The last time I saw someone address the issue of feminism being linked to flashing your furry bits, it was a skit during the ABC comedy program Sideshow.
Two women singing how feminism just didn’t work beyond the 70s, because ultimately, ‘those women were ugly’! They sang about how feminism in the ‘noughties is all about being leashed like a hound in Hugh Hefner’s harem and, most importantly, revealing the true ‘window-to-your-soul’ -- Britney-Spears style (BTW -- safe link).
That’s what first came to my mind when I was given Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Women’s Guide to Why Feminism Matters , by Jessica Valenti. Along with the depressing online discussion I once had with a woman about how she was ignoring (her term) ‘sophomoric’ pranks like endorsing stripping games at a male-dominated conference -- because she thought writing book reviews was all she could comment on.
It must be the cover of the book -- it’s really not the best recommendation to have a bare skinny white torso being linked to a discussion of feminism, honestly… Perhaps it’s just me? But then, I find it a contradiction to support science, post about skepticism, education and try to promote an awareness of differences between the sexes -- and yet also endorse flashing your breasts in public or getting smashed via drugs or drink as ‘empowerment’ for that same group of women.
It’s a contradiction that should be addressed. Because that’s what it reads as: from challenging cultural, societal or religious exploitation, the way women are usually the butt of the joke when it comes to believing in pseudoscience and the paranormal -- to supporting commercial exploitation, becoming just the ‘butt’, er, of another type.
I don’t think anyone figured their momentary drunk exhibitionism would be forever captured on film to be sold on a mass scale? I’m not going to lie; this bothers the shit out of me. I mean, why in the world would you potentially ruin the rest of your life just so for a minute some guy thinks you’re hot?
Ariel Levy argues that a new generation of feminists (ahem) is objectifying ourselves and each other by participating in things like GGW -- things like sex work or stripping can be empowering, because it?s subversive or because hey, it’s fun. We’re making the choice to participate; therefore it’s powerful. But Levy says that the joke is on us, and that we’re really just fooling ourselves. Maybe.
But the assumption that all girls who enjoy the ‘show’ are stupid or being fooled bothers me just as much. Not to mention that for a lot of women, developing a sexual identity in the process. … sometimes doing silly, disempowering, sexually vapid things when you’re young is just part of getting to the good stuff.
Sure, as Valenti says ‘you have to find your own middle ground‘ but when she says that there ‘has to be space for young women to figure out shit on their own [and] I think most times young women do figure it out‘ -- yes, but what is guiding them to figuring out those conclusions? Who, exactly? Especially when she acknowledges from the start the power of Girls Gone Wild, Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan and similar role models who are so prominent in the media?
What constitutes ‘most times?’ Does she have suggestions as to what constitutes successfully navigating being too humiliated, disempowered and dealing with regrets that may occur? Maybe?
If you’re going to ‘go wild’, think about why you want to. If it’s honestly for your own pleasure and enjoyment, cool beans. If your friends are flashing their tits for no better reason than a free shirt and some attention, talk to them about it.
When does pleasure and enjoyment become absurd and unprofessional? Where’s the CONTEXT? Back in 2006, an Australian Climate Change conference was condemned for having students perform a burlesque show; they even lost key government sponsorship for their inappropriate choice of entertainment. There is a time and a place -- it’s the how to become smart enough to know when and where.
Yes, she says that talking it out is important and better than calling each other sluts -- but Valenti isn’t really talking about universally helpful strategies. One of her suggested solutions, ‘handing out condoms in schools‘ is one way to get into serious trouble -- what if the school board doesn’t respond well to that? Whilst she promotes non-traditional blue-collar jobs (page 127) and discusses how any job training is preferable to ‘pushing tired sexist stereotypes about poverty and marriage?, there isn’t much on supporting those who tend towards the academic or may be stuck in a culture where everything revolves around the ‘sexist stereotype’ and will have an uphill battle getting out.
