The femmes fatales, those sexually-irresistible Delilahs of lore, are
staging a comeback. And this time with a vixen-like vengeance.
Remember Mata Hari, the curvaceous exotic dancer who was accused of
spying for the Germans in World War I? And of course there was Mae West,
who once boasted of her controversial screen-writing career, "Women
became more sex-conscious -- sex was out in the open and fun."
For many years, the female sexual instinct was driven underground by
feminist sensibilities. After all, why would a career-minded woman ever
want to become entangled in a romantic interlude that might end up with
her becoming a stay-at-home mom?
Now female sexuality is back, but this time with a whole new twist: it's
women
who are doing the objectifying. Consider the ever-popular Vagina
Monologues, where the playwright, actresses, and most audience members
are female.
In her new book Female Chauvinist Pigs, Ariel Levy explores the current
storm-surge of female sexual liberation. The concern is no longer A-cup
teeny-boppers sporting thong underwear with the Playboy logo. The
problem is the growing sexual aggressiveness of women, like the girl
from Oakland who bragged to Levy, "To dress the skankiest, that would be
the one way we all compete. Since seventh grade, the skankier, the
smaller, the more cleavage, the better."
The concern goes beyond pubescent cleavage. There's a perverse side to
free love that can be summed up in three words: pornography, rape, and
prostitution.
Pornography is now being touted as the next rampart to be stormed in the
crusade for women's liberation. "Unapologetic nudity has too long
denoted impurity,"
explains
North Carolina co-ed Sara Boatright, "So the
final feminist frontier could be the reclamation of our own territory."
Women now represent 30%
of all online porn visitors. And growing numbers of women are
clamoring to get in on the action - witness SuicideGirls.com, where any
woman can step in front of the camera and become the Porn
Queen-for-a-Day.
Gloria Steinem once warned, "Pornography is the instruction. Rape is the
practice." That admonition may explain why a growing number of female
school teachers are preying on their male teenage charges.
Scarcely a month passes without hearing of yet another assault. Last
month it was Margaret De Barraicua who pleaded guilty to four counts of
unlawful sex with a 16-year-old male student in Sacramento. In August it
was Beth Geisel, a writing teacher in Albany and mother of four,
arrested for allegedly raping a teenaged boy in May.
Earlier this year Debra Lafave of Florida, Angela Stellwag of New
Jersey, and Kathy White and Pamela Turner, both of Tennessee - were
arrested for seducing and deflowing teenage boys. One can only hope
these predators are put away for a good long time.
As disturbing as these incidents are, what troubles me most is the
mainstreaming of prostitution. Take Jenna Jameson's steamy memoir, How
to Make Love Like a Porn Star, which informs us that a hooker "can
actually become a role model for women." Apparently a lot of folks liked
what they read, because the book stayed on the New York Times bestseller
list for six weeks last year.
If you still don't believe that the ersatz allure of prostitution isn't
undermining the moral basis of our culture, check out the July issue of
the women's magazine Marie Claire. There you'll see
an article which
describes how Dutch sex workers are "using their bodies to foster trust,
compassion, and happiness in the world."
Am I the only one feeling sick right now?
When the Bolsheviks came to power in 1917, one of their first actions
was to replace the institution of marriage with the ideology of sexual
license. As Soviet prosecutor Krilenko
explained,
"Free love is the
ultimate aim of a socialist state."
The League of Communist Youth organized "Down with Innocence" circles to
promote sexual experimentation. Men began to exchange wives with the
same zeal they displayed in the consumption of vodka. Newly-emancipated
women pursued liaisons with wealthy men, with the aim of becoming
pregnant and then suing the men for alimony.
Eventually families disintegrated altogether, leaving thousands of
homeless foundlings roaming the countryside in a desperate search for
food and comfort.
All that was considered progress.
