News Flash
http://jezebel.com/5652114/college-girls-power-point-fuck-list-goes-viral-gallery?skyline=true&s=i
In early October, a controversial power point was leaked and spread around the internet, drawing a great amount of attention to the gender role women are expected to play in society and what is considered appropriate and what is considered taboo in relation to the pre-conceived notion that the discussion of women’s sexual lives should be private. The Duke University’s Senior’s Honors Thesis was titled: “An education beyond the classroom: excelling in the realm of horizontal academics.” In this four-year project, the student researched and documented her sexual encounters with 13 “subjects”, then proceeded to evaluate and assign raw scores to each subject. These raw scores were based on physical attractiveness, size, talent, creativity, aggressiveness, entertainment, athletic ability, and a bonus section.
One main topic to take note on from this senior’s project is the portrayal of women as sexperts, and the negative reaction that the community has to this concept. As Susan Douglas illustrates in a chapter 6 of Enlightened Sexism titled “Sex ‘R’ Us”, some women want to be active sexual agents. The persona of the sexpert arises from this type of woman, who “appreciates the ultimate requirement to please [the guy] (even at her own expense or discomfort if necessary), to reassure him about his performance, and to constantly monitor and refine her ability to look sexy and to do what he wants and needs” (Douglas 157). In the Duke student’s analysis of Subject 6, she directly quotes their dirty talk: “Mmm tell me about how much you like big, black cocks/But I’ve never even hooked up with a black man! / Oh well, just pretend like you have/Umm ok… I like big, black… cocks? / God, that’s sooo fucking sexy.” This interaction makes it clear that the student conducting the research is uncomfortable or weirded out with the way that Subject 6 is talking to her, but plays along with this strange talk anyways in order to please him and to give him what she thinks he wants. This type of action would classify the student as a hybrid of empowerment and objectification, which according to Douglas makes her perfect for the age of enlightened sexism. This type of girl’s objectification isn’t imposed on her from outside society, but instead comes from within and makes her a more confident individual according to Douglas. By exploiting her own sexuality, this student is beating those around her to the judgment that comes along with acting in a scandalous manner. One reader commenting on this article refrains from judging the student, stating, “So… I noticed that she gave two people 12 out of 10’s including Subject 9. And while I personally think 12 partners over this period of time is a bit high (it’s enough to put you into a high risk category for STDs) what people do privately in the bedroom isn’t any of my business.”
Another idea that we see in Douglas’ writing that is also present in this article is the thought that “Some young women [want] sexual equity with men: that’s a claim for equal power” (Douglas 156). This Duke senior reduces the men she sleeps with to very specific, judgmental descriptions that are only deducted from their appearances and by having a handful of encounters with them. The fact that she assigns each subject a raw score partially based on size of their penises is degrading to men because this is not part of who they are as people. By exploiting the men that this Duke senior slept with for her own benefit and by treating them as objects, she is acting as men stereotypically do towards women, which is accepted in society. In a way though, this student was also exploiting herself as a sexual object. She utilized both hers and her partners’ sexuality to promote her academic position. Depending on one’s point of view, this strategy can either be seen as powerful or weak. Some may see the senior’s actions as powerful because she is resisting the objectification of women by men and throwing men’s own sexist practices right back at them. On the other hand, some feminists may view her behavior as weak because it is surrendering her powerful, influential stance and succumbing to the pressures of society to sexualize her. Whether we like it or not, our society has formed a specific mold that women must fit in today if they want to be accepted and praised for their sexuality.
The exploitation of males in this Senior Honor’s Thesis can be related to the story of Sarah Bartmann, illuminated upon in Patricia Hill Collin’s article titled “Why Black Sexual Politics?” In a London exhibit, Bartmann,“a Khoi woman from what is now South Africa… is displayed caged, rocking back and forth to emphasize her supposedly wild and dangerous nature. She wears a tight-fitting dress whose brown color matches her skin tones. When ordered to do so, she leaves her cage and parades before the audience who seems fascinated with what they see as her most intriguing feature: her buttocks” (Collins 26). This obvious exploitation of Bartmann’s body is similar to the exploitation of the men in the Duke senior’s thesis. There are pictures of each “subject” with their shirts off and their faces blurred. The fact that they are classified by such ridiculous standards as attractiveness (consists of height, body build (muscle mass and definition), jaw-line, quality/texture/cut of hair/facial structure, penile structures, and eyes/eyebrows) dehumanizes them, just as Bartmann was dehumanized by being forced to parade her large buttocks in front of a crowd and later by being dissected and having her brain, labia, and buttocks displayed in public for decades without her consent. In response to the article on the Duke student’s Senior Honors Thesis, “another_damn_name” makes a very good point in addressing the fact that “There are a lot of candid and intelligent ways that both men and women can discuss their sexuality while at the same time having respect for the humanity of their partners. This "Fuck List" though shows an absolute disregard for the woman's sexual partners. Men are reduced to sizes and numerical scores. Yes, she does address her partner's personalities, but not in a humanizing way. Rather, their personalities are just another part of the entertainment aspect for her.”
The message that the senior in this articled is sending about sex is extremely concerning, given the fact that she refers to her encounters with such descriptions as these: “After the most violent, aggressive, steamy research I have ever conducted, we separate, leaving behind a vehicle with windows fogged with passion”, and in recounting her experience of Subject 9 “Completely taking control, throwing me around like I weighed nothing, dominating me, grabbing my hair, switching positions rapidly”. This type of sexual behavior shows disrespect towards women, and although this type of sex may be pleasurable for her, she is sending the wrong message in saying that enjoyable sex is almost always violent, aggressive sex. Rebecca Walker, the author of “Lusting for Freedom”, would not agree with this depiction. In her chapter in the book Listen Up, Walker talks about how she believes sex is a place where a woman is able to learn on her own how the world relates to her. If girls start to think that her relation to the world is through violence and being treated as an object to be thrown around, then this could lead to many other issues in different areas of their lives. In addition to her narrative of sex through violent methods, she also describes sex under the influence of alcohol. Almost all of this student’s sexual encounters are while she is drunk or in one instance, one shot away from being blackout drunk. This aspect of her research suggests that she was not completely in control of every individual situation. Just like Rebecca Walker was incredibly lucky that her reckless sexual behavior did not lead to rape or disease, so is this Duke student.
In general, I found this article to be fascinating because it correlated so well to the issues that we are studying in class, and also related to situations that I experience and see in my everyday life. According to Webster’s dictionary, feminism is the doctrine avoiding social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men. Irin Carmon states that, “Here’s another reminder that women can be as flip, aggressive, or acquisitive about sex as men can. And there’s nothing wrong with that.” The senior described in this article definitely acted in a social way that was equal to the way that some men treat women, but specific feminists, especially those of the first and second wave, would disapprove of the way she goes about asserting her equality.
Bibliography
Carmon, Irin. "College Girl's PowerPoint "Fuck List" Goes Viral." Jezebel: Celebrity, Sex, Fashion for Women. Without Airbrushing. 30 Sept. 2010. Web. 06 Oct. 2010.
Douglas, Susan J. "Sex "R" Us." Enlightened Sexism: the Seductive Message That Feminism's Work Is Done. New York: Times, 2010. 154-87. Print.
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