Summer Sisters

Blume published Summer Sisters in 1998, just a few years into the third wave of feminism. Much of the novel takes place in the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, during the second wave of feminism. While the second wave focused heavily on gender parity in the workplace, home, and legal system, women had also made gains in reproductive rights, with widespread availability of the birth control pill starting in the early 1960s, followed by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion an individual’s choice. These factors contributed to a culture in which women were freer to engage in sex, although debates about women’s sexual expression—sometimes dubbed the “sex wars”—continued into the 1980s, as many feminists denounced the objectification of women through pornography, sex work, and other factors. Still, a budding movement of sex-positive feminists argued for a perspective that allowed for women’s pursuit of pleasure for pleasure’s sake. As the third wave took off in the mid-1990s—shortly before Blume wrote Summer Sisters—the focus on women’s sexuality shifted to include discussions of sexuality as power and furthered the focus on sex positivity, aiming to eliminate shame and normalize women’s sexual appetites and consensual sexual exploration (Klein, Jessica. “What Does ‘Sex Positivity’ Mean?” BBC, 20 Aug. 2021).

The concept of sex positivity is reflected in the novel, as Vix and Caitlin not only explore their bodies as adolescents but take pleasure in doing so and discussing it openly with one another, describing the feelings they discover—likely orgasm—as “The Power.” As they move into their late teens and early adulthoods, Blume gives their characters assertive sexualities: They seek out sex, harnessing the power of sexuality and their own capacities for pleasure as they make independent choices about their bodies. When Vix and Bru have sex for the first time, it’s because Vix wants to, with the narrator announcing, “[S]he was the aggressor. She practically begged him” (183). When Vix senses 35-year-old TV actor Tim Castellano wants to prey on 15-year-old Caitlin, she takes action and frees Caitlin. Caitlin then chases after Tim, believing he’d be an apt choice for her “first time.” In the novel, sex is regularly madcap and lighthearted, but not typically traumatic. Furthermore, the novel shines a positive light on the sexuality of women outside childbearing years; Caitlin’s mother, Phoebe, and Tawny both pursue new sexual relationships later in life.

By creating women characters who not only enjoy but pursue sex with abandon across their lifespans, Blume furthers the normalization of understanding, exploring, and enjoying one’s body that she established in her middle-grade literature, such as 1970’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, which includes frank discussions of both menstruation and puberty, in addition to adolescent sexual curiosity.