Female Chauvinist Pigs By Ariel Levy

Today, many believe that stereotypes have been eradicated throughout our modern world, this is far from the truth. Beverly Daniel Tatum, an author of several books including “Why Are Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria” asks, “How did academic achievement become defined as exclusively white behavior?” Tatum has an interesting point, however stereotyping is not just about race it can be about gender bias, or body issues too. Ann DuCille, author of “From Multicultural Barbie and the Merchandising of Difference” says; “Barbie 's body is a consumer object itself a vehicle for display of clothing and spectacular trappings of a wealthy teenage fantasy life”. Ducille gives a good example of body politics, and the importance of not only focusing on race. Thus, is a good example of how stereotypes are learned by how one is treated in school or at home. Education about racial identity, gender equality, and body shaming, to an extent, will help eliminate some forms of stereotyping and create a more understanding and equal society. Therefore schools are not the problem, stereotypes, however racist, sexist, or just plain mean, are learned at home and in schools from peers, parents and teachers alike.

Ariel Levy, a staff writer at the New Yorker, and author of the article “Female Chauvinist Pig” has brought up a very interesting topic about Raunch Culture. Now, what particularly is raunch culture? Raunch culture, in my own words, I can say is defined as a culture which allows a woman to participate in male-dominant cultures of raunch that deals a lot with sex in a way that is meant to be funny. Women who participate in this culture have to reject some of the things women are known to do, which they consider “girly-girl”. Although some things that they wear or do are considered “girly-girl”, women still have to embrace, acknowledge and accept certain male stereotypes in order to participate in raunch culture.

Feminist Chimamand Ngozi once stated, "We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are/feminist someone who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes." Ariel Levy's essay "Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture" explores today’s women’s desire for sexual self-expression. The media leads women to believe being raunchy is appropriate by connecting raunch culture to feminist activities. Today raunch culture has expanded, leading one to question if raunch culture is something that should be supported. Is raunch culture sexual liberation or is it just exploiting women’s sexuality?

In the United States both scholars and the general public have been conditioned to viewing human races as natural and separate divisions within the human species based on visible physical differences. With the vast expansion of

Once a child is born, he or she learns to view the world based on the behaviors of others. The child’s primary caregivers, usually the parents, and others present in the child’s environment, such as siblings, peers, teachers, and even the media, contribute to the development of the child’s perception of himself, those around him, and society overall. This concept is called socialization. “The way we are, behave and think is the final product of socialization” and it is through socialization that we “learn what is appropriate and improper for both genders” (Crespi, 2004). This concept of gender socialization leads to the inescapable

The role of gender roles/stereotypes in our society has greatly diminished. Only those who cling to the past and who benefit from the oppression of one group believe it is still an important factor in our society. These stereotypes are harmful and create a rift between two groups of people from an early age. Children should grow up without the label a gender chosen for them and away from the toxicity of gender stereotypes and conformities in toys and activities. When kids are treated differently from a young age they grow up under the impression that they are drastically unalike and that one group shouldn’t be like the other.

Females who are over-sexualized often seek attention and acceptance. Raunch is less about female sexual liberation but instead it is fulfilling the male fantasy of unlimited female availability contributing to the stereotypes of gender roles. Raunch Culture is often seen in movies, various forms of advertisements, and through female celebrities. For example, young girls are influenced by Disney’s hidden sexual messages. This creates a negative image by making it acceptable to objectify women. Through the media women expose their bodies, using liberation as an excuse to support raunch culture contributing to the stereotypes of gender roles.

Ariel Levy accuses women of being female chauvinist pigs in her article “Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture.” They are countless women who degrade themselves and other women in this society. Yes, I do consider women in today’s entertainment industry (music, movies, television, etc.) portray themselves as sexual objects. It all comes down to money, raunchiness sells therefore that’s what we are going to see. For instance the women in the music industries and the TV shows all are going to do what it takes to make as much money as they can even if they have to degrade themselves. This world is all about money that’s why most people want to see the raunchiness and

