Short Girls Need Love Too - Girls' Love Stories' "Too Teeny Weeny to Love"
I would've never anticipated it, but as it turns out, one of the most popular stories from the Sequential Crush archives is "Too Tall to Love" from 2010. I was delighted to learn that many women could identify with the story of six-foot Iris and her struggle (and eventual triumph) to find love. I now present for those of us on the shorter side, its counterpart tale "Too Teeny Weeny to Love" from Girls' Love Stories #174 (October 1972).
Sixteen-year-old Jeanie clocks in at "five-foot nothing." Though she laments her short stature, it doesn't stop her from having a crush on the much taller, Gary, or from being a powerhouse in her own right. When Gary manhandles her in the name of fun, Jeanie shows that while she may be petite, her personality sure isn't.
Determined not to wind up just a pal of Gary's, Jeanie decides to take matters into her own hands.
A month later, Jeanie confronts Gary in the school gym and gives him a brief warning. What does she have up her sleeve, you ask?
This! In a move that no one could have predicted, Jeanie hurls Gary over her back and slams him on a mat.
Fearing she's knocked him out, Jeanie apologizes profusely. Stunned, Gary is silent. Jeanie begs him to say something and when he finally comes to he declares his feelings for her. The two melt into one of the most tender embraces in the entirety of romance comics.
When I showed my boyfriend this story he saw Gary as a bit of a bully. I (having once been an awkward teenage girl) saw the teasing that Jeanie endured at the hands of her crush a classic example of flirtation -- but not the good kind. More along the lines of the kind that necessitated a cheering up by my very patient and wise mother.
Obviously, times have changed with how we react to such flirtations. While I'm gonna guess such teasing and subsequent Judo moves wouldn't fly in a school today, I do think the story is a good example of the tumultuous subject that is teenage love.
What do you think? Is "Too Teeny Weeny to Love" innocent and romantic or something else altogether?