Promiscuous Girl

-Irene Rose De Lilly

Labeling women by means of their sexual activity has been an oppressive and on-going occurrence for centuries. Dating back to at least 1450, for example, the word “slut” has seen associated with "a dirty, untidy, or slovenly woman" (Oxford English Dictionary). The term was later used to label a woman who is more sexually active than is deemed acceptable by society. “Words and events have a history of meanings and usages [and] they only mean something within a specific context,” writes Jeffrey Nealon and Susan Searls Giroux (24). In contemporary America, the usage of slur words such as “slut” has changed with the cultural contexts in which it is used. Yet, society’s overall concern with the personal matter of a woman’s sexual habits has increased both in the media and in the social circles of the young women who use sexual slurs to label each other. Consequently, they are seeing acting like a slut as a positive thing and associating female power with sex, eternalizing the images most men want to see on display. Although to date, woman have made huge strives in sexual liberation, the over usage of slurs against women, by women changes the impact of the slurs not their original meaning. Reclaiming words such as “slut” or “ho” will not liberate women, but focusing on the real reasons why woman remain marginalized and oppressed in society will empower them. The Women’s Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s sparked a lot of change that has benefited women throughout the United States, but the battle for equal rights is not over. Women still remain under paid and underrepresented in sports, medicine, engineering, and a whole array of other professions. According to the US Department of Labor, on average, women make 76 cents on the dollar compared to men. The exact amount varies greatly depending on what professions they hold and where they live, but over all women in the workforce do not earn as much as their male counterparts (US Department of Labor 2005). Furthermore in 2003, “among full-time, year-round workers, men earned $41,503 and women $31,653” (Andersen & Collins 72). Poverty is also an area for huge concern in the United States because since 2000 it has been steadily increasing particularly among women, who often are the breadwinners in single parent households (Andersen & Collins 67). In American politics, in organized religion, and in the military, women still have a limited influence. Therefore, eradicating social injustices and educating young women about them will prove far more beneficial than proudly calling other women sluts. While the sexual liberation of women is a positive move in the right direction, there are larger issues at hand.

The word “slut” itself was born out of oppression, restriction, and patriarchy. “One of the reasons why words are so powerful,” says feminist writer Kate Townsend, “is their ability to label, categorize and contain the diversity of humanity into neat, easy to understand groups” (2). Words that label individuals as deviant constrain and subjugate those who are confined to the categories. Simone De Beauvoir, in The Second Sex, goes into detail as to how women have been “othered” in a patriarchal world. She states, “Otherness is a fundamental category of human thought…even today woman is heavily handicapped” (151-52). Yet currently, “othering” and oppressive words such as “slut” have become commonplace in popular culture, casual conversation and media marketing. Contemporary women, young and old, use the term to demonstrate gluttony, and greed. Anything done excessively, could easily get the word “slut” attached to the end of it and instantly be considered acceptable. Calling a female friend a slut or a ho is ok if done in an endearing manner. However, the word is not losing its meaning, but rather losing its negative impact. The over usage of slur words, once used to degrade promiscuous women, are now promoting the idea of promiscuity.

That promotion is especially common in the media, via television commercials, print ads, and popular sitcoms, where sex and women’s bodies are used to sell just about anything. “There is an alarming tendency to categorize women according to their sexual behavior,” writes Townsend in her article “War of Words.” Doing this overshadows anything else that a woman might be because her sexual activity is deemed more worthy than possibly her intelligence or skills. The idea of being a slut, without actually having a lot of sex, is the ideal woman that the media advocates. Atoosa Rubenstein, editor in chief of Seventeen Magazine, recently discussed young celebrities Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears in the New York Times article, “The Taming of the Slur.” “All of our pop icons look like porn stars, however they’re all virgins, quote unquote,” she commented, “That’s a very complex message to send to girls” (2). These complex messages often lead young women to think that acting like a slut is cool because many of the attractive, famous, and, powerful women in American society are portrayed in a very sexual manner. However, these images contradict real life. A women arriving for a corporate interview could never get away with dressing provocatively, yet movies such as “Legally Blonde” have the main character showing cleavage as she fights a legal dispute in the courtroom.