Although Female Chauvinist Pigs can be feminist they mainly viewed as anti-feminist in this society. Anti-feminists argued that the alteration of a women’s roles is a destructive force that can be detrimental to women. Also the exaggeration of women not having equality in this society is incorrect and they believe women have enough rights as it is. Antifeminists also argue that the feminist movement, despite espousing equality, ignores the rights unique to males. By working towards gender equality the Anti-feminists believe it is harmful to society. Female Chauvinist Pigs are successful women that have their own culture advocating their post-feminist views. This is shown in Levy’s article, “Raunch culture is an over-sexualized culture which promotes women stepping out of their gender role and comfort zone” (Levy 269). These Female Chauvinist Pigs possessed higher education and prestigious careers. The culture has these women encouraging other women to accept pornography, stripping, and nudity in advertising. According to Levy’s article Female Chauvinist Pigs are not “disgusted of the female image being degraded they are taking part in the act” (Levy 268). These successful women often report that they felt some aspect of their appearance prevented them from reaching their goals. There are two strategies a Female Chauvinist Pig can use to redefine her sexuality or femaleness. She can act like a cartoon male that brags about having the biggest cock in the room or a cartoon

A problem in our world today involves the labels and generalizations that are used to describe, often negatively, a large population of people or species. Some of the more common ones that are present today include the idea that Muslims are terrorists, Syrian refugees are dangerous and are looking to cause trouble here in the United States, and so on and so forth. While these negatively impact our society in ways that can cause unmistakable and unexplainable pain to these groups of people, it is

fter reading “Female Chauvinist Pigs” by Ariel Levy, I have come to the epiphany that there is not just one or two types of women in this world. I was dumbfounded at how unaware I was of this new social change and “raunch culture”. Growing up as a young girl, I thought there was only two types of girls, and those types were tom-boys and girly-girls. You either hung out with the guys or you hung out with the girls. There was really no in-between in my mind. At no time, did I ever stop to think about the inequalities that surrounded us.

Social stereotypes are beliefs or views that are represented by individuals, groups or activities. Male and Female stereotypes are perhaps the most dominant within society. Furthermore, Individuals within society may also conform or can be categorized by specific gender and social stereotypes. These social stereotypes are the main subject of Ariel Levy’s and Jayme Poisson’s Text. In Levy’s “Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture” she takes note in the efforts of female chauvinist pigs excelling in society by acquiring male characteristics. In Poisson’s “Parents Keep Child’s Gender Secret” she writes about a set of parents that have kept their child’s gender a secret

“When Men are oppressed it’s a tragedy; when Women are oppressed, it’s a tradition” (Pogrebin). A tradition so universal that it has spawned a multitude of anthropological theories concerning its origin. Social anthropologist Gayle Rubin identifies “a systematic social apparatus which takes up females as raw materials and fashions domesticated women as products” and notes that “the exchange of women is a profound perception of a system in which women do not have full rights to themselves” (Rubin). This tradition represents such an ubiquitous phenomenon that the narrative of the oppressed woman exists throughout the Western canon. Historically and in literature, the widespread sexual repression of women often resulted in symptoms viewed as hysterical,

Nelson and Fleras defined race as the arbitrary classification of population groups into categories on the basis of perceived physical characteristics. (2005, 214). It is vital to denote that race is a social construction without a scientific basis that proves humanity is divided (Nelson, Fleras, 2005, 214). The concept of race is utilized to create a power divide between a superior race and an inferior race based on the difference in physical attributes. Race is used to exploit, use, and marginalize an “inferior” race to the benefit of the “superior” race. The social sciences are disciplines dedicated to study the implication of race among anthropology, geography, psychology, et cetera (social science, 2014). According to Nelson and Fleras, sociologists focus on the social aspects of race and how minorities are deemed as social problems and are condemned to mistreatment (2005, 212). It is believed by sociologists that Europeans were among the first to

Voluntary, amateur stripping is a scandalous exploitation of women which should not be supported by feminists. Many women believe that unprofessional stripping is a choice that expresses sexual liberation, in which feminists have continually fought for. However, this is untrue for many reasons which include objectification by men and the degradation of the female human body. Ariel Levy expands upon this position sharing that though it is remarkable that the feminist movement has reached an age where women can express themselves, the advocated feminism movement does not associate “raunchy” and “liberated” as having the same meaning. Levy is accurate in alluding that women are being objectified by men when women strip and unclothe themselves.