Did anyone root for Brian Krakow in the My so-called life?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What was up with the expectation that Angela and Jordan were supposed to have sex after he like, held her hand for an episode? Or the depiction that all these 14-15 year olds like Rayanne and Sharon were having lots of sex? That was not the case in my high school. Did this seem seriously young to others?

Yes he grossed me out after that. Obsessed with him leading up to the hand hold then ewww. I mean they never even dated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was up with the expectation that Angela and Jordan were supposed to have sex after he like, held her hand for an episode? Or the depiction that all these 14-15 year olds like Rayanne and Sharon were having lots of sex? That was not the case in my high school. Did this seem seriously young to others?

I’m watching now and had the same thought. Sex was a really, really big deal in the late 80s, at least. My friends who became active in high school did it around senior year with serious boyfriends, for the most part. At 15? It was definitely not prevalent. I had boyfriends and did “everything but” until I felt ready, in my freshman year of college. I know that’s all anecdotal, but I have a 15 year old DD now and she is definitely not ready.

Well, that's just a technicality, if you already did "everything but". For many girls "doing everything" is next level of intimacy. I think you just illustrated that teenagers did, in fact, have sex.

Different poster, but the one who posed the original question about the depiction of sex on the show. I also had a long term boyfriend in high school, and we did most things, but I was definitely not ready to have sex with him and knew that. I knew when I was ready, and it had less to do with the relationship I was in and more of a maturity thing. I wasn’t ready until I was in college and started to understand what mattered to me in relationships and life. While I didn’t know in high school that that’s why I wasn’t ready, I knew very intuitively that I wasn’t and didn’t know myself well enough yet to feel good about having sex.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was up with the expectation that Angela and Jordan were supposed to have sex after he like, held her hand for an episode? Or the depiction that all these 14-15 year olds like Rayanne and Sharon were having lots of sex? That was not the case in my high school. Did this seem seriously young to others?

I’m watching now and had the same thought. Sex was a really, really big deal in the late 80s, at least. My friends who became active in high school did it around senior year with serious boyfriends, for the most part. At 15? It was definitely not prevalent. I had boyfriends and did “everything but” until I felt ready, in my freshman year of college. I know that’s all anecdotal, but I have a 15 year old DD now and she is definitely not ready.

Well, that's just a technicality, if you already did "everything but". For many girls "doing everything" is next level of intimacy. I think you just illustrated that teenagers did, in fact, have sex.

Different poster, but the one who posed the original question about the depiction of sex on the show. I also had a long term boyfriend in high school, and we did most things, but I was definitely not ready to have sex with him and knew that. I knew when I was ready, and it had less to do with the relationship I was in and more of a maturity thing. I wasn’t ready until I was in college and started to understand what mattered to me in relationships and life. While I didn’t know in high school that that’s why I wasn’t ready, I knew very intuitively that I wasn’t and didn’t know myself well enough yet to feel good about having sex.

again, average age of first intercouse in the US is 15. so while you weren't ready and your boyfriend was willing to go slowly, about a half of teens your age have already done it, and many more by the time you graduated. i mean, i get it, i was the same, but at the same time, i knew girls my age who were sexually active and some of those were good, ambitious students, like sharon, so it was not limited to alternative girls or whatever. so it totally makes sense that someone like jordan catalano would not want to wait and that someone like angela was not ready despite pining for him. brian, would, probably, wait, like your boyfriend. but guys like jordan were already having sex, and he was not going to go back to holding hands for 2 years.

once again, the series feels accurate in portraying the HS realities with some of the students (sharon, rayanne, catalano and boys in those circles) being sexually active and then another group (angela, brian, rickie) who were not there yet.

[Anonymous]

I also thought Jordan had been held back. I don’t think he was supposed to be 15.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was up with the expectation that Angela and Jordan were supposed to have sex after he like, held her hand for an episode? Or the depiction that all these 14-15 year olds like Rayanne and Sharon were having lots of sex? That was not the case in my high school. Did this seem seriously young to others?

I’m watching now and had the same thought. Sex was a really, really big deal in the late 80s, at least. My friends who became active in high school did it around senior year with serious boyfriends, for the most part. At 15? It was definitely not prevalent. I had boyfriends and did “everything but” until I felt ready, in my freshman year of college. I know that’s all anecdotal, but I have a 15 year old DD now and she is definitely not ready.

