Sunday, May 28, 2006

Female Chauvinist Pigs

With my discovery of the word: celebutard, I thought I would post today on a matter that has been galling me for some time. This small excerpt from Salon should set the stage nicely.

Oprah recently summoned Pink, Naomi Wolf, "Female Chauvinist Pigs" author Ariel Levy and others for an episode called "Stupid Girls," which she kicked off by ominously announcing that culture is "devaluing an entire generation of young girls" by celebrating women as jiggly video stars, boobie-flashing twits, half-clad clotheshorses and label-whoring anorexics.

I couldn't have put it better. Suddenly, being the girl next door is no longer what you want, today you need to be 'fuckable' to be liked. What a message! And no one seems to display this message better than the Pussycat Dolls. With such wonderful songs as Don't You Wish Your Girlfriend was Hot like Me and Beep (which has numerous quaint lyrics about touching parts of your anatomy the psychologist usually asks to be shown on a doll) they have brought woman down to the lowest common denominator, fuckability. These songs should basically have one line, tell me I am hot enough for you to want to have sex with me. Not love, not respect, not companionship, and certainly not equality. You can't be equal when your whole value is based on something that falls and fades with time.

Some might say, is this really any different then the stunts that got Elizabeth Taylor in trouble with the Vatican 40 years ago? Yes, they are. While Liz was looking for a little love, what girls are subliminally being told today is that you are only as good as your body parts. A song like Girlfriend practically calls for female jello wrestling. Come on girls - get in the ring, you can defend your right to your (obviously, trolling) boyfriend and prove how hot you are slipping around in a slimy substance. This song absolutely pits women against each other. But instead of using their brains they are encouraged to use baby tees and thongs. Pole optional.

For sometime I have struggled to figure out why, WHY a girl would flash a camera man her boobs while on vacation. But by now many would be political careers are in the toilet because some woman wanted to get drunk and flash a Girl's Gone Wild camera man. Do these woman even get paid for this? My understanding is they get a free shirt. Man, I hope that shirt keeps you warm when you get to explain to your parents, husband, in-laws or new boss you were just having a little fun - viva la liberation! Stunts like this always have a way of coming back to bite you, just look at Sophy Rys Jones, the Countess of Wessex.

Did I dance on table tops in University, well no; but I did get up on the speakers quite a few times at my favorite club. I cut loose quite a bit and I have the pictures to show for it. These pictures show me and my girlfriends (fully clothed), arms wrapped around each other laughing, giggling or just plain tottering in front of the camera. None have a pole. Do I have raunchy videos of my exploits? No, why would I share my intimacy with the world, sort of defeats the point of all those midnight talks with the boy you like, doesn't it.

Does that make me a prude, a rabid feminist, or what seems to be the native call of Female Chauvinist Pigs, 'old and ugly' (with an optional fat, thrown in for good measure)? Nah, just a realist who wants more for my sisters.

2 comments:

Squirrelly Girly said...

Heidi! I love this post! I know we've talked about this topic many times before but this post sums it up brilliantly. I too have many pictures of me drunk, having loads of fun and fully clothed! If I ever do decide to go for a political career, I think I'm safe!

Anonymous said...

All of our drunken speaker dancing escapades aside, we never had to flaunt our bodies like we were pieces of meat. I can remember being on top of a speaker dancin' my feet off but I was fully clothed doing it. What bothers me just as much as the flaunt yourself shamelessly philosophy of most celebrity "prostitots", is the idea that you have to be stupid to be attractive to men. I can't stand girls who carry on like complete twits all to appear attractive to some pigheaded man. As a college teacher I see the damage this thinking does first hand. Gone are the future women astronauts, political leaders, financial moguls and brilliant scientists. The generation coming up behind us gen-xers is sadly populated with a force of empty headed, shallow twinkies. There is no more substance to their thought processes than a whole lot of marshmallowy nougat. As a mother of young girls I fear that my daughters will grow up valuing a purse with a Fendi logo on it more than they will value learning new things or having new experiences.
Perhaps this sounds like a little bit of a rant but I can say that it's time more women stood up and defended their gender.