The sexualization of women in the 21st century has led many to wonder whether or not the feminist movement actually resulted in more harm than good. Although the progress and reform that came out of the feminist movement is indisputable, things such as equal rights under the law, equal status and equal pay, the reality is that the subjugation of female roles in society still exist, and the most surprising part about this is that now women are just as much as at fault for this as men are. Ariel Levy defines female chauvinist pigs as “women who make sex objects of other women and of ourselves” (Levy 11). This raunch culture is mistakenly assumed to be empowering and even liberating to women when it is in fact degrading and corrupting to the modern feminist movement and makes it more difficult for women to be taken seriously in society. The shift in the nature of the feminist movement is in Levy’s opinion attributed to by the massive industry now profiting off of the sexualization of women, the reverse mindset now adopted by post-feminists and women in power roles in our society, and ultimately the women who further their own objectification as sex objects and thus, so by association, deem themselves lesser than man.
The image of female sexuality in our society has been corrupted in Levy’s opinion, tainted by the countless industries profiting off of the sexualization of women, who are the main driving force behind our current day raunch culture. Take Girls Gone Wild (GGW from henceforth), GGW is a perfect example of how the younger generation of women is effected by our current day raunch culture. GGW often targets women whom they see as the average looking girl, “the girl next door” so to speak. They are often college students ...
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...gument against pornography is claiming that intercourse is an act of rape, the argument immediately seems outlandish and almost laughable, and it surely seems that way to the average person. People see these examples of radical feminism and attribute those isolated incidents as representative of the entire feminist movement as a whole. Therefore through complexity, the feminist movement lost a substantial amount of its genuine credibility due to perceived extremist views on female sexuality. This, among many other incidents, seems to be the cause of this great reversal in female sexuality in our current day society. Instead of putting an end to pornography, it flourishes. Instead of bringing an end to female objectification, it is often nowadays encouraged. This reversal of feminist ideals is the main cause for the damage to female gender roles in the 21st century.
In the article “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt,” by Jean Killbourne, she discusses the culture of male superiority over females. With the rise of feminism and exposure to media being at an all-time high, the two topics seem to be overlapping more and more. Daily, society is flooded with sexist, violent, and inappropriate ads and messages that usually degrade women and praise men. This is an issue which only recently gained traction while the “feminist” movement increased in popularity. Women are wrongly objectified for the sake of tradition and a male-driven agenda. This thought has been held on for far too long.
In Female Chauvinist Pigs, Ariel Levy attempts to reconcile her personal views of feminism with its portrayal in popular culture. In order to challenge what she sees as a co-opted version of feminism, Levy raises the question of authenticity of “sex-positive feminism” (Levy, 63) on two levels: by “selling out” in terms of the body and in terms of our patriarchal culture. In order to restore a binary relationship between feminism and non-feminism, Levy recasts this sex positive feminism as a new form of (fe)male chauvinism.
The objectification of women in the media and women voluntarily subjecting themselves to this demeaning objectification is rapidly increasing in lieu of feminist ideals and a new age push for women empowerment. The media has long capitalized on women’s sexuality in everything from music videos to manipulative advertisements, appealing to the male gaze while simultaneously instilling a sense of longing in girls of all ages to look like these women. In Lily Allen’s song, “Hard Out Here”, she attempts to bring light to this issue of women being treated as simply sexual objects and how all women are expected to look and act. However, in contrast to her empowering lyrics, Allen’s video takes a turn for the worst when she implements strictly black female dancers as representation of the cliché sexism found in music videos placing them at the butt of the parody.
...desire for control leads to a fetishization of the female body. This fetishization in turn lends itself to the consumption of commodities (Goldman 1992, 113), as the perfect femme fatal is impossible to achieve outside of a James Bond movie. This all for control over men, which ironically shows that if so much emphasis is placed on control of men, are woman really in control? The feminist movement was aimed at gaining equality between sexes, yet we have raped this movement of all its political meanings. Women have objectified themselves in order to gain power over men, while pursuing freedom from the objectification of men. This Chanel commercial clearly demonstrates how woman objectify themselves in order to show a form of control over men. This need for control actually shows women’s failure to justify their position in society separate of its relation to men.
In her article “Female Chauvinist Pigs” Levy focuses primarily on profiles of powerful women (or female chauvinist pigs) in the media because even though these women have the power, the power of media, to bring out changes in the way the male dominated society perceives women, they are using this power to do the very opposite. Instead of being cohesive in fighting for women’s rights, these females are doing everything they can to separate themselves from the typical typecast woman. Most female chauvinist pigs want to become more like men, and in turn develop a negative opinion and attitude towards women who are more feminine. For instance, Levy mentions in her article that “women who want to be perceived as powerful have found it more efficient to identify with men than to try and elevate the entire female sex to their level”, (Levy). Since the most dominant and powerful traits are linked to males, women take on a more masculine identity to possess these traits instead of projecting their
Pornography can be defined as printed or visual material displaying erotic descriptions or visuals of sexual body parts or sexual activity, and is largely aimed to appeal to a male audience through sexual scenarios which often dehumanize and exploit women and their bodies. Though largely, pornography is is designed to please a masculinized audience, there are some feminists, from multiple genders, who aim to “reclaim their right to enjoy sexual images without violence and negativity” (Klinger). Ideally, pornography would be a context in which there would be a conscious movement towards eliciting a healthy reclamation of sexually charged images from all genders- especially women. Those against pornography usually emphasize the specifics of porn as it occurs in modern culture. Oftentimes anti-pornography feminists point out the extremely male-oriented vision of sexuality, the sexism, and with descriptions such as: “women presented as dehumanized sexual objects, things, or commodities; shown as enjoying humiliation, pain, or sexual assault; tied up, mutilated, or physically hurt; depicted in postures or positions of sexual submission or servility; shown with body parts- including though not limited to vagina, breast, or buttocks- exhibited such that women are reduced to those parts; women penetrated by animals or objects; and women presented in scenarios of degradation, humiliation, or torture, shown as filthy or inferior, bleeding, bruised, or hurt in a context that makes these conditions sexual” (MacKinnon). As the pornography industry is now, it contributes to the ideals of rape culture by fetishizing femininity and female “fragility” and/or “innocence”. This obviously misogynistic practice also creates a reliance on understanding...
