Oftentimes, freedom comes with consequences. Douglas begins her chapter, “Sex R Us” with a stipulation for female sexual freedom: women are now forced into mini skirts and revealing tops in order to obtain a seemingly liberated sexual existence. As Douglas illustrates, in this day and age, sex has completely flooded our airwaves. For example both males and females are often made into scantily clad sexual spectacles in many different advertisements. Open sexuality can be seen in many other aspects of the media as well. Cosmo has obtained its popularity merely through providing an emphasis on what men like in bed, and how to make a female’s body more fit to a man’s “wants and needs.” Sex has become the frontrunner in the music industry as well. Douglas points out that in almost any rap music video, women will be traipsing around the rap artist, competing for his attention via their bodies. Similarly, many TV shows openly promote the female body. The show Sex and the City has made some strides for women in that it presents very real women openly discussing their highly sexual lives (no double standard exists in the world of Carrie Bradshaw). However, this idealized NYC world is not a true portrayal of reality. And thus, even though it may seem more acceptable for women to embrace sex today, they are continuously objectified and subordinated by this increased flow of sexuality.
Similarly to Douglas, Patricia Hill Collins discusses the current rise in sexuality, however she specifies the effects of this rise for black women. Today, as a society we view black women as animalistic and wild sexual beings. Collins uses the example of a Destiny’s Child album, Survivor, in which three black women are shown in revealing animal printed outfits, singing songs like, “bootylicious.” In an interesting contradiction this group simultaneously promotes female power while playing into the stereotype of black female hypersexuality. Thus, Destiny’s Child parallels the Spice Girls, spreading the embedded feminist idea that black women have obtained true power while remaining sexy, when in reality, they are merely objectifying themselves.
Collins further points out that black sexual politics are filled with not only sexism, but with racism and class exploitation as well. She discusses shows such as Montel, Maury, and Jerry Springer, which use sex as a selling point for many of the episodes. In one episode of Maury, for example, a black women attempts to discover the father of her child through the paternity tests of nine possible males (none of whom were ever linked to the child). Thus, through the exploitation of the media, this woman is portrayed as hypersexual and reckless, therefore playing into these racial stereotypes that exist in society.
One price of this media overflow of sex is that overall, young girls are taught that the best way to obtain power in our society is to cater to what men want in a sexual manner. Thus, our media conveys that only when girls become an object of desire can they obtain true happiness. While this mindset not only unsparingly objectifies women, it can also lead to numerous health problems in society. Douglas and Collins demonstrate that sex in media causes young girls to have sex at highly young ages, before they have been educated in safe sexual practices. Moreover, the widespread sexualization within the media is often linked to depression, anxiety, and eating disorders in young females.
Personally, as an avid Sex and the City fan, I admire the writers of this show for their bold scripts and their ability to wash away (at least some of) the negative stigmas that are associated with female open sexuality. However, I also think that there should be a delicate balance between female sexual openness and female objectification. There is a distinction between being able to fully discuss and carry out sexual desires without becoming a woman in a cage, who exists for sole visual pleasure. I truly believe that one day it will be possible for women to be sexual beings without throwing away their intellects and without becoming sole body parts. However, it seems that there may be a long wait before this day comes.
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