Well, that's just a technicality, if you already did "everything but". For many girls "doing everything" is next level of intimacy. I think you just illustrated that teenagers did, in fact, have sex.

Different poster, but the one who posed the original question about the depiction of sex on the show. I also had a long term boyfriend in high school, and we did most things, but I was definitely not ready to have sex with him and knew that. I knew when I was ready, and it had less to do with the relationship I was in and more of a maturity thing. I wasn’t ready until I was in college and started to understand what mattered to me in relationships and life. While I didn’t know in high school that that’s why I wasn’t ready, I knew very intuitively that I wasn’t and didn’t know myself well enough yet to feel good about having sex.

again, average age of first intercouse in the US is 15. so while you weren't ready and your boyfriend was willing to go slowly, about a half of teens your age have already done it, and many more by the time you graduated. i mean, i get it, i was the same, but at the same time, i knew girls my age who were sexually active and some of those were good, ambitious students, like sharon, so it was not limited to alternative girls or whatever. so it totally makes sense that someone like jordan catalano would not want to wait and that someone like angela was not ready despite pining for him. brian, would, probably, wait, like your boyfriend. but guys like jordan were already having sex, and he was not going to go back to holding hands for 2 years.

once again, the series feels accurate in portraying the HS realities with some of the students (sharon, rayanne, catalano and boys in those circles) being sexually active and then another group (angela, brian, rickie) who were not there yet.

My point is that the show made it seem like Angela and Brian and rickie were in the minority not being sexually active. I would say the minority in my high school were, and same with my husbands circle. And I was not particularly prude.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also thought Jordan had been held back. I don’t think he was supposed to be 15.

He was actually held back twice!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was up with the expectation that Angela and Jordan were supposed to have sex after he like, held her hand for an episode? Or the depiction that all these 14-15 year olds like Rayanne and Sharon were having lots of sex? That was not the case in my high school. Did this seem seriously young to others?

I’m watching now and had the same thought. Sex was a really, really big deal in the late 80s, at least. My friends who became active in high school did it around senior year with serious boyfriends, for the most part. At 15? It was definitely not prevalent. I had boyfriends and did “everything but” until I felt ready, in my freshman year of college. I know that’s all anecdotal, but I have a 15 year old DD now and she is definitely not ready.

Well, that's just a technicality, if you already did "everything but". For many girls "doing everything" is next level of intimacy. I think you just illustrated that teenagers did, in fact, have sex.

Different poster, but the one who posed the original question about the depiction of sex on the show. I also had a long term boyfriend in high school, and we did most things, but I was definitely not ready to have sex with him and knew that. I knew when I was ready, and it had less to do with the relationship I was in and more of a maturity thing. I wasn’t ready until I was in college and started to understand what mattered to me in relationships and life. While I didn’t know in high school that that’s why I wasn’t ready, I knew very intuitively that I wasn’t and didn’t know myself well enough yet to feel good about having sex.

again, average age of first intercouse in the US is 15. so while you weren't ready and your boyfriend was willing to go slowly, about a half of teens your age have already done it, and many more by the time you graduated. i mean, i get it, i was the same, but at the same time, i knew girls my age who were sexually active and some of those were good, ambitious students, like sharon, so it was not limited to alternative girls or whatever. so it totally makes sense that someone like jordan catalano would not want to wait and that someone like angela was not ready despite pining for him. brian, would, probably, wait, like your boyfriend. but guys like jordan were already having sex, and he was not going to go back to holding hands for 2 years.

once again, the series feels accurate in portraying the HS realities with some of the students (sharon, rayanne, catalano and boys in those circles) being sexually active and then another group (angela, brian, rickie) who were not there yet.

My point is that the show made it seem like Angela and Brian and rickie were in the minority not being sexually active. I would say the minority in my high school were, and same with my husbands circle. And I was not particularly prude.

I disagree that they are portrayed as being in the minority. Jordan is an extremely attractive older student who plays in a band and he was going to have sex in any high school. Rayanne is a groupie type that also was likely to be having sex. The only one who could go either way was Sharon.

The show is portraying Angela as she is leaving behind "the little kids" like Brian and being attracted by the "big kids" like Jordan. Turns out, the big kids do stuff she is not ready for yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also thought Jordan had been held back. I don’t think he was supposed to be 15.

He was actually held back twice!

See, that makes even more sense! He definitely did not look 15!

