Raunch
There are so many concerns about women and sex. Mine and others. I have seen the reactions to the blog post of a female Kenyan talking about sex, the kind of sex she wants. This, apparently, has turned into a sexuality question. I wonder about that.
Women are becoming bolder, proud of their sexuality, brass. It seems all well and good. But is it? Sure, women should be free to express themselves as sexual beings. But are women defining how this is expressed? Or are men?
Popular culture is doing a good job of selling women's sexuality as entertainment. For men. This is cool. Hot. Liberating women. Women are taking charge. Yeah right.
Playboy, the magazine, gives a fair amount of money to some kinds of feminist work, Hugh Hefner contributed a sizeable amount of money to Roe vs. Wade. Actually Playboy asserts that it is a feminist magazine. I will, on another occasion, examine this ludicrous claim in more detail. But I can guess that they say something along the lines of them celebrating women's bodies and sexuality, in a bid to unchain and liberate said women.
Apparently in this new, increasingly liberated world, after all the struggles of our foremothers, women express our liberation by baring our breasts and spreading our legs for a camera.
This is it. What we have been fighting for. And Playboy and numerouis other magazines and media like it have helped us get there.
Women and girls are increasingly swallowing the lie that we are in control - that the key is sexiness. Or dumbness. Sexy and dumb. And that we make the CHOICE, it is VOLUNTARY. We must do all we can to remain relevant. Our relevance is sex. Months ago I saw three girls, none of them could have been more than 10 years old, in a shop, looking at clothes, saying how they were so 'hot'. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
What Playboy does is the classic. It is an active oppressor of the dignity of women, and it pretends to be the bearer of equality and liberation. It tells the ultimate lie. And many women have fallen for it.
(more later)
Women are becoming bolder, proud of their sexuality, brass. It seems all well and good. But is it? Sure, women should be free to express themselves as sexual beings. But are women defining how this is expressed? Or are men?
Popular culture is doing a good job of selling women's sexuality as entertainment. For men. This is cool. Hot. Liberating women. Women are taking charge. Yeah right.
Playboy, the magazine, gives a fair amount of money to some kinds of feminist work, Hugh Hefner contributed a sizeable amount of money to Roe vs. Wade. Actually Playboy asserts that it is a feminist magazine. I will, on another occasion, examine this ludicrous claim in more detail. But I can guess that they say something along the lines of them celebrating women's bodies and sexuality, in a bid to unchain and liberate said women.
Apparently in this new, increasingly liberated world, after all the struggles of our foremothers, women express our liberation by baring our breasts and spreading our legs for a camera.
This is it. What we have been fighting for. And Playboy and numerouis other magazines and media like it have helped us get there.
Women and girls are increasingly swallowing the lie that we are in control - that the key is sexiness. Or dumbness. Sexy and dumb. And that we make the CHOICE, it is VOLUNTARY. We must do all we can to remain relevant. Our relevance is sex. Months ago I saw three girls, none of them could have been more than 10 years old, in a shop, looking at clothes, saying how they were so 'hot'. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
What Playboy does is the classic. It is an active oppressor of the dignity of women, and it pretends to be the bearer of equality and liberation. It tells the ultimate lie. And many women have fallen for it.
(more later)
posted by Sichoki at 2:22 PM
4 Comments:
This is an interesting post to say the least.
I have to say the question of women expressing their sexuality is indeed problematic.
Patriachy has long muzzled women's expression but the prevailing liberalism has changed that.Women can talk about sex and their desires and can indulge them to their heart's desire if they want to.But at the end of the day is this always to their advantage.
In the past a woman who had many sexual partners was looked down upon but now it's not a big deal.A woman can have as many boyfriends or bed-mates as she wants but the question is, at the end of the day is it really in her long term interests?
Like you said many parties have taken advantage of the current liberation.The fashion industry now feels that women should go around wearing next to nothing to assert themselves as females plus you talked about Playboy et al taking advantage.I think that at the end of the day the fact that you can do something doesnt mean that you have to do it esp if it may come back to haunt you.
But seeing as I am a man I am the person who knows least about this issue.Maybe you as a feminist can set me straight.
playboy isn't feminist because it is made for a male audience and the women are chosen to reflect the fantasies of american males. this is so obvious, i wonder how anyone could buy that "we are feminist" crap.
Great post. Totally agree with "Sure, women should be free to express themselves as sexual beings. But are women defining how this is expressed? Or are men?"
I take the ultra-conservative (and grossly unpopular) view as far as issues on sexuality are concerned - your post gives some very good food for thought.
I believe people confuse 'freedom to express your sexuality' with 'licence to express your sexuality' - two very different phenomena. Freedom comes with responsibility, licence is simply 'throwing caution/restraint to the winds and who cares what the consequences are'....
Having said that, I confess being guilty of the 'Live and let live' philosophy of life, or is it 'live and let die'? I have to respect people's choices .... I would be hard put to judge pple's lifestyles, best I can do is live out my own life by my own principles....
I TOTALLY agree with the last paragraph.
Playboy/ Pornography is cheap entertainment for men & yet a means to degrade women...make them appear like sex toys.
N'way Porn is a multi-billion industry & those models are WELL PAID so the rat race continues...
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