On Friday, November 5th, Steve Coyne presented his short story, Taken In, at Friday is Writing Day.  The story was a piece of creative non-fiction which concerned Coyne’s travels back to his hometown to do research on his hometown’s founder.  Along the way, he sees a familiar face and chats about his youth.  Over the course of their conversation, Coyne learns the horrible truth behind one of his stories.

One of the themes from this story that ties directly into the course is how women are frequently seen as objects by men in power.  In the story about his youth, Coyne tells of the time that he went skinny dipping in the local pool with some friends from high school.  After the police are called, the group is hauled back to the police station and waits there for his parents to pick him up.  Little does he know that the girls in his group “did what they had to do” in order to get the boys off the hook.

This abuse of power by the police shows just one reason why women are so concerned with not being seen as sexual objects.  The events of this story also show how abuse can be masked behind shame, making it impossible for others to help.  This means that the story highlights the importance of women writers, as they are best equipped to tell stories chronicling the experiences and trials that women face in society.