On Feminism and Sadomasochistic Sex by Dana Goldstein
Katie Roiphe's Perversion of Feminism by Jaclyn Friedman
I admit that I haven't seen or heard of the HBO show to which these writers are referring, however one doesn't have to be in order appreciate their advocacy of an erotic feminism. I admire the sex-positive posture of the first article in recognizing that sex is a dynamic arena where power can be manipulated in ways that transgress gender (she mentions the fantasies of submission that's prevalent among "publicly powerful people"). In the second article, the writer is careful to hold a critique of cliche Hollywood portrayals of a weak femininity that limits women's sexual exploration. She writes:
"As a feminist, my problem with the mass-marketing of the pale,
swooning female submissive tied up for the love of her man isn't that
she exists, but that no other kind of "taboo" sexual women seem to. We
don't get mainstream narratives inviting us to identify with women who
like to dominate in bed, or mass-marketed portrayals of women of color
and queer women as sexual heroines in control of their choices – likely
because that would create more "free will" for women than the media
bosses are really comfortable with.
And therein lies the rub. When
the media only repeats stories about one very narrow idea of
"transgressive" female sexuality, it limits our sexual imaginations, and
therefore the possibilities of our sexual lives. In order for women to
become genuine sexual actors in the culture (as opposed to merely
objects for men), we have to have access to a complex range of
fantasies."
Well said!
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