25th
Ariel Levy has got to be one of my new favorite people. This summer, I read her book _Female Chauvinist Pigs_ , which is basically about the rise of ‘Raunch Culture’ in the West, and womens’ involvement in it.
Of course there are men involved in this uber-sexist raunch movement - they’re often the ones driving it, they are the primary consumers of its video output (think girls gone wild), but there are women who see stripping as empowering, who think that being judged by their appearance (as long as they’re sexy) is a liberating, feminist act. These supporters of playboy, hustler, strip clubs and thongs claim we live in a post-feminist world where women have already gotten their rights - now it’s time for them to come and be participants in public and media displays of overt sexuality.
I guess the point they missed is that this is just plain old objectification of women. And it cheats young women out of the chance of finding an ‘authentic sexuality’ as Levy says in her book. If the only way to be sexy is to don a thong and fashion dujour, isn’t that confusing to those of us who want to be attractive for our personalities and good health?
Anyway, read her book if you get a chance.
