Sexy Politics

When it comes to sex and the political world, it usually has to do with a politician admitting to the nation that he had relations with either an intern or a high priced prostitute. Ever since Bill Clinton famously stated that he “did not have relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky,” sex has become an integral part of the politics in America and abroad. When most people today think of sex and politics, they think of such examples stated above. However, the Australian Parliament’s new political party, the Sex Party. According to Breitbart, this new political party is “describing itself as "serious about sex" the party sees itself as a political response to the sexual needs of Australians in the face of moral campaigners and prudish politicians.” Although the primary reason that this particular political organization came to power was due to the mandatory internet filter that has been debated in the Australian Parliament, the idea of a political party forming on the basis of reproduction is a cause for debate.

While there are many special interest groups dedicated to many different industries, the issue of sex has been taboo in the political realm and should not be ignored. In fact, I believe that this party created in Australia will have a positive affect for many different nations. With the infusion of sex into not only the political world but also in pop culture, this issue must be addressed by the government. Many television networks such as CBS, ABC and NBC have used sex in every new television shows. Recently a sociological study showed that teens that watch shows such as Sex and the City have been showed to increase sexual behavior in teens. With this trend expected to increase over the coming years, I feel that this issue must be addressed by the government. Now, I’m not suggesting that we begin to censor any current aspects of pop culture just yet. Instead, I feel that the government must take a stance in order to avoid any confusion that the American people might have regarding sex. I don’t foresee a new national party forming like the one in Australia but rather, I see some bill being introduced that may bring up the same debate in Australia.

Pornography!

Pornography is a sensitive and often uncomfortable topic, still off limits for discussion in most arenas. However, while some may blush reading this post, it is important to examine the effects that the ever-growing porn industry has on relationships and gender issues. With the advent of internet, pornography has become increasingly accessible and inexpensive. In fact, statistics from a 2003 study show that every second, 28,258 Internet users are viewing pornography. This raises the question of whether porn usage is a gendered issue. Approximately 72% of internet pornography users are male while about 28% are female, indicating the men are the main consumers of pornography. Most men and quite a few women are probably scratching their heads right now. So why does it matter?
Many experts would argue that porn is changing relationships, altering expectations about sex and body image, and threatening to reshape how young people learn about sex. An increasing number of divorces are citing pornography use as a cause. At the 2003 meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, two-thirds of the 350 divorce lawyers who attended cited online porn contributed to more than half of their divorce cases. How is it that porn can be such a problem in marriages? According to the Times online, a number of psychologists and sociologists have begun to warn society about the impact of pervasive pornography. They argue that sexuality and relationships are being changed for the worse. Experts say men who frequently view porn may "develop unrealistic expectations of a woman's appearance and behavior, have difficulty forming and sustaining relationships and feeling sexually satisfied."(Read this Times article here). Upon discovering their loved one's porn use, women are often faced with feelings of inadequacy and betrayal. As if competing with the unrealistic image of female beauty in the media isn't enough, now woman have to try to live up to the images of the porn stars their partners find so arousing. Many individuals look at porn usage as a milder form of infidelity, with women feeling as if their husbands are directing their intimacy and passion toward those women in the computer rather than to them. No wonder pornography use is ruining marriages.
Additionally, porn usage leads to a plethora of gender issues. In 2003, Texas Christian University conducted an online study which revealed that the more pornography men watch, the more likely they are to describe women in sexualized terms. Also, the more porn a man watched, the more likely he would be to categorize women in traditional gender roles. Porn not only leads men to be unable to sustain intimate relationships, but also leads them to objectify women.
With porn so easily accessible, children are beginning to learn about sex from these often unrealistic and degrading porn videos. The average age of first internet exposure to pornography is 11 years old. The problem with this is fairly obvious.
While pornography has existed for a long time in a fairly unobtrusive manner, perhaps it is time to truly examine the negative result of such a large and accessible porn industry.

“Everything you always wanted to know about the opposite sex.”

“Everything you always wanted to know about the opposite sex.”
Presented by Dr. Lori Hart Ebert
http://www.campuspeak.com/speakers/hart-ebert/#sex

Last night I went to a presentation in Kendal Hall about what shapes an individual’s gendered identity and the various influences behind its construction. During this ninety minute presentation we discussed the various aspects of gender and the numerous behaviors that conform to each sex. So without any further delay here’s a list of the various characteristics and stereotypes linked to either being a man or a woman according to Dr. Ebert. (Note: Dr. Ebert’s presentation is entirely based on quantitative and qualitative research.)

Women:
1. Women are complicated. Women question everything and need to know every detail. Women take excessive amounts of time to accomplish something. Women like to do more than what is necessary and are not satisfied until every detail is fulfilled.

