special. 

It’s interesting because Jenny’s experience really contradicts, while at the same time plays into, what Maura Kelly describes in her article “Virginity Loss Narratives in ‘Teen Drama’ Television Programs” as the “urgency script.”  The urgency script portrays virginity loss as “not only a highly enjoyable activity but as necessary to affirm a gendered identity as a sexually sought-after individual, to be perceived by others as desirable, and to achieve social status” (Kelly, 482).  Clearly, Jenny decides to lose her virginity for these reasons (higher social status, “cool” factor, everyone is doing it, etc.) and acted on the urgency script.  But what happens afterward is something that is not normally associated with the urgency script.  Consequences.  Instead of feeling cooler, older and more experienced, Jenny feels deep regret, calling the whole thing “a mistake.”  A week later, she even ends up moving to a different city (with her mother), walking away from her NYC glamorized lifestyle.  Obviously, there are other reasons for this, but this situation was the final straw.  What Jenny truly sees virginity as is a gift, and an experience that should be special and with the right person, which Kelly describes as a component of the “abstinence script” (Kelly, 482).

I think that this portrayal of sex is so important because we generally don’t see as many consequences shown on television.  While in real life, many girls and guys lose their virginities while happily in a relationship with someone they trust, there are also a large number of people who don’t decide to experience sex this way their first time.  So, having this kind of portrayal for viewers can be extremely beneficial.  According to Eyal and Kunkel in their study, “Viewing negative outcomes of premarital sexual intercourse leads to more negative attitudes toward premarital sex and to more negative moral judgments of the characters who engage in this behavior” (Eyal & Kunkel, 175).  This is vital in that seeing these kinds of situations and how they play out can bring to viewers' attention aspects of sex that they hadn’t previously considered.  To conclude, not everyone’s “first time” is perfect, as much of the media leads us to believe.  Jenny’s experience is one that young girls/boys can look to and learn from to better understand the risks/consequences associated with losing one’s virginity in this way.         

Citations:

1. Eyal, K., & Kunkel, D. (2008). The effects of sex in television drama shows on emerging adults' sexual attitudes and moral judgments. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 52(2), 161-181. doi: 10.1080/08838150801991757
2. Kelly, M. (2010). Virginity loss narratives in “teen drama” television programs. Journal of Sex Research, 47(5), 479-489. doi: 10.1080/00224490903132044
3. Schwartz, J. (Writer). (2010, May 17). Last Tango, Then Paris [Television series episode]. In Gossip Girl. New York: Warner Bros. Television Distribution.