Television shows such as “Girl Friends”, “The Steve Harvey Show”, and “Scrubs” portray successful women who have professional careers, but unrealistically wear tight and revealing clothing on the job. Townsend elaborates saying that if female pop icons and celebrities “continue to pose for men's magazines in their underwear and simultaneously deny any interest in sex, female sexuality [will] remain firmly divided and the sexualized woman disempowered” (3). Not to say that women should not express themselves sexually, but where does one draw the line? Impressionable young women, highly influenced by magazines, television, and cinema, have very confusing female role models.
If women act and dress like sluts people in society will perceive them to be one regardless of what they actually are or have done. Edwin M. Schur, professor of sociology at New York University, writes in his book Labeling Women Deviant that “it is often what one is perceived to ‘be,’ more than what one is believed to have done, that gives rise to stigmatization” (22). Image is very important, however the messages young women receive from the media are that looking sexy is the most powerful, if not the only way, for them to be heard. Jean Kilbourne expands on this in her article “You Talkin’ to Me?” In it she states, “Sexual images in advertising and throughout the media define what is sexy” (229). In the media, women speak first with their bodies and with their sexuality long before viewers even see their faces or hear their words. “Many ads feature just a part of a woman’s body—a derriere, a headless torso…and [are] often criticized from a puritanical perspective—there’s too much of it, its too blatant, it will encourage kids to be promiscuous…[nevertheless] mass media has made it possible for these images to constantly surround us” (Kilbourne 228-29).

The large quantity of sex in the media could possibly be producing a negligent attitude toward social problems, blinding women to the notions that they are still controlled by men. Shaved legs, hairless bikini lines, and tiny waists are only three physical characteristics women adhere to in order to look desirable. Although not all women do so for the acceptance of men, “as long as young people are bombarded with a narrow range of images that symbolizes sexiness, [many] young women will continue to let male peers and magazine pages dictate how their bodies should look and what they should be used for” (Funari 2). The usage of the word “slut” is no exception. Young women’s over usage of negative terminology to define themselves may take away the sting those words once caused, but in the end, they are still hurtful and not something women really want to be. Most men would not be interested in a promiscuous girl for anything other than a one-night stand. What matters the most is that regardless of how often the word is used, what men think about sluts is what drives most women to avoid actually being one. Kilbourne notes in her article that no woman with aspirations to get married and have a family wants to be a slut (2). Looking sexy or “slutty” is one thing, but at the end of the night, most women are aware that they are viewed and treated according to the image they present to the world.

Looking and acting like a “promiscuous girl,” as Nelly Furtado sings in her recent chart topping hit, or using the word “slut” with friends, has become commonplace among the social circles of young women. As opposed to actually being promiscuous, acting out the role has had a growing influence on popular culture for decades. This trend of cultivating an exhibitionistic appearance and attitude appears to be increasing both in the media and in the social arenas of young women. As celebrities and the media create more contradicting messages for their female audiences, consequently heightening the sexual confusion that already exists they also further the devaluation process and stigmatization of women. Presently, the word “slut” has not necessarily taken on a new meaning, but may in the future because “all meaning is contextual…languages are social rather than natural phenomena” (Nealon & Giroux 24). In the mean time, rappers Eminem and Nate Dogg will continue to hunt for “a big old slut,” while American young women continue to search for a more positive way to sexually label themselves.

Black Greeks

-Nicole Barden

Despite common assumptions, sororities and fraternities are similar to many other organized groups. Most organizations are selective and provide a certain level of familial bonds. Most organizations require dues to join; however, there is a difference between joining a Greek organization as opposed to the NAACP or a hoes of other options. Many people assume that the desire for family, success, and elitism draw people to Greek-letter organizations, but the allure is deeper. Black sororities and fraternities are appealing because of their unique position when it comes to crafting and validating Black identity.

