Nov 01 / Simcha

Ask Beth: Honest Advice for Teens

Click on image to view "Ask Beth" column, July 1984

“How can a boy kiss a girl who wears braces?”
“I have enormous ears…. Is there an operation to whittle them down to size?”
“I am in terrible trouble and I don’t know where to turn. I’m 14 and I’m pregnant.”
“Should I sleep with my boyfriend?” (asked by a 10-year-old girl)

During the cultural upheaval of the 1960s and 70s, questions arose as never before about formerly forbidden topics such as sex.  Thousands of teenagers and their parents, unable to find answers elsewhere, sent letters (first on paper and later by email) to Elizabeth Winship’s “Ask Beth” column in The Boston Globe, seeking her frank, detailed, sympathetic, and often witty advice on how to deal with delicate topics.

Read more