Female Chauvinist Pigs
Encyclopedia
Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture (2005) is a book by Ariel Levy
which critiques modern feminist culture in the United States and elsewhere.
Levy argues that America is a sex obsessed culture that objectifies women and encourages women to objectify themselves. Citing examples ranging from the fad of Playboy Bunny
merchandise for women to the moral panic
of rainbow parties
, Levy argues that American mass culture has framed the game so perversely that young women now strive to be the "hottest" and "sexiest" girl they know rather than the most accomplished. She traces the history of this trend to long-unresolved conflicts between the women's movement
and the sexual revolution
.
Levy criticizes what she refers to as "lipstick feminists
" and "loophole
women". According to Levy, lipstick feminists believe, for example, that stripping
is empowering for women and that putting on a show to attract men, for instance through makeup, clothing, or girl-on-girl physical contact, is not contrary to the goals and ideals of feminism. Levy disagrees with this view, criticizing such lipstick feminists as those involved in the CAKE organization, which provides sexually-oriented entertainment for women. Levy quotes from the CAKE website: "The new sexual revolution is where sexual equality and feminism finally meet."
On the other end of the spectrum, Levy takes issue with women who make their way in a man's world by playing by men's rules. Sometimes, she argues, these women even make their fame and fortune by objectifying other women; for example, Levy finds it interesting that the Playboy
organization was run by a woman, Christie Hefner, Hugh Hefner
's daughter.
Levy addresses those women who make their way in their fields on their own merit, but shy away from feminism, saying: "But if you are the exception that proves the rule, and the rule is that women are inferior, you haven't made any progress."
Ariel Levy
Ariel Levy is a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine and author of the book Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Vogue, Slate, Men's Journal and Blender...
which critiques modern feminist culture in the United States and elsewhere.
Levy argues that America is a sex obsessed culture that objectifies women and encourages women to objectify themselves. Citing examples ranging from the fad of Playboy Bunny
Playboy Bunny
A Playboy Bunny is a waitress at the Playboy Club. The Playboy Clubs were originally open from 1960 to 1988. The Club re-opened in one location in The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas in 2006...
merchandise for women to the moral panic
Moral panic
A moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order. According to Stanley Cohen, author of Folk Devils and Moral Panics and credited creator of the term, a moral panic occurs when "[a] condition, episode, person or group of...
of rainbow parties
Rainbow party (sexuality)
A rainbow party is a supposed group sex event featured in an urban legend spread since the early 2000s. A variant of other sex party urban myths, the stories claim that at these events, allegedly increasingly popular among adolescents, females wearing various shades of lipstick take turns fellating...
, Levy argues that American mass culture has framed the game so perversely that young women now strive to be the "hottest" and "sexiest" girl they know rather than the most accomplished. She traces the history of this trend to long-unresolved conflicts between the women's movement
Feminist Sex Wars
The Feminist Sex Wars and Lesbian Sex Wars, or simply the Sex Wars or Porn Wars, were the acrimonious debates within the feminist movement and lesbian community in the late 1970s through the 1980s around the issues of feminist strategies regarding sexuality, sexual representation, pornography,...
and the sexual revolution
Sexual revolution
The sexual revolution was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the 1960s into the 1980s...
.
Levy criticizes what she refers to as "lipstick feminists
Lipstick feminism
Lipstick feminism is a variety of Third-wave feminism that philosophically reclaims the sexual power of women, in response to the social and cultural backlash of the ideologically radical varieties of Second-wave feminism of the 1960s and the 1970s...
" and "loophole
Loophole
A loophole is a weakness that allows a system to be circumvented.Loophole may also refer to:*Arrowslit, a slit in a castle wall*Loophole , a short science fiction story by Arthur C...
women". According to Levy, lipstick feminists believe, for example, that stripping
Striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner...
is empowering for women and that putting on a show to attract men, for instance through makeup, clothing, or girl-on-girl physical contact, is not contrary to the goals and ideals of feminism. Levy disagrees with this view, criticizing such lipstick feminists as those involved in the CAKE organization, which provides sexually-oriented entertainment for women. Levy quotes from the CAKE website: "The new sexual revolution is where sexual equality and feminism finally meet."
On the other end of the spectrum, Levy takes issue with women who make their way in a man's world by playing by men's rules. Sometimes, she argues, these women even make their fame and fortune by objectifying other women; for example, Levy finds it interesting that the Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
organization was run by a woman, Christie Hefner, Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
's daughter.
Levy addresses those women who make their way in their fields on their own merit, but shy away from feminism, saying: "But if you are the exception that proves the rule, and the rule is that women are inferior, you haven't made any progress."
See also
- Feminist Sex WarsFeminist Sex WarsThe Feminist Sex Wars and Lesbian Sex Wars, or simply the Sex Wars or Porn Wars, were the acrimonious debates within the feminist movement and lesbian community in the late 1970s through the 1980s around the issues of feminist strategies regarding sexuality, sexual representation, pornography,...
- Sexual objectificationSexual objectificationSexual objectification refers to the practice of regarding or treating another person merely as an instrument towards one's sexual pleasure, and a sex object is a person who is regarded simply as an object of sexual gratification or who is sexually attractive...
- SexualizationSexualizationThe definition of the term, Sexualization has been the subject of debate and dispute. It has been described as the act or process of sexualizing. It refers to the making of a person, group or thing to be seen as sexual in nature or a person to become aware of sexuality...
- Social impact of thong underwear
- PornifiedPornifiedPornified: How Pornography Is Damaging Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families is a 2005 book by American writer Pamela Paul, discussing the impact of ready access to pornography on Americans....