Since their inception, Blacks used fraternal organizations as a means of resistance to combat the severe racial oppression they endured. By fighting against racial oppression many Blacks felt a tie to the organizations. Ariane Liazos and Marshall Ganz, both from backgrounds heavy in research concerning civic associations, explained that by the early 1900s “fraternal orders had become the most popular form of secular association among African Americans” (485). Black sororities and fraternities are part of this long line of Black fraternal organizations that work to provide a safe haven for Blacks in a repressive society. The Elks, The Knights of Pythias, and The Shriners among other organizations along with Black sororities and fraternities have a tie to Black identity because of their continuous resistance to oppression. Black identity is generally tied to a notion that Blacks must help the disadvantaged masses, and Black fraternal organizations have a long history of work aimed to uplift the entire race.

The website for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated displays the activism at the root of the organization. “The first public act performed by the Delta Founders involved their participation in the Women’s Suffrage March in Washington D.C., March 1913” (website). The website for Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated contains a link to The Covenant with Black America Resolution for viewers to sign the Resolution drafted by Tavis Smiley and a host of Black intellectuals that outlines the ten most important areas that Black America needs addressed.

A person who signs asserts their commitment to the message of empowerment. The Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation handles the fraternity’s philanthropic endeavors which aim to assist and serve communities “with particular emphasis on African-American communities” (website). Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated gathers their community service endeavors under the initiative Z-HOPE: Zetas Helping Other People Excel (website). Assisting disproportionately Black populations is not new, in 1919 Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated initiated “Go to High School, Go to College” a national program “to combat the eighth-grade dropout rate of 90 percent among black children” (Graham 92). Prominent Black Greeks include well known advocates of Black rights: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Thurgood Marshall, and W.E.B DuBois, Jesse Jackson, Maya Angelou, Coretta Scott King, Shirley Chisholm, Mary McLeod Bethune, Barbara Jordan, Dr. Betty Shabazz, Huey Newton and A. Philip Randolph (Graham 92, 94, 96; website).

Racist psychologists have a long tradition of using psychology to promote the idea of racial inferiority. Personality traits and intelligence tests were often used to claim innate differences between various racial and ethnic groups (Heinz). Despite previous misuses of the discipline, psychology is a useful tool for assessing Black identity. The idea of a dual personality was outlined by American psychologist William James as early as 1890 in his book Principles of Psychology (Heinz 233). Blacks and Jews were well known for articulating the plight of those afflicted by battling identities due to the American racial and ethnic paradigm. They “had the most profound collective consciousness of estrangement coexisting with an equally profound yearning for integration into the larger society” (241). W.E.B DuBois’ concept of double consciousness articulates this desire to assert a Black self while also being incorporated into the larger, mainly white, American society. Double consciousness is not relegated to the early 20th century. Today, Blacks in America still deal with the idea of “keeping it real” and struggle with the idea of “acting Black.” Blacks continue to navigate Black identity within a context that does not value their existence. Sororities and fraternities were, and still are, ways that Blacks assert their racial pride while also trying to break into the racist capitalistic society. They have a history of promoting a black identity, through activism, while the ultimate goal is to integrate its members into the larger society.

Economics play a major role in sorority and fraternity initiatives geared towards members. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated website encourages members to improve their finances because “when every member develops her mind with micro and macro economic principles, she will possess the form of permanent wealth that she can sacrifice in service to all mankind.” Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated partnered with Edward Jones, an investment firm, and have a link on their website to a site that provides information on various aspects of investing and finance and ways that Edward Jones can assist members with their financial security. Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated has a Phi Beta Sigma Federal Credit Union which provides a banking system for Sigmas and their sister organization, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. It is a place to save money and infers that this is the first step to creating wealth (website). Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated offers Internet access service, Omega phone cards, and telephone service as means to increase the economic endeavors of the entire organization.

Trying to reconcile a Black identity within a racist culture presents problems, but the need to belong to a group is urgent for most members of society, particularly Blacks. Mary Herring, Thomas B. Jankowski, and Ronald E. Brown, all of whom have backgrounds in political science, speak about group identity in reference to racial categories, but their findings can be used to address sororities and fraternities as well. If sororities and fraternities are seen as groups that create a certain Black identity then it is not hard to see the parallels between these organizations and the racial groupings that the authors allude to. Social identity attempts to determine the reason for social groups, and it “is a product of group membership” (365). The authors reference racial group membership, but membership within a sorority or fraternity plays a role in identity formation. The authors state “ingroup identity consists of both affective and cognitive dimensions,” and Black Greek-letter organizations are no exception. By providing a place to craft a social identity that is synonymous with a Black identity they are appealing to many people.