There’s a lot of assumptions about choices that can be made, which is why feminism (no matter what age) takes more than catchphrases and requires a lot more talk than what is provided in Valenti’s slim volume. I was also led to make the comparison of supporting women’s rights when I read of various communities of skeptical bloggers discuss the struggle of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, prominent on the site of Richard Dawkins:
If what Valenti is proposing is the solution for feminism being seen as ‘uncool’ for young women involves embracing your inner ‘fun stripper’ -- is it realistic to write to all young women, which will include those from countries which have experienced limitations to their basic human rights? I don’t know if it makes me much of an authority, but I have taught for several years at an Islamic college, working with young women who often faced, and would probably face for a few generations, massive cultural confusion with her family endorsing one way of life whilst their education, neighborhood and media outlets portrayed another. I worked there because I believe in education and I could not see myself as denying children, no matter what their background, access to an education. It led me to study for my Masters degree in special needs and contribute to the writing of educational programs in my state, across all schools.
It’s the prime focus on white, middle-class and overwhelmingly mainstream American audience in ‘Full Frontal Feminism’ that misses the mark when addressing those who really could use some real empowerment. No way would blithely handing out condoms solve their issues; more often than not you’d be shown the door by the women themselves. Citizenship of a country doesn’t mean homogeneity, nor can we claim we are without cultural influences -- something not fully dealt with by Valenti with her one-pole-fits-all philosophy.
So, what got lost on the way? Is there a such fine line between gormless exploitation masked as ‘drinking, flashing and being a “new, young feminist”‘ and women’s self-reinvention as autonomous beings taking charge of their own lives? Is it that easy? Sometimes Valenti’s work became an exercise in ‘spot the straw man’ in regards to abortion and emergency contraception -- for some women it isn’t as easy to demand these rights and no solutions were given as to how to navigate the minefield if your societal norms denied them.
I do, however, applaud her enthusiastically pointing out the issues involved in the abstinence-only education debate (which I also blogged about here) -- but overall, a sympathetic voice is not often being expressed by Valenti -- quite a lot of off-putting anger and brashness at times (sometimes towards other femnist bloggers, oddly enough).
For the life of me, I will never understand why a woman today would change her last name. It makes no sense whatsoever. You want future kids to have the same last name as you and your hubby? Hyphenate, bitch! Or do something, anything, but change your last name. It’s the ultimate buy-in of sexist bullshit. It epitomizes the idea that you are not your own person.
Uh, since Valenti admits that 81 percent of women who get married plan to adopt a different surname, maybe she should rethink her strategy?
Reading online reviews of Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam, I find how Janet Albrechtsen faced the challenge first hand, when presenting on the topic of ‘The Journalist and Islam’:
When I pointed out that a more open debate depended on Muslim women talking honestly about the problems of radical Islam and the consequent inequality inflicted on women, there was only silence. And that silence is the problem. So again, in that vacuum, a white Christian chick will write on this issue because, in an enlightened world, the inequality of the sexes should transcend race, ethnicity and religion.
What is needed is nothing short of a Martin Luther-style reformation for Islam. That does not mean the West embarking on some kind of missionary path to convert the Arab world to Western-style women’s empowerment. It requires a grassroots agitation within Arab and other Muslim countries for what many regard as an oxymoron: Islamic feminism. It needs heretics willing to challenge the status quo: Muslim women fighting to reclaim basic rights to equality that suit a modern interpretation of Islam.… The Muslim sisterhood in the West can help them out by ending its silence. That may give Islamic feminism the kick-start it needs. As long as Muslim women in the West are abused in the name of Islam, under the noses of Western governments apparently committed to the equality of men and women, reform in Muslim countries is that much harder to achieve.
Some have stepped bravely into that breach… In her book The Caged Virgin, Hirsi Ali makes the obvious point that educating Muslim women is the best way to forge a modern Islam: allowing them to choose their own husbands, achieve at school, university and in the workplace, and, crucially, raise the next generation of Muslims to embrace modernity. Islam needs more heretics such as Hirsi Ali. Silence will not do.
