Was Dirty Dancing REALLY about Penny?
Originator of Meme unknown
As soon as I saw this meme, I told myself I would write this blog. So here I am. So, for this purpose and to focus on Penny, I need to get Baby and Johnny out of the way. I have been a fan of this movie since about age 10 when I had no idea what was wrong with Penny and just thought she was sick. Baby and Johnny have a summer resort love story that transcends class lines. She’s from a rich family and he is not. Yes, they are both white as are all the main characters (Critical Race theory will not be discussed in this particular blog). Baby’s character is very progressive for 1963 where she will be attending Mount Holyoke in the fall majoring in economics of underdeveloped countries and plans to go into the Peace Corps.
Education Mosaic plug: yes, almost all of my work in education is focused on race, ethnicity, class, and social justice in education. Focusing on this meme may seem out of my wheelhouse, but not really. Education involves critical thinking, research, and the ability to have an intellectual discussion on various topics, even one in which you are not an expert. If you are interested in speaking with me about your educational goals, book a free call and I can help you.
Back to Baby, I mean Penny. Penny is a secondary character in the movie but as the meme stated, her “situation” drives the entire storyline. This “situation” being an unplanned pregnancy by a waiter at the resort named Robbie, who is also set to go to Yale Medical School. He also is made aware of Penny’s “situation” by multiple people, including Penny, but refuses to acknowledge his role in it. When Baby approaches him to help Penny, he responds with:
“I didn’t blow a summer hauling toasted bagels just to bail out some chick who probably balled every guy in this place. Some people count, some people don’t. Read it. [shows her the 1943 novel by Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead*]. I think it’s a book you’ll enjoy. But make sure you return it. I have notes in the margin.” He clearly is not bothered, nor feels any responsibility to help Penny.
Penny confides in Baby, as they are preparing for the dance routine that she volunteered to sub for Penny so she could go to the doctor’s appointment. Baby also borrows $250 [$2388 today**] from her father to give to Penny to pay for the doctor’s appointment. This practicing and preparation that Baby had to do to learn the dance routine is what led Baby and Johnny to fall in love with each other. Penny tells Baby: “I just want you to know that I don’t sleep around. I thought that he loved me. I thought he was someone special. I just wanted you to know that. I’m scared. I’m so scared.”
Penny’s “situation” in the movie, in 1963:
When Baby says she envies Penny for being a dancer, a rockette, Penny tells her she got kicked out of her mom’s house at 16, scoffs at Baby’s admiration, and walks away. It is clear that Penny has a tough life in the present time of the movie. It is difficult for her to pay for the appointment herself (Baby’s dad ends up paying for it). She can not get time off from work, which is dancing at the resort, and neighboring resorts, to entertain the guests. She is afraid of losing her job, on which he relies. So, not only does Baby give her the money, she volunteers to dance in her place, with Johnny, at a neighboring resort, so Penny can go to the appointment.
Penny is able to go to the appointment. But, as soon as Baby and Johnny return from the performance, Johnny’s cousin Billy, who accompanied her to the appointment, runs to Johnny to tell him that Penny is sick. Once we see Penny, she is clearly not feeling well, moaning in pain, feverish, doubled over at times. Billy says: “He didn’t use no ether, nothing. The guy had a dirty knife and a folding table. I could hear her screaming down the hallway. I swear to God Johnny I tried to get in. I tried.”
Baby gets help from her dad, Dr. Houseman, who is a medical doctor. He helps Penny get better, follows up, and somehow determines that Penny will be able to have kids in the future. (Will a medical professional please explain this to me? All he carried around was a medical bag, and he injected her with something, then with his follow up, all taking place AT the resort, he told her she would be able to still have children in the future.)
Penny’s “situation” in 2022:
The movie fictionally takes place in the Catskills in upstate New York. So, the following information that Penny could use is based on the google search “how to get an abortion in New York State”. Penny has several options, mostly in NYC that give information based on the fact that abortion is legal and protected in New York. Any organization offering this service outlines the law, explains the procedure, provides contact information, how to pay, places to avoid, etc. Insurance, including Medicaid, covers costs. If Roe V. Wade is overturned***, Penny would still have the same access in New York because state law will continue to protect abortion rights as they are currently. New York is also protecting medical professionals and patients, including those who travel to New York for abortion services, because it has become illegal in their state.
My personal take on Penny:
Clearly, being in this “situation” is devastating in 1963 compared to today. I have written “situation” in quotation marks throughout this blog for a reason. Through a feminist lens, being pregnant has traditionally been seen as a women’s issue. Robbie, the one who impregnated Penny, experiences no ramifications, except the retraction of Dr. Houseman’s (Baby’s father) donation to Robbie’s medical school fund, after discovering that it was in fact Robbie, and not Johnny, that got Penny pregnant. So, it became Penny’s “situation” to deal with. She was judged by Baby’s father, the doctor who helped heal her because he forbade Baby from ever being around “those people” again. She was judged by Robbie, who said she probably slept around anyway. Penny burdened herself with making the choice to get a botched abortion. What are the options for Penny? Today, she has several options. In 1963, the options were limited. In both time periods, choosing to stay pregnant is an option as well. However, I won’t go into specific adoption, family support options (other family members helping to raise the child) in this particular blog. I purposely simply represented facts in this blog and did not choose to pass my own personal judgment on what Penny did, or has the option to do in the present day. My purpose was to break down this meme. (By the way, can anyone find the originator of this meme for me? This is also important but I didn’t know how to go about that, to give the creator credit). My purpose was NOT to say whether or not Penny did the right or wrong thing. This was a human analysis of a fictional character in one of my favorite movies. Has this blog tainted the “favorite” category? A little bit. But I was about 10 when I fell in love with it, so anything attached to childhood holds a little magic in it. Don’t you think?