Stories from RhyDin & The Rings

The following article appeared in RhyDin People on July 1, 2003:

What's Wrong with the Girls of RhyDin?

What happens to a generation of young women brought up in a society in which "cute" is merely average and expectations of beauty have become increasingly impossible for the typical teenager to meet? According to psychiatrist and best-selling author, Vivian Finwendal, in her latest book, What's Wrong With the Girls of RhyDin?, the young women become angry powder kegs of emotion.

Finwendal has been studying a trend of turmoil and angst that seems rampant among today's young women in their late teens and early twenties. She first witnessed it in her own daughter, Kylie Finwendal. "Kylie is a smart, pretty girl. She was a typical teenager but around the age of seventeen, she became distant. She repressed her anger and I'm not even sure she knew what the source of the anger was." Finwendal noticed similar problems in many of Kylie's friends.

As she began to delve into the issue, talking to countless young women between 16 and 23, Finwendal was shocked to realize just how widespread the problem was. "My daughter would have these rare, yet inexplicable, fits of rage," a mother of one such young woman explained. The problem remains largely undiagnosed as the vast majority of these young women have learned to repress their anger with self-abusive and self-destructive techniques.

The source of the problem took much longer to uncover than the extent of the epidemic. "I'd have the young women carry around a journal. Each time they felt the anger, they immediately had to sit down and write down every detail of the moment." Not only did this allow the women to acknowledge their anger but it also helped document possible triggers. All of the triggers had one thing in common -- the pressure of perfection.

"Young women are force-fed images in the media of celebrity women with perfect bodies, perfect careers, and perfect relationships," Finwendal insists. The book suggests that celebrities like actress Jenia McHallen, TDL duelist and spokeswoman Kaja Adair, singer Lilania, and model PJ Ramirez have led to a generation of young women who think that their bodies, careers, and lives are not only attainable but are the norm.

"What these girls don't realize is that these celebrities' magazine covers are airbrushed, that their boobs are surgically enhanced, and that their lives are spun into perfect fairy tales by PR masterminds," agrees Doctor Kathy O'Dell, also a psychiatrist and best-selling author. O'Dell isn't the only one stepping up to support Finwendal's latest attack on the media. What's Wrong? is being applauded in the psychoanalytic field for diving into a largely overlooked phenomenon.

These women are certainly not without hope. Counseling is the key in Finwendal's eyes. The young women need to be relieved of the pressure of having to maintain a perfect persona while learning better methods for dealing with their anger.

The young woman are beginning to battle back, stirring the beginning of a backlash against these so-called "perfect celebrities". Kylie Finwendal, now an up and coming mover in the fashion world, is marketing a line of t-shirts through NoDa Fashion with phrases condemning the media's "perfect woman". Kylie is far from the self-conscious teenager that her mother worried over. In her office in downtown RhyDin she proudly displays one of the line's t-shirts which reads "Ban Perfection!" while explaining the mission behind NoDa. "We want to encourage women to be proud of their figure, their height, their intelligence, their life. They are all beautiful."

When anger would wash over Juliet Gala it would come in such a sudden rush that she was completely unprepared for it. However, she was quite adapt at continually shoving it down into the pit of her and masking it with a smile. She was the friendly, brainy athlete. Anger just wasn't part of that picture. This constant repression of anger had created a powder keg of emotion. Not a single person would suspect this slightly shy college co-ed to be attempting to harnass a rage far out of her control.

The rage was peaked the moment Kammy Alexander walked into an early morning team meeting of MacKenzie University Swim team with none other than Paul Freyer.

Who was Paul Freyer? Paul Freyer was only the hottest guy at MacKenzie University in RhyDin, at least according to Juliet Gala. He swam the fly and had the upper body muscles to prove it. His tossled chin-length dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes coupled with his toned muscular body, rich tan, and broad shoulders were enough to make her wish that he knew she existed. Juliet could hear his deep chuckle as he entered the room and her gaze, as always, was immediately drawn to it.

That he had a woman clinging to his arm wasn't surprising to Jules. He was a hot single guy, afterall. That the woman in question was Kammy Alexander was what drove Jules to the breaking point. Kammy Alexander and Juliet Gala were sorority sisters in Phi Mu and, supposedly, good friends. Kammy had offered to be the go-between to help Juliet get a date with Kammy's childhood friend, Paul Freyer. Kam had yet to deliver on the offer but had assured Jules that the prospect was promising.

