the lost children of rockdale county
ROLE REVERSAL?  Here are the teens' answers to questions concerning some of the ways boys and girls have changed, and how they view each other.
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ED. NOTE: Not all the teens interviewed by FRONTLINE, or, who appeared in the FRONTLINE program, were exposed or even connected to the syphilis outbreak; in fact, many of the younger teens didn't know about the strange events that occurred in Rockdale County in the spring and summer of 1996.

I want to ask you one other thing about boys and girls. You said the girls are getting to be more like boys. Can you explain that a little bit? Different ways in which that's true?

Heather: Like, okay. Like how guys will like have this girl and go have sex with her or somethin'. And then they'll just completely drop her you know. Some girls are startin' to act like that. Like, 'I just wanted to have sex with him. Now it's over.' And there's just girls that are just startin' to feel the same way about guys, because guys have done that so many times to them they just start doin' the same, you know.

Nicole: You always hear the girls now they're--usually you'd hear the guys talkin' about 'oh let's go get some sex' or 'we're goin' out, we're gonna cut some' or whatever. And now you hear a lot of the girls, 'Yeah, we're gonna go out and do this and that.' And it's kind of like the girls are comin' back and treatin' the guys like they treated us. Like playin' 'em and goin' out with three different guys at a time instead of the guy goin' out with three different girls at a time.

Brandi: No sex sucks actually. So I think only guys are gonna benefit from it. I think that it's--I think sex was made for guys, because you just lay there and you're just like, Get off me, what are you doing?

Do you think that girls enjoy sex as much as guys do?

Nicole: No. No. I would give anything to be a guy for one day and have sex.

Heather: I mean the first time that you have sex you think it's cause it means somethin'. But then you realize it doesn't. You just don't really care anymore. So that's pretty much how it is now.

It doesn't mean anything?

Heather: Pretty much.

You really think for girls it doesn't mean anything?

Heather: I mean for most girls it--there's still like a few feelings involved, but not like it used to be at all. Girls are startin' to get like guys like, 'Hey, that's all I wanted from you. Next.' You know. But they start--there's still a few girls that still, it still means somethin' to.

It's kinda sad.

Heather: It really is.

Brandi: I felt bad about myself just like, God I should you know have more feelings, be more soft-hearted and not be so cold-hearted about especially when it comes to sex. Not be so just just lettin' it be a thing to me. But then it's just like I get this hard front on when I'm just cold and I'm just like, I don't care -- screw it, you know, I'm gonna go and just try to ruin a guy's night or something. I don't know. Something evil like that.

But you're not evil are you?

Brandi: No, I'm not evil person. I just have this anger for towards guys and I think it's mainly because the first guy that I loved or gave myself to hurt me in the long run and I think that I have a right to show anger towards guys.

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