Black sororities and fraternities provide a place to cultivate a Black social identity. A “subject” is someone who is defined by factors outside of his or her control. These “external factors” are socially constructed and they include labels such as race, gender, and class (Nealon and Giroux 37). People are subjects to culture, and more particularly Black people, like all people, are subjects to their racial identity. Being subjected to these categories people must learn how to perform according to the preconceived ideas that other people have (Nealon and Giroux 38). Because “subject” status is learned, sororities and fraternities can create a blueprint for what it means to be Black. This form of Black identity is rooted in service and assimilation into the larger society through economic empowerment. The subject, in this case a Black person, “is also one of those cultural signs within the process of making meaning; the subject,…makes meanings” (41).

Black Greek-letter organizations assert a level of autonomy by providing a definition of Blackness that others can aspire to obtain. This black identity is based on a concept of “black solidarity-that seemingly involuntary readiness of most blacks to act individually and collectively to protect black people from harm and injustice” (Shelby 20). This is important because Black organizations, Tommie Shelby, Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University, explains are important tools for creating change:
No doubt, maintaining some black-only or black-controlled organizations is still useful and has its place within the larger social reform effort. Such institutions foster a shared sense of social responsibility and trust among blacks; …they provide contexts for black youth to develop a strong sense of self-worth; …and they provide vehicles for resistance. (137)
The Black identity outlined by sororities and fraternities is not all inclusive. Providing a definition of Black identity is problematic because being Black is not definable even by those who use it to oppress others. During the period when Jim Crow laws were pervasive, Blackness was determined by the amount of “Black blood” a person had. One-quarter, one-eigth, or the infamous one drop rule were all demarcations of a Black person that varied by state (Nealon and Giroux 176). Throughout history the definitions of Blackness changed.

Being subjected to this ever-changing label is nothing new, “but what that subject position means is under constant re- and deconstruction” (Nealon and Giroux 177). The power of Black sororities and fraternities emerges here because it is a platform that allows Black people to be subject to a label that they want to embrace. Whether people believe the organizations are elitist or self serving the majority of the people within the organizations embrace a Black identity without being marginalized because it is not as radical as other Black identities for example Black nationalism or Black feminism. Black sororities and fraternities carved a niche within the Black community by providing a place for Blacks to be integrated and successful in the larger society without having to apologize for their Blackness.

Hey Young Boys

-Tiffany Tolliver

After a night out on the town, the couple relaxingly sits on the couch to catch the latest episode of their favorite television program. He slowly puts his arms around her and gently caresses her neck. She smilingly rejects his advances, but he continues to caress her. Although she pushes him away and shouts no, she finds herself heavily engaged in unwanted sexual intercourse with him. Rape is often understood to be a crime that only males can implement and females can endure. As the word rape travels through the minds of people, the picture of a young, beautiful innocent girl often makes a pit stop and fuels up in their minds. When the word rapist travels through the minds of people, the picture of a big, strong muscular male often makes a pit stop and fuels up in their minds. But, let us look at the scenario from a different perspective. Let’s travel down the highway where the “word” rape refers to a little, innocent boy, and the word rapist refers to an adult woman. With the increasing number of cases involving adult women sexually assaulting young males, it is apparent that a woman can commit an act of rape with force or deception to make a young boy engage in a non-consensual penetrative or non-penetrative sexual act.
When it comes to sexual crimes, women are often perceived as innocent victims as opposed to males who are perceived as the guilty perpetrator. The Crime and Sexual Assault Support Services (CASAS) is an organization that aims to support victims of rape and sexual assault. According to the Crime and Sexual Assault Support Services, 91 percent of the victims of rape and sexual assault are females (1). French philosopher and novelist Simone de Beauvoir is the author of the book Second Sex, which analyzes the experiences of women and highlights circumstances of which women are discriminated against as the other as opposed to their male counterpart. De Beauvoir states how a woman is viewed as the Other as opposed to her male counterpart who views himself as the One (77). However, in terms of sexual assault and rape crimes, men are viewed as the Other, and women are viewed as the One. In reference to how men are viewed as the Other in terms of sexual assault and rape, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control organization has released statistics that states that female students are more likely than male students to report sexual assault. The ratio for the statistics is 11.9 percent of female students versus 6.1 percent of male students that actually reported being raped (1). The main reason for these numbers vastly differs is that society itself places certain expectations on males of which the expectations are males are supposed to be strong, masculine, and able to take care of themselves. However, such cases involving adult women molesting young males have been reported with increasing frequency in recent years in which that provides evidence that is highly likely that a female can sexually assault males.
Secrecy, distress, anger, controversy, and fear have surrounded the issue of female sexual abuse. In recent though, the subject matter of female sexual abusers has become more recognized by society. One of the most famous cases concerning female sexual abusers involves Normandy Park, Washington native Mary Kay Letourneau.

