abuses. Studying and knowing about abuse could prevent the abuses to be repeated in the next generation.
There are several effects of the abuses experienced by Tess in general; Genophobia, Juvenile delinquency and adult criminality, physical wound in
certain area of the body, and difficulties in socializing.
1. Genophobia
The first effect of abuse experienced by Tess is genophobia. Genophobia is a trauma of sex. Those who suffer from genophobia may be people who suffer
from sexual abuse in hisher past. Those who suffer from genophobia might feel traumatic, panic, and disgust when they are open to sexual activities. The victims
who are suffering from genophobia might have the possibility to be lacking of relationship with their partners. This lack of relationship is due to hisher mistrust
towards the partner, since heshe is traumatic in sexual activities involving partners or other people. In the case of Tess, she suffers from genophobia due to
the abuses she received from the punters in her childhood. He was the first man I went all the way with, in his flat one evening. And
to be honest, I could have done without it. I was still a virgin, and being entered sexually was awful. Not that it hurt, particularly, but I hated
feeling exposed, vulnerable. My m ind flashed back to the time I‟d
been naked with that man in London, and I felt sick. I insisted the light
was out. I‟d enjoyed snogging in the past, but now the whole thing struck me as a nasty, dirty business, with no pleasure. Stevens, 2008: 262
From the quotation above it could be interpreted that Tess is trauma of sex
when she is about to have sex with her partner. She says that being entered sexually is awful, not because of the pain, but due to the feeling of being exposed.
She hates if her body is seen by others. In here, Tess is traumatic of the sexual
abuses she received in her childhood by the punters, especially by the punter in London when she is forced to be naked in front of that punter. “He told me to take
off my clothes, one bit at a time, slowly. When I was naked, he touched me all over, rubbing, squeezing, pushing a finger in me till I cried out” Stevens, 2008:
237. She also hates being vulnerable, because when she was sexually abused she cannot refuse the abuses. She feels as if she is being controlled by the punters and
forces to fulfill their lust of sex. Due to the sexual abuses she received in her childhood, she is having her own perspective towards sex which is considered as a
nasty and dirty activity with no pleasure. The second prove that Tess is suffering from genophobia is when she is
feeling sick of her mother‟s business. It could be seen from the quotation below.
I hated it, more and more girls, more and more men, all about sex, horrible sex. The whole business made me ill,
and I couldn‟t wait to move in with Ronnie. Stevens, 2008: 263
From the quotation above, it could interpreted that Tess hates and
traumatic of sex. She stated that she hates her mother‟s business, which is opening a brothel, a house of prostitutions. She hates when the number of the girls and the
men increases since their orientation is only for sex. Both the girls and the men are having agreements to have sex. The girls gain benefit in term of money, while
the men benefit in term of lust fulfillment. Tess defines sex as something horrible and disgusting. This definition of sex and her sense of disgust are due to the
sexual abuses she received in her childhood by the punters. She has received sexual abuses for several times by the punters and it made her feel sick. So, when
she sees and hears about sex, she remembers the time when she was abused by the punters.
Ronnie was coming out of prison in a couple of months, and thought I wanted to get away from home, I wasn‟t keen on living with him again. He
was a nice man, and I did like him, but I just couldn‟t stand the sex. Stevens, 2008: 275
The third prove that Tess suffers from genophobia is when she wanted to
get away from her partner, Ronnie. From the text above, it could be seen that Tess does not like the sexual intercourse she have with Ronnie. As previously stated by
the researcher that Tess sees sex as something horrible and made her disgusted, that is the reason why she does not like sex. Her hatred towards sex is due to the
sexual abuses she receives in her childhood. According to the text above, Tess wanted to leave Ronnie before he is free from prison, and she does not want to
live with him anymore.
I tried not to think of what had happened, but the memory kept sweeping back. I didn‟t have any more tears left to cry, though, so at
least I didn‟t disturb the other kids. Push it away, push it away, I kept telling myself. You got through the
other times, nobody died, you‟ll get through this. You know you will. Mother said you‟ll never have to do it again, so it‟s over. If there was one
thing I clung to, it was that – it was over. I was still trying to sort it out in
my head, that I was going to stand my ground. If Mother ever changed her mind and said I had to go out, I‟d say no. Stevens, 2008: 241
The fourth prove that Tess suffers from genophobia could be seen from the
quotation above. The trauma of sexual abuse occurs to Tess. The memory of the time when she was sexually abused by the punters flashed back to her mind and
this makes her feel uneasy. The sadness and the fear of the abuses really is a burden for her. It is proved by her statement above that she does not have any