So, yes. Let’s start talking. Talking about more than just Valenti’s primary target audience.
Although Valenti treated the text rather scathingly, I would certainly suggest checking out ‘Female Chauvinist Pig -- The Rise of Raunch Culture‘ by NYT journalist Ariel Levy to see what the overt sexualization that has arisen during our generation’s time: her argument on how the trend towards pleasing guys under the name of ‘liberating equality’ has dangerously started to turn ‘beauties’ into ‘Whorish Nerdonnas’ or ‘groupies for scientists‘ -- I point to the game show ‘Beauty and the Geek‘ as a sad indicator of the popularity of this approach for entertainment purposes.
Something has indeed gone wrong if a woman’s love for games has become ‘just another way to cater for the whim of guys’. It’s something that’s raised in essays by another established blogging collective, in the collection She’s Such a Geek (edited by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Anders) -- this particular one by Suzanne E. Franks called ‘Suzy the Computer versus Dr Sexy‘:
The producers of ‘Beauty and the Geek’ say that a future season will reverse the genders, with female geeks and male beauties. Would this help any? In a word, no. The idea of the female geek seems to be a stereotype buster. But in fact, the figure of the female geek reproduces and reinforces all the negative stereotypes about individuals with an affinity for technology. And because she needs a modifier (female geek) while he does not (geek), she also reinforces the primary notion that technologically competent people are male. She’s just a Nerdonna to his nerd, and neither of them is getting laid…. are there any alternatives?
Afsaneh was a physical chemist who had built hardware and developed pulse sequences… she did not have separate selves for the lab and elsewhere. She was not Nerdonna, and she was not a Whore. She wasn’t even a Whorish Nerdonna. She was everything she was, all the time.
Although it got less-than-praiseworthy reviews, I’d also strongly suggest that anyone posing the ‘flash for feminism’ angle also consider reading the novel Citizen Girl by Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin, who previously co-wrote ‘The Nanny Diaries’ (also quite an interesting read about societal pressures and stereotypes promoted by women themselves.)The main character faces the problem of raising money for a non-profit organization when the male-dominated company she works for is eagerly exploiting the keen enthusiasm for raunch culture amongst young women -- echoing what Ariel Levy writes, in terms of the trend not being essentially progressive, but essentially commercial:
“So first we outfit his co-eds in unicorn knickers and rainbow bras and then once we’ve established our brand, we take the revolution to the next generation. Bottom line, I want to walk into any boardroom in America in six months and have to see these forty and fifty year olds want to flash me their tits like a bunch of crazy, carefree teens!”
“Oh! It’s …,” Jeffrey gushes, “it’s so new and just so … so”--WRONG?! Wrong, wrong, and WRONG?!--”fresh. I think the working women of America have been waiting for just this type of revolution.”
At a loss, Girl seems to have no one to turn to, unable to call a help-line for male exploitation of this carefree / careless ‘new feminism’ -- “To call whom? Hello is this the U.N.? Yes, I’m calling from Sunset Boulevard to report the SETBACK OF CIVILIZATION!” Her imagined future seems bleaker and bleaker in the face of pressure:
“Girl meet me out front at noon with cymbals strapped to your knees and a kazoo shoved up your ass. … Girl meet me out front at noon with Gloria Steinem’s still-beating heart in your hands and your integrity on a spit.”
Girl faces first-hand the labeling of feminism equaling ‘man hater’. What answers she finds is more indicative of how it’s going to take even more talk, even more generations to fight for equality, with dismal concessions forced upon her final donation to the charity. No, I don’t think she finds simple answers easy to achieve -- but it certainly isn’t achieved through ‘Club Cake’.
Nor can we ignore the implications of children being sold items that endorse the pornographic empire of Playboy, as discussed in this BBC podcast; Valenti also apparently sees uncritical acceptance of magazine porn as a backwards step for those who want to promote feminism for young women. Again, it seems to be a matter of when it is appropriate and studying what impact it has and where -- more discussion required that a young woman may not have the luxury of doing in a supportive environment!