During the 1960s, American culture took a drastic turn. With the growing availability of birth control and the rise of counter culture, women were finally given the ability explore their sexuality without the intense stigmas that existed decades prior (Brinkley 731). Yet as the sixties led into the seventies, a rapid growth of social conservativism began to eat away at this sexual revolution. Though the conservative views did bring back a negative stigma on sex, it could not bring back the more traditional view of what sex should be. This mix of two cultures gave birth to a double standard for women and their sexualities that exists to this day. In Susan Minot’s short story “Lust,” our narrator, an unnamed teenage girl, brings us through her sexual exploration during a
First, it is obvious that pornography displays male supremacy. For example, the majority of the porn portrays women as being the submissive character, rather than the character who is in control of the situation. Throughout time, the stereotypical woman has always been considered to be attractive if she embraced the submissive role. Pornography further suggests that women are considered to be sexy or attractive if they pursue the role of being passive. The thought of a masculine or dominating woman may seem like something repulsive to the porn industry. Therefore, there is an obvious misrepresentation of the image of being a woman in terms of the woman being a sexual object; thus, suggesting to men the sexual fantasy of the subordination of women and the dominancy of men. To paraphrase MacKinnon, pornography is a type of sexual politics, which defines men as being superior to women just like the higher class dominates the working class. Pornography creates a type of sexuality which eroticizes male dominance and the submission of women (306); consequently suggesting that a woman’s role simply consists of keeping her husband or partner happy. “Making sex with the powerless ‘not allowed’ is a way of ‘keeping it’ defined ...
In Countering the Culture of Sex, Goodman addresses teenage sex and the media. Sex is sold throughout the United States by the television and music. Goodman thinks is the media is going to continue to propagate this material to the youth of the nation, then there needs to be a complete view of sex and the consequences. The images teenagers see today are only positive images of sex. They do not put the bad facts: sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS, and pregnancy, with all the good advertising sex has developed in their minds. Goodman stands for a movement towards correct portrayal of sex in the media.
Women have long been exploited through pornographic material, such as videos, photos and literature, these materials, more-so now, than ever, portray women purely as sexual objects. The evolution of the business? popularity has done nothing but help fuel a false impression, subjugating women in modern day culture and society, yet still, banning pornography in the US would be nearly impossible, due to complex issues dealing with the first amendment and obscenity laws. With instances of discrimination based on sexual orientation, race or sex being in most cases illegal, the practice of pornography should most definitely not be acceptable or perpetuated, especially in a country like the US where this said industry defies everything of which our country is founded upon. This rise [in popularity] looks as if it is related, almost in a hand by hand parallel, with growth of sexual violence against women in America.
When women’s desires are less worthy of concern or not worthy of concern at all, it becomes evident that the hookup culture promotes women being used as a tool or a means to an end for male satisfaction. According to the Kantian moral theory, the culture is immoral because the woman is no longer being respected. The ambiguity of the hookup culture couple with societal effects of inegalitarian porn, according to Eaton’s “A Sensible Anti-Porn Feminist” and power imbalances in the sexes creates a culture that fosters rape. Women are placed in predicaments where they have to give in to pushy, coercive behavior by men who want to go further than the women intends to. Even if a woman feels liberated by participating in the hookup culture, that doesn’t mean she wants to go all the way, with every partner, every time. The objectification of women and rape are two serious and harmful effects of the hookup culture.
In just a few decades The Women’s Liberation Movement has changed typical gender roles that once were never challenged or questioned. As women, those of us who identified as feminist have rebelled against the status quo and redefined what it means to be a strong and powerful woman. But at...
Women – beautiful, strong matriarchal forces that drive and define a portion of the society in which we live – are poised and confident individuals who embody the essence of determination, ambition, beauty, and character. Incomprehensible and extraordinary, women are persons who possess an immense amount of depth, culture, and sophistication. Society’s incapability of understanding the frame of mind and diversity that exists within the female population has created a need to condemn the method in which women think and feel, therefore causing the rise of “male-over-female” domination – sexism. Sexism is society’s most common form of discrimination; the need to have gender based separation reveals our culture’s reluctance to embrace new ideas, people, and concepts. This is common in various aspects of human life – jobs, households, sports, and the most widespread – the media. In the media, sexism is revealed through the various submissive, sometimes foolish, and powerless roles played by female models; because of these roles women have become overlooked, ignored, disregarded – easy to look at, but so hard to see.
16.)Utt, Jamie. "Navigating The Difference Between The Appreciation of Beauty and Sexual Objectification." Everyday Feminism 18 Apr. 2013: n. pag. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. .
The combination of liberal and radical feminism is not one that often comes to the mind, but it can be useful to consult various viewpoints when tackling complex issues. Despite drastic differences between them, these two views of feminism do hold some similarities with each other by virtue of their common goal (when that goal is simplified to simply equality of the genders). In this paper I will be outlining some of the basic similarities and differences between these two ideologies of feminism and I may not cover all of the connections and gaps between the two for the sake of length. Moving forward from this explanation of liberal and radical feminism, I will use it to explain their views of pornography and how it aided my own understanding