{image1}There are as many labels for the Catholic schoolgirl as there are skirt plaids. Snob. Goody-two-shoes. Vixen. Ingenue. Rebel. Maverick. Whore. Some days, the Catholic schoolgirl is none of these, some days she absorbs them all. Sometimes she embraces the badge, living out as everyone expects her too. Sometimes it is undeservedly projected onto her. Sometimes the label is empowering; sometimes it is crippling. Never is it fair.
In her new book "Whores on the Hill," Colleen Curran exposes the inner workings of the girls behind the skirts. Curran grew up in Milwaukee in the heady '80s, cutting her teeth and learning the ropes of adolescence at Divine Savior Holy Angels, an all-girls Catholic high school. At that time, girls from DSHA had the misnomer of Whores on the Hill, a reputation that Curran was spurned to investigate. In just 10 short months, Curran penned her no-holds-barred account of what it is like to be 15 and ready to take over the world, plaid skirt and all.
"I went to an all-girls school and everyone called us The Whores on the Hill but we weren't! We were nice Midwestern girls," laughs Curran. "But the line started getting stuck in my head and I started thinking, 'what if we were? What if we did live up to that ridiculous reputation?'."
What started as a short story quickly took on a life of its own, according to Curran. "The characters were so vibrant and had so much life, and so much to say, that it became a novel."
If the pace of the novel is lightning fast and sexually charged, the subject matter is not. "I knew I wanted to write about teen sex and all the pressures ... all the dangers that are facing teen girls today -- I think it's a really tough time. I wanted to write about that honestly and realistically".
Told mostly through the eyes of Thisbe, the new transfer student at Sacred Heart Holy Angels, "Whores on the Hill" instantly thrusts readers into a fast-paced frenzy of underage clubs, sex, drugs, the punk music scene, and the fitful, fledgling world of 15-year-olds. Thisbe, along with her psuedo-punkish gal pals Juli and Astrid, fight tooth and nail to get through high school, but most of all, to get noticed. Catty, wild, sensuous unbridled zeal, the girls epitomize the book's mantra: We were called the whores on the hill but we didn't care.
The good girl gone bad stereotype is not new to pop culture. Britney made it big with her pigtails and pleated skirt. Madonna in her "Like a Virgin" days sported the Heavenly Heathen image. Even Sandra Dee went "bad" by the end of Grease. Is being a whore empowering now? Curran thinks it can be.
"It has been interesting to see the response from the word. It is a really strong word, and people have really strong reactions to [it]. I love that Astrid, Julie, Thisbe, take it on, reinvent it and throw it back at the world. They take back the power of the word."
Curran adds, "I think part of why I wrote the book is because I hate the word "whore" so much. I think it shows a real fear of female sexuality, especially teen sexuality. It is normal, for a culture, to call teenage girls "whores."
Not just a local girl, Curran sets "Whores on the Hill" in her hometown, a metaphor, she says, for the book.
"Milwaukee can be beautiful and gorgeous, but it can also be very lonely and cold. And that setting reflects the girls' experience and some of their feelings."
The Milwaukee-laden references, the locations and other familiar-sounding references begs the question: Is the book based on fact? Curran says no. Divine Savior Holy Angels, Curran's alma mater, also reiterated that "Whores on the Hill" is a work of fiction and is not about DSHA.
One thing is for sure. "Whores on the Hill" certainly gives us something to talk about.
Colleen Curran will appear at many Milwaukee-area bookstores to discuss and sign her book. Harry W. Schwartz on Downer, May 26 at 7 p.m.; Barnes & Noble in Mayfair Mall, May 30 at 7 p.m.; Valentina in Mequon, May 31 at 3:30 p.m.; and Books and Company in Oconomowoc, May 31 at 7 p.m.
Curran's Website is colleencurran.com.
