How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
I believe most plain girls are virtuous because of the scarcity of opportunity to be otherwise. They shield themselves with an aura of unavailableness (for which after a time they begin to take credit) largely as a defense tactic.
In my particular case, I could not hide behind the curtain of voluntary goodness. I was being crushed by two unrelenting forces: the uneasy suspicion that I might not be a normal female and my newly awakening sexual appetite. (35.53-54)
It's one thing to have an "awakening sexual appetite"—that's called being a teenager. But Maya also feels like she has to prove something. Sex and proving something is never a good combination, and in Maya's case (like in many others), it ends in teen pregnancy.