Over the course of Levy’s chapter, “The Future That Never Happened,” the author outlines the progression of the feminist movement since the 1960s. The reading reveals the integration and collaboration of the women’s liberation movement and the sexual revolution helped mold the way in which society views women today and provoke the “raunch culture” that is so prevalent.
One of the points on which Levy focused was especially intriguing to read about. The author focuses a large portion of her attention upon the group CAKE. The organization claims “the new sexual revolution is where sexual equality and feminism finally meet” (70) and promotes notions such as female pleasure in addition to ideas of equality between all members of society. While the intentions of CAKE and those who participate in its activity may be in the right place, is this feminist organization also damaging women’s position in society further?
To explore the issue at hand, Levy conducted a series of interviews and appearances to examine if what CAKE claimed their mission to be was cohesive with how they went about spreading their message. Rather than an empowering or educating women on a specific issue, Levy identified the organization as more of a “hypersexual sorority” (71). Large functions and parties held by CAKE generated a great deal of revenue however included stripper poles, female dancers and simulated sexual activity. While reading this chapter, I could not help but think of the way in which females subject themselves to and perpetuate the objectification of women even if they do not intend to do so.
Growing up in the 90s, a great deal of my elementary school years was spent listening to the Spice Girls and other various pop artists of the time. After I received the Spiceworld cd for Christmas one year, I would spend (too much) time leafing through the small collection of photographs that came within the disc’s track list and lyrics pamphlet. While the group promoted “girl power” and the independence of women, all five members were rarely seen without midriff or cleavage being exposed. Reflecting on this now, I wonder if the group would have been as successful had they not objectified their bodies through provocative clothing and lyrics. In today’s world, I would guess The Spice Girls would have had trouble without their suggestive image, however merely recognizing this type of phenomena is the first step in deconstructing it.
Teal Kratky
I find Teal's comments on the CAKE organization and the female participation in the sexual revolution to be particularly pertinent ideas that are explored by both Friedan and Levy in different manners. The CAKE organization provides some of the more interesting and provocative material, so far, in Levy's book. The descriptions of these pseudo-orgy, over-the-top-embracement of sexual identity and fantasy parties represent the most radical and expressive forms of sexuality as part of the feminist movement. However, what I found most intriguing about Levy's portion of the text about the CAKE organization was the founders', Emily Kramer & Melinda Gallagher, reluctance to defend their continued use of strippers and pornography to promote their feminist message. Levy posits that this reluctance is in truth inability, as the founders themselves have unresovled definitions of the feminist movement and the best ways to include female sexuality as a positive, empowering characteristic of the feminist movement. Friedan also explores the concepts of female sexuality with the idea of the unsatisfied housewive. In the society where the female is subjected to the repetitive activities of being a housewife a female "sex creature" (Friedan 64) has been created. Friedan remarks that the woman is waiting all day for the husband to come home and bring excitement to her life, by means of sex, however the tired hardworking husband is unable to satisfy this hypersexualized housewife. As has been noted, the time differences between Levy's and Friedan's remarks on sexuality are important to keep in mind. However, these descriptions may be more closely linked than it appears at first glance as the sexuality of the housewife, as decribed by Friedan, may merely be the predecessor to CAKE members in society today just suited for different levels of social acceptability to their specific time periods. I think these descriptions of female sexuality and the importance of a female sexual identity in the feminist movement as decribed by all three authors, Friedan, Levy, and Echols, merely scratch of surface of what sexuality's role truly is in the eyes of a feminist.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of discrepancy within the feminist movement since 1960 is truly fascinating. Starting at a grassroots level, the unification and sisterhood that once was quickly took a turn into technicalities and cultural differences and fundamental ideological differences. Small groups of women who once met to openly debate and talk about women's issues in society could no longer have productive meeting times and discussion.
ReplyDeleteCAKE and other "sex-positive" forces, such as Hugh Hefner have really perpetuated this idea of a new kind of feminist movement. As Teal mentioned above, I think every girl growing up in the 90s was a Spice Girl addict. Their sexualized image was almost thought to be exotic at the time, and "OK" because of their huge international status as pop stars. Echols has interesting commentary on the second generation of feminism, writing just before the emergence of the present day feminism we students grew up with.