2. Women can multi-task, and they’ll disgustingly well at it. For example, a woman can watch a movie, have conversation with her boyfriend on the phone, plan out what she’s going to wear tomorrow, guess what’s going to happen next in the movie, change her mind about wearing that shirt with those pants, remember that its her mom’s birthday in three weeks so she needs to go shopping, happen to be right about the next scene in the movie, and in the midst of all this, she’ll then ask her boyfriend if he’s listening to her. This might be a little extreme, but I think the majority of the ladies in the class would agree that women can multi-task and be damn good at it.

3. Women communicate through the form of questions. Women want to know everything that is going on. Women communicate for connective purposes. Moreover, women ask questions in order to stay close with people. On average, a woman says about 20,000 words a day.

4. Women also like to tell “stories”. For example, let’s look at a conversation between a mother and her daughter, and a father and his son. Both the son and daughter have the same class schedule.
Father – Son
Father: How was class today?
Son: It was good.

Mother – Daughter
Mother: How was class today?
Daughter: It was great! I went to my first class at ten. It was a little cold outside so it was a good thing I wore my jacket. Campus looks so pretty, the leaves are really beginning to change. I went to class and as I was going to sit down that cute boy I was telling you about looked at me! Can you believe it?!?! Do you think he likes me? He seems like a nice guy. So the entire class I couldn’t stop thinking about him. And then ten minutes before class ended, the professor gave us a pop quiz to make sure we were all paying attention. I aced it!

(I think you all get my point)

5. Women don’t like being alone. If a woman gets upset about something she needs to talk about it, whether if that’s on the phone or in a group with all her best friends. A woman always needs someone to listen to her when she is upset.

Men:
1. Men are simple. Men get right to the point, doing only what is necessary. Men don’t like to be bothered by endless details.

2. Men are focused. If a man is doing something, he’ll concentrate solely on that one thing. As a result of man’s ability to “be in the zone”, he cannot multi-task. Its not that he chooses to be this way, it’s just that he really can’t multi-task that well.

3. Men communicate in the form of statements. Men don’t question every act or detail. Men say what they need to, when they need to. On average, men say about 6,000 words a day.

4. Sometimes men just want some space. If a man gets mad or upset about something, he likes to be alone. Men don’t alienate themselves from society, they just like to separate themselves from the problem, and then they’ll walk back to it.


These are just some of the key points and examples that Dr. Ebert discussed. I found it interesting that in all the examples and stories she used, the entire audience agreed. Whether this overall agreement came in the form of laughter or yells, I can firmly say that the majority of both sexes, male and female, agreed with all the stereotypes and behaviors Dr. Ebert presented. I’m not saying that every single person agreed, but the majority did.

As she wrapped up her presentation she left us with the following two quotes. I felt that these quotes summed up the night perfectly demonstrating that all people have particular characteristics and behaviors that correlate with their own sex. As a result, these gendered aspects lead to stereotypes and labels; however, we must always remember that every gendered identity is different and that stereotypes, more often than not, lead to poor representations. Furthermore, every individual has their own gendered identity of who they are. The difficult part is being able to accurately see it.

"A WOMAN is often measured by the things she cannot control. She is measured by the way her body curves or doesn't curve, by where she is flat or straight or round. She is measured by 36-24-26 and inches and ages and numbers, by all the outside things that don't ever add up to who she is on the inside. And so if a woman is to be measured, let her be measured by the things she can control, by who she is and who she is trying to become. Because every woman knows measurements are only statistics and statistics lie."

“A MAN is often measured by the things he cannot control. He is measured by the number of beers he can drink or not drink, by the kind of car he drives and whether or not he’s at the bottom, middle, or top of the corporate ladder. He is measured by each of the numbers in his six-figure paycheck, by all the outside things that don’t ever add up to who he is on the inside. And so if a man is to be measured, let him be measured by the things he can control, by who he is and who he is trying to become. Because as every man knows, measurements are only statistics and statistics lie.”

The art of the Pickup

“You must be a ticket, cause you got fine written all over you.” “Are you a library book, cause I’m checking you out.” The statements above are two examples of pick up lines that were used by men to flirt with girls. The art of “picking up a chick” is very complex and arduous. One of the problems that some men face is the lack of self confidence or the feeling that they have no “game.” The idea of charming a lady and getting their number is a rite of passage for many young American men. The man that can charm the most ladies is considered to be a “player.” The ultimate goal of flirting with a woman is to start a relationship. While flirtation and charming a lady has been practiced for years, it has become more apparent that many men simply are not able to flirt with a girl. Examples of this inability to talk to girls can be seen in pop culture with the movie Hitch, where a “ladies man,” Will Smith, is hired to help Kevin James character start a relationship with one of his clients.