Of course, in a society where the mention of a dog’s scrotum on the first page of a Newberry Award Winning children’s book is apparently enough to get school libraries attempt to ban or censor it… you again start to wonder about what sort of people are being lectured to in Full Frontal Feminism. Overall, this book can’t really be for the young religious multicultural girl (of various denominations and cultural influences) who make up the majority of teens worldwide -- or even Bible Belt mainstream America. Certainly not in the face of massive mainstream rallying support of brand importance, status recognition, overwhelming idealization of aesthetics and sexual permissiveness… as well as religious fundamentalism and political pressure groups battling it out daily.
The book does have a hint of ‘be skeptical’, sure. But not really promoting universal goals that are more widely applicable to long-term fulfillment either… Maybe I’m just too old fashioned (or just plain too old) -- but I’ve never seen a dictionary use either ‘fundamentalism’ OR ‘raunchy’ as a synonym for ‘liberated’.
Maybe I expected more from such a little book, since it is only 256 pages in length with very big print and lots of text box quotes. In the end, I’d say it boils down to context.
Sure, make an informed choice. Do pole-dancing for fitness; enjoy bellydancing; even be a connoisseur of the artform of erotic dance and erotic fiction. But I strongly suggest you learn things like the history of the burlesque tradition and know that guys are inevitably going to be distracted by girls no matter WHAT your moves are and it takes more than a fine ass no matter WHICH sex you belong do. Some might even have the choice to become a sex-industry worker -- but one who had the educational opportunities to choose that career, rather than be forced into it, abused or browbeaten into thinking it is ‘all you’re good for’. Support graphic art -- whilst questioning why so many female superhero characters are drawn without pants on!
It’s more about getting help and support, education towards knowing what it is you need as well as want and taking steps to be informed -- rather than be an unwitting pawn in fulfilling an image that is, let’s face it, predominantly commercially based and exploited. Because simply, it is just too easy to be taken advantage of when taking that path. After all -- isn’t skepticism of consumer claims what we should promote for everyone?
Shouldn’t we be prompting a flood of young feminists via programs -- that more importantly can be tested and critiqued for its effectiveness? Support groups who have strength in numbers, accountability and a serious global approach? Educational goals that are clearly defined and universally applicable? That’s a topic I’ll address in my next series of posts on such matters as well -- how do we know what can work in education both in and out of the classroom.
In that regard, I note that Valenti mentions in the book that she once worked for NOW Legal Defence and Education Fun, a non-profit civil rights organisation -- now ‘Legal Momentum‘. Such an emphasis led me to look at other sites and groups online that would perhaps be sought out by young women.
I’d also suggest http://www.unifem.org/. Or the Feminist Majority Foundation, Global Fund for Women and, of course -- Amnesty International. Because underneath it all, we should be fighting for global equity for everyone.
In terms of science education support: WIREDWOMAN.com -- has funding raised that goes directly to women and their projects and a mentorship program; http://www.bust.com -- don’t be fooled by the pun!
GRRLGAMER -- Grrls who got game! Game reviews, strategy guides, demo downloads, forums and more! -- the classic gamer site.There’s plenty more… Center for Women and Information Technology ; Girlstart -- Empowering Girls in Math, Science and Technology -- an actual non-profit organisation, for young women into technology.
At Douglass College: The Douglass Project -- scholarships directly to women: “Douglass Project for Rutgers Women in Math, Science & Engineering is an award-winning program dedicated to supporting undergraduate women and students at the secondary level interested in studying math, sciences, engineering and technology.” Not forgetting BrainCake.org -- interactive site for young women, designed with young women’s input.
Finally, I’d also suggest the site by Australian Kaz Cooke, who (with ‘Hermoine the Modern Girl’) has produced books, website and teaching guides for just the same issue all of these texts try to tackle -- just what does fit for the modern girl?