[Anonymous]

Couple thoughts:
Rickie was a beautiful character and his story and arc are a big part of what we were robbed of. I adored him then and now.
I was 15 when this aired and I watched. For me, the feeling that everyone was having sex rang true. Of course, as others have said the reality is that most aren’t (at 15, but gradually increasing each year). The show did a good job showing that it wasn’t just the Rayanne types that were sexually active though. There were Sharons too who were having sex. It planted that seed that, for me at least, that it wasn’t just the “fast” crowd but also the “good” kids too. I still didn’t have sex until college but I was less scared of/judgmental towards the people who were active earlier.
End of the day, I just love this show. I’m not sure how today’s teens would view it but it remains one of my favorites.

[Anonymous]

My take away is everyone on the show kind of sucks except Ricki. The writers were good at making sure almost everyone slipped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I was a sucker for Jordan. What can I say…

Same. I don’t buy them “longing for each other” if that was the direction the show was headed. Maybe if he had a glow up?

How do you not buy it? The season finale followed the plot from Cyrano de Bergerac. The creator said so, and it was obvious anyway. Nobody roots for hot dumb guy there.

Because Brian was an immature jerk. Angela is immature and sweet. I don’t like him as a person in season one. He has his moments, you can see how he can have lots of character growth over several seasons, and obviously this is where they were taking it. But I don’t have to like it. Jordan was never going to be end game, at least not realistically. But Brian and Angela in high school isn’t doing it for me either.

What are you talking about? You don't need to like him, but he absolutely was not portrayed as "immature jerk". I mean, he was not perfect, but he is smart and generous. Angela is portrayed as callous and a user towards Brian, and she is literally called on it in the show. She is often sweet, yes, but can also be cruel.

+1 Angela is not sweet. When Brian have her his bike that was sweet.

[Anonymous]

They had so much more freedom than teens today. “Just let me know when you’ll be coming home late” was all that was required of these 15 year olds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My take away is everyone on the show kind of sucks except Ricki. The writers were good at making sure almost everyone slipped.

+1 Team Ricki! He was the best and the actor did a fantastic job IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They had so much more freedom than teens today. “Just let me know when you’ll be coming home late” was all that was required of these 15 year olds.

And that's really how it was, too! I was a teen in the 80s and early 90s, and no one had any idea where we were most of the time. We just had to track down a phone somewhere to call home if we were going to miss dinner or be home really late. It seems unthinkable now, but I loved that freedom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was up with the expectation that Angela and Jordan were supposed to have sex after he like, held her hand for an episode? Or the depiction that all these 14-15 year olds like Rayanne and Sharon were having lots of sex? That was not the case in my high school. Did this seem seriously young to others?

I’m watching now and had the same thought. Sex was a really, really big deal in the late 80s, at least. My friends who became active in high school did it around senior year with serious boyfriends, for the most part. At 15? It was definitely not prevalent. I had boyfriends and did “everything but” until I felt ready, in my freshman year of college. I know that’s all anecdotal, but I have a 15 year old DD now and she is definitely not ready.

Well, that's just a technicality, if you already did "everything but". For many girls "doing everything" is next level of intimacy. I think you just illustrated that teenagers did, in fact, have sex.

Different poster, but the one who posed the original question about the depiction of sex on the show. I also had a long term boyfriend in high school, and we did most things, but I was definitely not ready to have sex with him and knew that. I knew when I was ready, and it had less to do with the relationship I was in and more of a maturity thing. I wasn’t ready until I was in college and started to understand what mattered to me in relationships and life. While I didn’t know in high school that that’s why I wasn’t ready, I knew very intuitively that I wasn’t and didn’t know myself well enough yet to feel good about having sex.

again, average age of first intercouse in the US is 15. so while you weren't ready and your boyfriend was willing to go slowly, about a half of teens your age have already done it, and many more by the time you graduated. i mean, i get it, i was the same, but at the same time, i knew girls my age who were sexually active and some of those were good, ambitious students, like sharon, so it was not limited to alternative girls or whatever. so it totally makes sense that someone like jordan catalano would not want to wait and that someone like angela was not ready despite pining for him. brian, would, probably, wait, like your boyfriend. but guys like jordan were already having sex, and he was not going to go back to holding hands for 2 years.

once again, the series feels accurate in portraying the HS realities with some of the students (sharon, rayanne, catalano and boys in those circles) being sexually active and then another group (angela, brian, rickie) who were not there yet.

It was different back then. In 1995, 32% of 9th grade girls reported ever having had sexual intercourse. In 2019, the figure was 17%.