To encourage the anger, Kammy Alexander was also everything that Juliet Gala was not. Kammy Alexander was stunning. She stood at 5'9" with legs that went on forever and a curvy frame that seemed to fill out her swimsuit in all the right places. She was the stereotypical RhyDin female -- absolutely beautiful. Jules was four inches shorter and had a much more compact build. Her lean frame was that of an athlete, not a model. Doe-eyed Kammy had long straight perfect blonde hair and a sultry air about her. Outside of athletics, Jules was a complete cultz and it took hours with a straightening iron (a task that she typically simply skipped) to calm her unruly dark spiral curls.

Jules' roommate, Lizzy Claiborne, sat on the plastic chair beside her transfixed at the scene. Kammy's body language screamed that she had spent the night with Paul and she was certainly making a show of the fact that they were entering together. "Stupid slut," Lizzy muttered just loud enough for Jules to hear.

Tammy reached up to peck Paul's lips before separating. Paul shifted his weight awkwardly for a moment, shoving his large hands into his jean pockets as he moved to join a small band of boys who were grinning in approval of Paul's latest conquest. Kam glowed a proud smile as she moved to join Lizzy and Jules.

"Hello, ladies. So why do we think Coach has us up so early?" Kammy asked a bit too loudly as she took a plastic chair on the other side of Jules.

"Kam, you've got some balls coming over here right now," Lizzy said hotly, flipping her strawberry blonde braid over her shoulder.

"Lizzy! It's not like I planned it." Kammy protested, clearly glad to have reason to discuss the incident. The various conversations in the room began to dull as the topic became clear. Jules felt her cheeks grow red. The anger burned.

Jules knew there was no stopping her friend. For better or worse, Lizzy was who she was. Lizzy never had liked Kammy all that much. "You told Jules he liked her!" Lizzy said hotly.

Kammy's crystal clear blue eyes turned on Jules, her full lips twisting into a sympathetic look. "I'm so sorry, Jules. You know I love you but Paul and I have feelings for one another."

Jules simply nodded. She was too angry to find words. The comment had caused Lizzy to escalate the tension. She lept to her feet and Kammy quickly followed out of reflex. "Feelings? Let me tell you, Kam, the only feelings that nimwit has for you radiates out of his little--"

"Hey! Hey! Nothing on me is little, Liz." Paul jumped in to protect his reputation as Jules quickly rose in an attempt to tug Lizzy back into her seat.

"Come on, Liz! Look at me. Who can blame him for not being able to keep his hands off me?" Kammy asked, flashing her perfect set of sparkling white teeth.

Lizzy had given into Jules tugging and had dropped sullenly back to the uncomfortable plastic chair she had been sitting in. Jules did not notice. Kammy's comment had shoved her anger far past her control. Jules' right hand was suddenly in a tightly clenched fist.

With one swift movement, Jules pulled that hand up and socked Kammy right in the nose, causing the room to erupt with gasps.

"That is unacceptable, Jules."

Juliet simply nodded, her gaze cast downward at her hands folded together tightly in her lap. She could feel Coach Kincaid's eyes drilling holes in her forehead. She knew her scholarship hung in the balance of the answers he was searching for in her head. "Why?"

It was the same question Jules kept asking herself. She knew better than to trust Kam and, deep down, she also knew that whatever she felt for Paul Freyer was passing. "I-I just got angry, Coach." was all Jules could manage.

Jules allowed her eyes to lift to attempt to judge his anger. Coach Kincaid leaned back in his leather office chair as his warm brown eyes spun out the window. Jules knew that he had to lay consequences upon her for hitting a teammate. However, he also didn't want to lose or bench one of his star swimmers or yank away a full athletic scholarship from a Chancellor's list student who would not be able to afford a college education otherwise.

"It was a nice punch," he mused as his gaze moved back on her.

Jules allowed a small smile but Coach sent her a stern frown in reply that caused her to quickly rethink the smile. "I've taken a couple classes in armed and unarmed combat to fulfill some gen ed requirements,"Jules explained quickly.

Coach Kincaid leaned forward, pulling a pad of paper from his desk within writing distance and picked up his pen. "I've got a friend I want you to talk to weekly. She's doing research on girls your age and owes me a favor or two so I'll talk her into seeing you for free. Once a week during the summer or I'll be looking for a fourth to the relay team," Coach said in a warning tone as he jotted down the friend's name and address.

Jules released a relieved sigh. Her college education was safe. Coach handed the piece of paper over to Jules who frowned slightly after looking over the information. "Doctor Vivian Finwendal?"

"Yeah. Once a week all summer long."