Mary Kay Letourneau is a former schoolteacher that sent American into much outrage as she continuously had an affair with her sixth grade student, thirteen-year-old Vili Fualaau. Letourneau first encountered young Vili when he was a student in her second grade class when he was around eight-years-old. Several years later, Vili returned to Letourneau’s sixth grade class as an older more mature young male. Shortly afterwards, Letourneau and Fualaau began having a sexual relationship. According to Kim Murphy of the Los Angeles Times, Letourneau and Fualaau’s relationship was publicized when Letourneau’s husband discovered love letters written between them, and following the incident, Letourneau was arrested but released due to her pregnancy which resulted from her affair with teenager Fualaau (3). Today, Letourneau and Fualaau are married with two children as result of their affair.

Although Mary Kay Letourneau is one of the most well known female sex offenders in America, there are numerous cases involving adult women sexually abusing young boys. According to Pamela Watson of the Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, sexually explicit letters that contain intense reenactments of sexual encounters suggest that two female guards, twenty-three-year-old Pamela Watson and twenty-six-year old Shelia Snell had sex with a teenager from Clemont during his detainment at an Okeechobee juvenile-detention center (1-2). Another infamous female sex offender is Jami Lee Knox. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News author L.L. Brasier, forty-one-year old Jami Lee Knox developed a sexual relationship with her son’s fifteen-year-old friend (1). As a result, Knox is now facing charges (Brasier 1). Brasier also notes how thirty-two-year-old band instructor Laura Findlay “has admitted to having sex with six of her middle school students from November 2006 to March 2006”(1). The latest incident involving female sex offenders occurred in a Delaware elementary school where a four-year social science teacher, thirty-four-year-old Rachel L. Holt, was charged with twenty-eight counts of raping a thirteen-year-old sixth grade student (Wood 1). Within the article, the medical director at the Joseph J. Peters Institute Dr. James M. Pedigo states that the number of female pedophiles has not greatly increased in the last twenty years, but that society is now recognizing that a sexual encounter between an adult women and a younger male is sexual abuse (2). The sexual abuse of young males is becoming increasingly recognized not because the young males are reporting the rapes but due to other concerned adult figures that take the initiative to put an end to rape. Let’s now take the alter the scenario at the beginning of this essay.

After a night out on the town, two thirteen-year-old boys rush to their friend’s house to catch an exciting football. As they knock on the door, the boy’s mother enthusiastically greets them. She calls to her son to let him know that his two friends have arrived. Two of the boys rush to the living room and turns on the television, while the other boy goes upstairs to the bathroom. As he leaves the bathroom, his friend’s mother calls to him to enter her room. When he enters her room, he finds her seductively dressed in lingerie. She comes and wraps her arms around the waist of the young boy, who is extremely aroused. Before the boy realizes it, he and his friend’s mother are heavily engaged in sexual intercourse.

The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control states that “over 90,000 men (0.1%) reported being raped in the previous 12 months”(2). Now, when the “word” rape travels through the minds of people, the picture of a young male should also make a pit stop and fuel up in their minds, and when the “word” rapist travels down that same path, the picture of an adult woman should also make a pit stop and fuel in their minds.

Booty is the New Face!