The sexuality of the housewife, the stereotypical woman who cooks, cleans, and pleasures her husband was fairly normal until this time. Only once in a great while was there that space for the one woman at the top, however as pointed out in the readings, she had to step on all of the other woman to claim her place in the business world. I don't know how much I agree with this, having had a working mother growing up. She did work around a majority of men who were her equals, but there were other women present. I do not know how much she would claim she had to "climb over," if you will, other women to get to the top. But because of this housewife concept, and the preceding stereotypes of women, there is no happy medium just yet.
Since the 1950s, people have been reinterpreting the meaning of feminism. Obviously, there are a broad scope of ideas that change with the time. I think Dave is right in saying that sexuality has a time-honored role in feminism, but many feminists have a hard time placing it within the movement because it has such a central role with unfortunate negative connotations. I did find it interesting that the founders of CAKE had a hard time vocalizing their reasons for conducting their behavior like they do, taking a different approach that what is deemed traditional. However, once we move past this era, what is next? Have we fallen as deep as possible in degrading women yet calling them feminist? Or is this merely the base point for a brand new interpretation that will soon unite all women? We live in a unique time when, more than ever, it is becoming standard for a woman to freely vocalize her opinion and act on her own accord. I think sexuality will truly be redefined in the upcoming years, and we as women can only hope for the most positive feedback and embracing by everyone.
Both Teal and Dave touched on some of the many conflicting positions that have developed within (and between) the women's movement and the sexual revolution. For me, Levy's chapter "The Future that Never Happened" provided a succinct overview of these movements in a way that still engaging and thought-provoking. Somewhat naively, I assumed that the transition from the "anti-porn" position of groups like Women Against Pornography gradually moved towards a "sex-positive" agenda and later developed into the "raunch culture" of today.
ReplyDeleteI assumed that women had been on a more united front, with the exception of the present. As Levy explains on page 63, "Everyone was fighting for freedom, but when it came to sex, freedom meant different things to different people." Everyone had a different view on what sexual liberation was, and an even more different view on what sexual liberation wasn't. Levy explains how women like Susan Brownmiller, involved in the women's liberation movement when it was a "unified, sure-footed quest for change" watched as feminism became "a maze of contradictions" (69). Considering everything we have read, watched, and discussed, I think that these contradictions remain, maybe even more so than in the past. I can't help but wonder what this means for the women's movement in general, if that is even possible to generalize. Do the assortment of views that push for different (and even contradicting) agendas strengthen the possibilities of these movements or do they represent a once unified movement that is now falling apart? It is natural for people to disagree, but what does the future hold for younger generations of women when women now, arguably more than ever, are at odds with each other? Dave mentioned Levy's conversation with the CAKE founders, who couldn't even explain (or defend) their so called feminist message. It isn't just the founders of CAKE who have unresolved definitions of the feminist movement and the best way to include female sexuality as a positive, empowering characteristic - I think all women face this quandary. Women of our generation have been exposed to everything from The Spice Girls' "Spice Up Your Life" and "Stop" from their album Spiceworld to TLC's "No Scrubs" and "Unpretty" from their album Fanmail. Yet their previous album was called CrazySexyCool.
With all of these mixed messages, what's a girl to do?
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I love the quotes in your sidebar -- they just caught my eye!
This is a great set of posts; you've all done a nice job of creating a dialogue with your responses. You've done a really nice job of coming up with threads connecting Levy and Friedan, who at first read seem to be talking about completely different phenomenon. However, I wonder if you might say more about Levy's decision to approach CAKE from a history of the second wave. Why do you think she made this choice? What's the connection, in her mind? Is this effective?
The Spice Girls example is a fantastic one, and again, could be developed even further. What does "Girl Power" connote? Why "girl" as opposed to "female" or "woman"? Is there something about youth culture being signaled, and why? Does their Britishness play into this in any way?