The New Soft War on Women by Caryl Rivers

Author:Caryl Rivers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2013-09-23T16:00:00+00:00

PORN AND ROMANCE: AN ODD COUPLE?

Some future media historian may refer to the present era as the “age of hypersexuality.” Never before have there been so many images of women in sexual poses that are demeaning, violent and subservient.

A continuing extreme sexualization of women and girls dominates the media and the culture. As cultural critic Gail Dines notes, “Something has shifted so profoundly in our society that the idealized, pop culture image of women in today’s pornified world is no longer a Stepford Wife but rather a plasticized, scripted, hyper-sexualized, surgically enhanced young woman. The media world we live in today has replaced the stereotyped Stepford Wife with the equally limiting and controlling stereotype of a Stepford Slut.”34

In October 2010, fraternity pledges at Yale chanted as they marched across the campus. This is what they shouted:

My name is Jack,

I’m a necrophiliac.

I fuck dead women,

and fill them with my semen.

No means yes,

Yes means anal.

[Repeated]

Fuck al-Qaeda

Fuck al-Qaeda

[Repeated]

Fucking sluts

Fucking sluts

[Repeated]

USA

USA35

The oversexualization of young women is taking a major toll, leading to severe mental and physical health problems. Some of these include risky sexual behavior and high rates of eating disorders, depression and low self-esteem. In a 2007 major report on girls, the American Psychological Association found the media emphasizing young women’s sexuality “to a stunning degree.”36 A University of Buffalo study found that females are eleven times more likely to be sexualized in the popular media than males are.37

At the same time, the romance genre is booming; Prince Charming is alive and well, even when he arrives in peculiar forms—such as the hunky vampire and werewolf in the monumentally successful Twilight books and film. Romance fiction is a huge business, whose revenue actually increased from $1.355 billion in 2010 to $1.368 billion in 2011, and it remains the largest share of the consumer market, at 14.3 percent. Readership continues to grow.

While romance novels may seem to be harmless entertainment, they have a darker side. One study found that women who buy into romantic fantasies tend to choose occupations with reduced economic rewards that require less education after high school.

Such women also show little interest in high-status occupations. Living too fully in an unreal world of fantasy and romance can undermine your economic prospects in the real world.38

Both hypersexuality and the romance genre of books and movies are part of the New Soft War, because both have negative effects on one very important part of a woman’s anatomy according to the American Psychological Association: her brain.

The APA found that girls’ preoccupation with appearance ties up cognitive resources, “meaning girls will have less time and mental energy for other pursuits. . . . Girls may be learning to prioritize certain rewards (male attention) over other rewards (academic accomplishment), thus limiting their future educational and occupational opportunities.”

This obsession may even interfere with their interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The APA notes, “If they perceive occupations relating to [STEM] as less consistent with a sexy self-image, they may be induced to want to

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