-Ashley Pruitt




“I’m literally yours hun, Cuz’ I never seen an ass so big with a waist as little as yours…clothes fit it [it-refers to the female butt] I want you to give me some of it because minute by minute I rise because your thighs and all your hips,” these lyrics are taken from the song entitled “It’s All Right” by rappers Fabolous and Sean Paul. The rappers explicitly express their likening of a Black woman’s butt, hips, and thighs. Hip hop lyrics are notorious for their descriptions of Black women’s bodies with a focus on Black women’s curvaceous body parts: butt, breast and thighs. Frequently, in southern Black culture the characteristic that a man notices about a Black woman is her body- breast, hips thighs and butt. Other aspects such as her face are not initially given as much attention. In the article “Ethnic Differences in Female Overweight: Data form the National Interview Health Survey” Deborah Dawson notes that in southern Black culture the ideal Black women’s body is heavy in comparison to White women and by health standards is often considered overweight ( Dawson 1326). But, many southern Black women ignore the unhealthiness of being overweight and eat more in order to replicate the voluptuous body type that Black men perceive as attractive. Now, not only are a large percent of Black women overweight, but more than thirty percent are affected by obesity (Lovejoy 246).
Eating disorders are the third most chronic illness among females in the United States. Over the past twenty years there has been a five hundred percent increase of eating disorders (Lofton 5). There has been a sixteen percent increase of obesity in Black women from 1988 to 2000 (American Obesity Association). In the article “Race Differentials in Obesity: The impact of Place” the authors’ research proved that obesity in predominately poor Black communities is related to their lack of socioeconomic resources such as proper health care (Boardman et al). This was proven through a study that showed that minority women with low income appear to have the greatest likelihood of being overweight (American Obesity Association). Additionally, the American Obesity Association studies report that “Cultural factors related to dietary choices, physical activity, and acceptance of excess weight among African Americans, appear to play a role in interfering with weight loss efforts,” thus leading to obesity. My understanding of the common causes of obesity has led me to introduce a different reason for the disorder in southern Black women. The high rates of obesity among Black women in southern culture can be
linked to Black men and mainstream media’s standard of ideal beauty in Black women.
Why are women so critical about their bodies? Susan Bordo the author of Unbearable Weight discusses answers to this question. She states that American western culture has socially constructed the idea that women’s bodies are subject to improvement (Bordo 68). This means that women should be critical about their bodies in an effort to better themselves. John Berger emphasizes this ideology more in his article “Ways of Seeing.” He states that a woman has to constantly survey herself because how she appears to others and mostly how she appears to men is of crucial importance (Berger 115). Additionally, Bordo discusses that the media plays a major role in the perception that women have about their bodies. The media perpetuates the ideals for standard beauty through their constant representation of certain body types. Accordingly, the critical attitudes that women have about their bodies is a result of societies emphasis of making the body pleasing for others as represented in the media.
Beautiful Black women in mainstream media are characterized by their heavy but proportioned bodies. In the article “Exposure to the Mass Media and Weight Concerns Among Girls” the authors’ research showed that pictures in magazines and other media forms had a strong impact on girls' perceptions of their weight and shape (Field et al.). Sixty- nine percent of the girls reported that magazine pictures influence their idea of the perfect body shape. In Black magazines, music videos and films many of the Black women portrayed have a small waist against wide hips and a large butt. In the article “Adaptive Significance of female Attractiveness: Role of Waist-to-Hip Ratio” Devendra Singh talks about the importance of waist to hip ratio. A narrow waist set aside a full set of hips is considered attractive. Black men have coined the word “thick” to denote this ideal body type that Singh talks about. To further my understanding of the word “thick” I conducted a survey. Through 70 surveys where half of the surveyors were men, 95 percent agreed that a “thick” woman was more attractive than a thinner woman .The frequent representation of these body parts emphasizes the aesthetic value they have in the Black community. Thus many Black women take drastic measures to achieve the “thick” body type.