And to be sure -- do use the site Sourcewatch.org to check out such groups. Because there’s a lot of claims that don’t live up to the name.
Rather like how ‘feminism’ can become a catchphrase for some rather… er, unladylike notions. That don’t do any girl any favours.
References:
Franks, S.E. (2006). ‘Suzy the Computer versus Dr Sexy’. In Newitz, A. & Anders, C. (Eds.), She’s Such a Geek. Seal Press: CA.
Hirsi Ali, A. (2006). An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam. Free Press, NY.
Levi, A. (2006). Female Chauvinist Pigs: Woman and the Rise of Raunch Culture. Free Press, NY.
McLaughlin, E. & Kraus, N. (2004). Citizen Girl. Atria Books, NY.
Valenti, J. (2007). Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman’s Guide to Why Feminism Matters. Seal Press, CA.
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Being a complete and total dude, there are obvious limits to my experience. However I agree with you, and you touch on a number of issues I have considered myself. Though perhaps “touch on” is a bit of an understatement, more like “impaled” such is depth of the post.
I was, rather strangely, annoyed when I found out Kari Byron from Mythbusters posed for FHM. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t claim to have no attraction to the woman but I liked it better when I could see her as a fellow geek rather than the whole show’s sex appeal. (Though who knows about the effects Jamie may have on the walrus demographic.) I don’t necessarily feel she has sold out, but it seems to have nothing to do with what Mythbusters is about.
Beyond that, I applaud your teaching at Islamic schools. I remember reading Slavenka Drakulic’s “How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed.” and looking at her response to Western feminists as it compared to the way women liberated themselves in their own country.
It has become a ubiquitous remark that Islam needs a Martin Luther, or a Martin Luther King. I would be inclined to agree, but my own personal experience growing up Muslim has taught me that this cannot happen with things they way they are. With so many people trying to frame conflicts as Islam vs. World in both camps, many Muslims are more concerned with keeping their heads down than anything else. Meanwhile, change will always come from within, and opponents of change capitalize on the fact that the external promoters of feminism frequently have little respect for the society at large. A society of which the women are part of.
There is also a tendency to focus on the absolute least important aspects of the problem. Fixation on headgear has utterly mystified me, and in my experience has been a barrier to resolving bigger issues. In some countries a woman’s name does not appear on her hospital bracelet, it is her husband’s or father’s. Hell, in every country in the Muslim world, women have enough trouble getting their legal rights enforced in courts of law, even where the letter of the law clearly favors the woman. I talking about rights expressly given to them, for God’s sake! Meanwhile countries like Britain are trying to snatch it off people’s heads, ironically in case they’re being coerced.
I have been very critical of Ayan Hirsi Ali for wholly removing herself from the community, professing to people outside it, while claiming that she seeks to liberate people within it. I’ve seen every indication that she does more harm than good. This is the same woman who advocates automatic checks on Muslims to make sure they have no terrorist ties. I have found brave women in the Middle East who are setting up secret shelters for battered women. Who are lobbying, going from government office to government office in countries without democracy and often convoluted bureaucracy. They still live there, and are invested in the welfare of the society at large. These women are the future. I have zero faith in Ali’s potential to actually achieve anything.
Heh, yes, ‘impaled’ is probably right. It’s rather full on and ended up being not so much a single book review as four-in-one. Whoops.
I agree that change comes from within, which was why the Australian article by Albrechtsen struck me more powerfully than Hirsi Ali’s book itself – you can see I don’t really review that book as much, but use it as a bouncing off point to question how any of these texts really are relevant to real-life situations. Which is why I finish with links and support for non-profit groups and lobbyists, who work within the systems. As far as I see it, change does take generations and certainly there’s no flash-solutions, just slow working and ‘testing the ice’ throughout… At any rate, time to assess the hypothetical ‘difference one makes’ should be encouraged, the same way we encourage reflection on actions taken by young women.
Great post.
Thank you! I enjoyed reading your post on “More Religious Rabble Rousing” – must add you to my roll and reading list!
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