A lot of fun and exciting things happened recently related to feminism and the role of women in American society. The always brilliant Camille Paglia published her awesome take down of Lady Gaga and the end of the Sexual Revolution. Actress Gemma Arterton lamented that Hollywood only thinks of her as a “piece of ass,” Plucky Tea Party favorite Christine O’Donnell beat Democrat Mike Castle in the Delaware Republican primary. “Comedian” George Lopez hypothesized that Sarah Palin may destroy the world. And, Big Hollywood was graced with some musings on feminism by certified bad-ass Lexi Alexander.
A lot of seemingly unrelated things. But together, they all lead to a stunning conclusion.
Let’s start with the stunning Ms. Arterton. The former “Bond Girl” and star of films like “Prince of Persia” and “Clash of the Titans” told a British paper that her treatment and roles in Hollywood films were demeaning. She resents being treated like a “piece of ass.” Her complaints seemed to indicate that she was the victim of a much larger problem.
Next to Ms. Arterton’s “Clash of the Titans” on the theater marquee this summer was a film called “Salt.” It starred Angelina Jolie. The lead role was originally written for a man. In fact, Tom Cruise was once attached to the project. The film was a huge success. It’s one of the biggest hits of the year. Somehow, perhaps through pagan magic cast by Christine O’Donnell, Ms. Jolie managed to not only land the part, but carry a major studio action film without suffering the fate of being “just a piece of ass.”
This is empirical evidence that the traditional paradigm of female roles in Hollywood no longer exists. The harsh reality is that it’s now about individual performers. Ms. Arterton, with her limited range and non-existent familiarity with American audiences, exists in a different category in the minds of casting directors and producers. Her problem isn’t that she’s a woman. Her problem is that she’s not Angelina Jolie.
Ms. Paglia’s piece devotes a considerable amount of time to trashing the artistic merits of Lady Gaga. And rightfully so. But more importantly, her article is an indictment of the entire Sexual Revolution. Paglia has uncovered a nasty reality. The Sexual Revolution was ultimately misguided. There was never a coherent plan. We now find ourselves in a new world, asking ourselves “now what?”
Given our hyper-sexualized society, with bold female, sexual empowerment, aren’t artists like Taylor Swift much more radical than the stale musings of Lady Gaga? Isn’t the cutesy sexuality of a Katy Perry more daring? What about the esoteric and spiritual lyrics and imagery behind bands like Plumb, Evanescence, The Divine Madness and Lacuna Coil? Yet, the traditional feminists treat these artists like the enemy. Their pursuit of “equality,” “freedom” and “choice” appears to have limitations. You can choose whatever you want ladies… as long as it’s the choice that we approve. It makes one wonder. Is it really better to take your marching orders from a group of man-hating women, or a patriarchal society? At least the men were consistent.
The woman’s movement has produced numerous political success stories. Now, the aging establishment is faced with the perplexing existence of people like Sarah Palin and Christine O’Donnell. These women pose a dilemma. They are without a doubt women, yet, their politics don’t mesh with the party line. What is a good drone to do?
The simple fact that less than one-hundred years after women gained the right to vote, a hot mom from Alaska could be called “the destroyer of worlds,” demonstrates how far our nation has come. Hop in a time machine and ask some elitist in 1890 if one day a woman like Sarah Palin would become more dangerous than Cthulhu, Voldemort, and Grand Moff Tarkin. He would laugh, sip his brandy and blow pipe smoke in your face.
Christine O’Donnell must now stand on her own as a candidate. I wonder how many people rolled their eyes, as I did, as the news media started asking if “sexism” played a role in the Republican establishment’s treatment of Ms. O’Donnell? Guys like Rove and Krauthammer have been pretty consistent in their support of conservative candidates, regardless of their gender. They are concerned with the national implications of the election and the fate of the Republican establishment. I say, let the establishment burn, but that’s just me. Similarly, I think Bill Maher would have come out from under his bridge with silly videos even if the candidate in question was a Warlock instead of a Witch. Point is, Ms. O’Donnell’s gender is a non-issue.
Lastly, Ms. Alexander’s essay sums up the problem with old school feminism quite nicely. If the goal is to elevate women beyond the status of sexual object, it is more than counterproductive, and just a tad ironic, to base criticism of women in the media solely on their sexuality. It’s not about how sexy, or not sexy a woman is, but what’s going on inside her head. Promoting super hot, slutty women is not inherently a bad thing. Promoting and emulating stupidity is. To call people who mock the nitwits on the “Jersey Shore” sexist is simply foolish. On the flip side, it is not merely the sexuality of the reality stars and society starlets that is detrimental to society. It is their utter banality.
So, what do we have here? One of the world’s biggest, action movie stars is a woman. Strong, principled female politicians have sent their enemies and the political establishment into full blown histrionics. A stalwart of the original feminist movement is declaring that female sexual liberation has come full circle and has descended into the mundane. A female martial artist, stunt woman, and action film director is courted by a major, conservative website to express her view that others should be judged on the size of their brains, and not on the size of their… well, you get the idea. This sounds to me like all good things. I think the feminists of the 1960s and their disciples should be hanging up the “Mission Accomplished” banners and doing a victory lap. Instead, they choose to roll out the same, old, shriveled act… sort of like and Aerosmith concert.
I will spare you the insult to your intelligence by not beginning my summary with “there still is a lot of work to do” and “sexism is still a huge problem.” It really isn’t. Of course, there are isolated incidents and some backwards individuals out there. But, the time has come to move to the next level. The limitations, glass ceilings, and “gender expectations” of the past have gone up in flames faster than a Koran in the hands of a hillbilly preacher . Our current society is built upon the ashes of millions of bras burned in the name of equality. Progress means moving forward. If you move forward, you find yourself in a different place from where you started. That’s where we are now. A whole new world. The old paradigms, the old theories, the old arguments have lost their relevance.
Like all identity politics, the era of the “feminist” is over. Changing social norms, legal actions, and media representations have ushered in a new era. The focus of our discussions, must now be centered on the individual. We must address the concerns and issues of the smallest of minorities.
The minority of one.