Recently, a show on VH1 shows the trials and tribulations of various men who have no game. The Pick Up Artist is a reality show in which contestants have to demonstrate their ability to pick up chicks. The creator of the show, Erik von Markovik(Mystery), is called a seduction artist and is the person who teaches the contestants the art of picking up girls. The show narrows down the ability to picking up girls to an almost exact science, showing that by following simple formula, any man can seduce a girl.

In my opinion, I feel that the show The Pick Up Artist shows objectifies women much like other reality shows. To say that there is an easy step by step guide to flirting with a woman is false. Women have different tastes and personalities and I personally believe that there is no one way to flirt with a girl. The problem with this show is that many young men that I have talked to believe that this method used by Mystery is factual. The women that are showed in this television show are usually people who are found in clubs and not an accurate representation of the female population. This show, in my opinion, is disrespectful not only by objectifying women but also show that men are only concerned with flirting and hooking up with women. The only purpose of being a “pickup artist” is to sleep with women and have fun. I have to disagree with this assessment. While some men pick up girls for this reason, others flirt and charm girls because they want to start a relationship and I feel that the Pick Up Artist does not show this side of attracting girls.

Change of Gender Roles Seen Through Music

Women’s roles throughout history have been constantly changing. This was seen in our “through the decades” activity in class. Starting with the 1940s it seemed that women’s rights and roles in society would take a progressive step forward one decade while taking a regressive step back in the following decade. I noticed that the change in female roles in society for each decade could be seen in music and its lyrics. I came across songs from two totally different decades that show the change in women’s ideal roles from gender movements throughout history.

The songs I chose to analyze are “Ev’ry Day Of My Life" by the McGuire Sisters released in 1956 and “Independent Women” by Destiny’s Child released in 2001. The McGuire Sisters and Destiny’s Child are two groups, both consisting of three female artists. The lyrics of these two songs represent the decade from which they were released in and what was thought to be normal in society for females as well as the emerging gender roles for women in society.

In the 1950’s the ideal gender roles of women were mainly housekeeping, taking care of the children, and making sure that the husband of the family was happy. Women were passive, reticent, and under the authority of men. It was not common for women to work outside of the household because the male was the provider and worker in society. In “Ev’ry Day Of My Life” the lyrics talk about a woman who promises to love her husband everyday of her life and to “always try to do what pleases you [the husband]”. This sentence within the lyrics of the song would represent the women doing whatever she can for her husband, for example, making sure dinner is ready on the table when he gets home from work, which was a social norm of women and their roles in the 1950s, or taking care of the children while the husband was at work. A wife was considered to be a “good” wife if she followed the orders of her husband and did everything she could to please him. Another part of the song says “ev’ry day of my life, I’ll need you close to me, and if I have my way, that’s where you’ll always be”. This phrase of the song represents the fact that women in the 1950s needed men in their life. It was a social and stereotypical gender role for women to find love, marry young, and provide for their husband. Divorce was uncommon, thus, for the most part, husband and wife were together for life after pronouncing “I do”.

Women’s roles and views on life in the decade of the 90s and on was the complete opposite of the 1950s. There was a big change from the old views of femininity and women starting moving away from characteristics such as passivity, reticence, and assuming that men are the authority. A woman in power and in the workforce was now an emerging social norm. Feminism was continuing from decades before and the idea of “girl power” was seen continuously in the media. Women doing things independently and taking care of themselves was more common. The need for a husband, like in the 1950s, was not top on a female’s priority list anymore. These gender roles and change in roles and views of women is perfectly outlined in Destiny’s Child’s 2001 hit, “Independent Women”. This song portrays women being independent, working to get necessities and material things in life, and control over oneself (not being controlled by a man or husband). These gendered themes are shown in the phrases: “I worked hard and sacrificed to get what I get, ladies it ain’t easy being independent”, “the shoes on my feet, I’ve bought it, the clothes I’m wearing, I’ve bought it, the rock I’m rocking, I’ve bought it, ‘cause I depend on me”, and “tell me how you feel about this, try to control me, boy you’ll get dismissed”. Women in the 90s and on were relying more on themselves, mainly because of the independence females were gaining in society. Equal rights of men and women were improving and women were now getting out of the house and putting themselves and their roles higher up on the priority list.

I think it is so interesting how gender roles and social norms of different times in history are represented and seen within music and its lyrics. These two songs are just examples of how these different decades had such a radical change in gender roles, especially those of women.

-JL

References
http://www.mtv.com/lyrics/mcguire_sisters/ev_ry_day_of_my_life/13540610/lyrics.jhtml
http://www.lyrics007.com/Destiny's%20Child%20Lyrics/Independent%20Women%20Lyrics.html