Readings for 10/5

The readings for this class focused entirely on women's sexuality and the various contexts into which it falls. Douglas in "Enlightened Sexism" writes about female sexuality as it is displayed in various medias including music videos, magazines, television series, etc. Collins focuses mainly on black sexuality and the ways in which taboo sexualities are portrayed in a white patriarchal society. She describes how black men and women are constantly seen as hypersexual and yet it is not discussed publicly. Instead, it is marveled at and absent from any helpful discussion within the community. She continues on to discuss how television shows like Maury, Montel, and Jerry Springer only fuel the fire by parading around uncommon forms of sexuality for amusement or ridicule and showing people that fit the mold for such stereotypes. The paternity tests that seem to be the only subject matter of these shows only serve to show black women as loose and irresponsible, while the black "baby daddies" are shown as deadbeat dads. I have somewhat of a problem with her argument here because on all the shows there are frequently white people with the similar problems. White women as well as white men are often times on the shows for similar reasons as their African American counterparts. Although the African American participants do cause the stereotype to persist, I feel that the presence of the Caucasian counterparts make this more of an argument for socioeconomic status and sexuality rather than race and sexuality. Rarely do you see middle class or upper middle class Americans on such shows.
The readings in "Listen Up" focused on individual personal stories about women's sexuality. In "Tight Jeans and Chianna Chorris" the author describes her sister's struggle to form her own sexual identity and reconcile her western sexuality with her indian sexuality. Her sister, who had initially pranced around in tight clothes, transformed into the Indian equivalent failed to trail blaze her own form of sexuality that incorporated them both. The reading I found the most interesting was "Lusting for Freedom." In this short story, the author describes (in my opinion) her extreme form of sexual liberation. She lost her virginity at age 11 and continued to date and sleep with many men throughout her life. The author describes sex as a step towards self actualization and a process that can truly be a form of communication or a display of trust between two people. She argues that sex should be de-contextualized from its societal stigmas and religious ties; it should be considered a unique process for each individual. I have found some major issues with her argument. First being that she describes the process as self actualizing, but previously states how she changed herself for each man. She took on a different identity that she thought would please them. She blatantly lied about who she was- that is not self actualization. Furthermore, I think completely removing sex from any stigmas- religious or societal- may be impossible. For many, sex is an integral part of their religion and our laws in society demand that certain practices be followed. I also don't condone her advertising young women to have sex. I don't believe that any 11 year old can truly handle the responsibility of sex. Many young women do not have the psychological maturity to handle sex and I feel rush in too quickly. Yes, some women may be more ready than others, but I think that decision cannot be made until at least puberty! I have known girls that were biologically ready for sex ( I know a girl that got her period in second grade) but absolutley not actually ready for it. I think her sexual experiences were unique and she was very lucky, the same may not be expected for all other women.