Day 8: Cultural Setting

Gabrielle grew up in suburban South Carolina in the 1980's and 1990's and was raised by strict Baptist family. Her father was both a church elder and assistant principle for the private school that was affiliated with the church. Even outside of the confines of her home Gabby was held to the strict values of what a woman should be. MTV's sudden popularity unnerved the parents of Gabby and her peers. The members of the church had come to an agreement that only their children would only watch PBS in their homes and popular music and movies would be forbidden. It was believed that the children would be protected from the bad influences regardless of whose house they played. Any home who broke this agreement would not be allowed to host children from the church, although the children from the families were always welcome to play at the "safe" homes.

This arrangement worked well enough when the children were small but it was not long before puberty changed the game. There were the same teenaged pregnancies, abortions, drug use, and bawdy behavior in the tight-knit community as there were in the "secular" world. This only resulted in further isolation of the "good" kids who had managed to stay out of trouble. Church was attended several times a week and Bible lessons permeated the classrooms.