Saturday, November 22, 2008
Female Chauvinist Pigs
After listening to our discussion in class about this book, I have a lot to say. I think the question that had the most deviations in answers was "What are women getting out of this?" Some of the people in our class tended to disagree with Levy and contend that raunch culture truly is an empowering thing for women. I'm with Levy. I don't think it is. And I think that is the basis of way this third wave of feminism seems so weak compared to the other two. The other two waves of feminism had goals about getting equality for all women. This new raunch culture seems to be about getting empowerment for yourself. According to Levy, many women are doing this by acting like men. Well, that might make her more powerful or equal to men, but it is not a step forward for all women everywhere.
In fact, that reminds me of something Gloria Steinem said during the campaign this fall. She wrote an Op-Ed piece for the LA Times about Sarah Palin. What she said about McCain's pick of Palin also, in my mind, fits in perfectly with the idea of raunch culture as a whole. She said "Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere." I have actually thought about this idea on and off for quite some time. Back when I took English 3703, I read Gertrude Stein's The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. I got the same feeling from her. She acted like a man, and was generally treated equally, but I wouldn't consider her a feminist. Just like I wouldn't consider Sarah Palin a feminist, or most of the women Levy uses as examples in her book for that matter. Even if this raunch culture continues, which I'm sure it will, it will not lead to the true empowerment of women. If you think otherwise, take a second look at Levy's chapter Pigs in Training. I highlighted so many quotes that just made me feel terrible. Here are some of them:
"I asked Talia if most girls expected any kind of reciprocal sexual gratification for their services. "I don't think most girls are expecting to have orgasms in high school," she concluded, "but most guys are. Oh, definitely.""
"Sex was something you did to fit in more than something you did for pleasure."
"About a quarter of girls between ages fifteen and nineteen describe their first time as "voluntary but unwanted."
"The only message that seems to be successfully transmitted to girls about sex and sexiness is that it is something they need to embody to be cool."
"Whether or not they had had sex, the girls had remarkably difficult times experiencing or expressing sexual desires."
I agree with Levy that a more comprehensive sex-ed program would begin to help. Like she said, we shouldn't just tech kids not to have sex. We should teach them why they should, because basically all teens will eventually have sex. Girls are growing up thinking that sexuality is about being seen as sexy, which is not true.
Just a quick P.S. if anyone watched the clip. I loved it! Colbert coming out in high heels was hilarious, but I loved Levy's statement about how messed up the idea of women imitating the "fake lust" of porn stars and strippers is, rather than finding women who truly enjoy their sexuality on their own terms.
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