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Ariel Levy’s first book is a no-holds-barred, in-your-face look at the sexual revolution sweeping our society today. Ms. Levy is not writing from a Christian perspective. Hers is not an attack from the religious right. While she seems able to mingle well in the Girls Gone Wild society that we find ourselves in, the author is troubled by what she sees as an abrupt departure by women themselves from the ideals of feminism.
Through extensive interviews and in-depth reporting, Ms. Levy is able to describe a world in which women either try to imitate Playboy models or openly appreciate those who can “strut their stuff.” She asks how a porn star, Jenna Jameson, can become an icon in popular society – and not just among men. Ms. Jameson’s book How to Make Love Like a Porn Star was on the best-seller list for six weeks in 2006.
Open sexuality and pornography are no longer fringe industries. They are part of mainstream American life, accepted equally by men and women. Jameson’s publisher, Judith Regan, explains, “I believe there is a porno-ization of the culture… if you watch every single thing that’s going on out there in the popular culture, you will see females scantily clad, implanted, dressed up like hookers, porn stars and so on, and that is very acceptable” (p. 19).
Ms. Levy struggles aloud with the fact that many successful females find it seemingly insufficient to be successful in their fields. She points out numerous examples of successful women who “flash their boobs” for a Girls Gone Wild crew or go to strip clubs or learn to “dance like a stripper.” In the case of several female Olympians who posed for Playboy and FHM, she notes, “Bimbos enjoy a higher standing in our culture than Olympians right now. Perhaps the athletes felt they were trading up” (p. 20).
The author suggests that something has gone seriously wrong in our society. She points the finger at her own gender and pointedly asks why women believe that a girly-girl in a G-string faking lust is the best that they can do. She proposes that women should discover individuality and complexity rather than trap themselves in the stereotypes of Howard Stern, Sex & the City, and pop culture. “Sex is one of the most interesting things we as humans have to play with,” she writes, “and we’ve reduced it to polyester underpants and implants” (p. 198).
Female Chauvinist Pigs is an eye-opener. It is also eye-popping at points, as Ms. Levy is not afraid to use seemingly crude language in reporting some of the things she witnessed in her research for this book.
I would not recommend this book to anyone who is faint of heart or previously unexposed to raunch culture. To those who actively pursue points of engagement with our popular culture, however, I would suggest that this is a helpful guide to understanding many of the pressures placed on young women. Someone in your campus ministry should look through this book.
Jason Locke served as Student Director of the University Christian Student Center at Tennessee Tech University while completing his B.S. Mechanical Engineering (1989). Then was a missionary to Prague, Czech Republic before returning to the U.S. to marry Julie Anderson (1992) and to complete a M.S. in Missions and a Master of Divinity from Abilene Christian University. In 1994, they returned to Prague on a church planting team and stayed until 2000. Since 2001, Jason has served as campus minister to West Virginia University (Mountaineers for Christ), in Morgantown, WV. He also serves on the Campus CrossWalk board as directory and news editor.
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