On a yahoo blog entitled “how do I get thick” women offered unhealthy advice for achieving this body type. The myths for getting thick included: eat more bread, eat potatoes, drink a lot of milk, eat many carbohydrates, super size yourself as in McDonalds and eat more food all together. By trying to imitate the “thick” images that Black women see in mainstream media, they sacrifice their health and become more susceptible to obesity.
Black men’s reaction to heavier or “thick” women is a cause of obesity in Black women. I observed a reaction to a “thick” Black woman while at a concert and I also observed the affect it had on a smaller Black woman. A young Black female walked by the crowd who fit the “thick” body type and the men were very intrigued by her presence. They showed this through their constant verbal and physical actions toward her. One man commented “she could have a paper bag over her head and I would still get with her.” The girl sitting beside me was smaller than the ideal Black woman and she said that maybe she needed to eat more in order to attract that kind of attention. The comment that one of the Black men made about putting a paper bag over the woman’s face is relevant because it shows the emphasis that is placed on a Black woman’s body versus her face. A smaller Black woman may feel that her face is not an attractor to Black men thus might resort in excessive eating to gain the physique that get Black men’s attention. Susan Bordo states in Unbearable Weight the affect that men’s reactions have toward women. She says that women often feel that their bodies are never good enough. “This is suggested by the reaction of men to other women’s bodies evoking a feeling that their body is lack something” (Bordo 67). Therefore men’s reactions to “thick” women can be a link to high cases of obesity among Black women by making smaller Black women feel the need eat to gain the physical attributes that receive male attention.
The lack of pressure to be thin as a result of Black men and the media’s acceptance of heavier Black women is also tied to overeating and obesity in Black women. Because the media and Black men are acceptant of heavier women, Black women who are already overweight may not feel compelled to lose weight or on the other hand they my feel compelled to continue eating so they can maintain their heavier size. White women are more likely than Black women to perceive themselves as overweight (Dawson 1326). But interestingly Meg Lovejoy states in “Disturbances of the Social Body: Differences in Body Image and Eating Problems Among African American and White Women that obesity affects more than thirty percent of Black women and over half of White women are normal weight (243-246). This statistic shows how the different pressures that the two cultures have on body type affect the perception that women have on themselves. Along with the Black culture’s acceptance of heavier women Lovejoy notes that Black women’s perception of whether they are overweight is influenced by the weight relative to peers versus health standards (243). Again, Black women are influenced by the acceptance of the media and Black men views of body weight.
“ Your girl is alright but, did you see my girl she got a fat ass” this excerpt is taken from former hit show The Wayne’s brothers. The character Marlin Wayne makes the claim that his girl is better because of her large butt. He is not alone in his attraction to the “thick” Black female body. Many studies have shown that other Black men are lured by this body type as well. Obesity is an often ignored eating disorder that affects numerous Black women. The media and Black men’s constant emphasis on heavier but proportioned body type is a link to obesity. Beauty is not characterized by the face but by the body. Black women may feel that their face is irrelevant. Indeed booty is the new face!

What's No got to do with it?

-Yvette Hubbard

Women in modern day American Society are forced to live in a patriarchal society that places the benefits of the man before the well being of a woman. Many times women are walking alone to their cars late at night or jogging through their own neighborhood, and subsequently become targets of sexual assault and often times rape. This astounding realization has many components by which many women are affected. Most women live with a fear of the aggressors and the instances which may place them in vulnerable situations with the aggressor. The aggressor in most of these instances is a male, and such men can often times feel justified under a society that proves to value a patriarchal structure. “The right of men to control the female body is a cornerstone of patriarchy” ( Sheffield 451). Men are excused and in many instances exempt from the responsibility of committing these illegal acts of sexual assault against women. American patriarchal structures shape many women’s fears of sexual violence, as well as the perplexing behaviors in men that lead women to this feeling of inferiority and fear.

Conscious fears that women have as a result of male dominance are apparent in women’s everyday lives. For example, a normal task of doing laundry at a laundromat becomes a situation which a woman may feel unsafe, for “the truth inscribed on the woman’s body is not that biologically, all men are potential rapists. It is rather that, biologically, all women are potential rape victims” (Cahill 9). Often times if a woman is alone and it is dark outside, she will hurry to her car, frantically find her keys, rush and get inside the car to lock the doors. From this point, she will then look around at her surroundings before driving away, in hopes that no one will follow or watch her. The idea that women have to worry about being alone or being watched is a major problem in American society that not only allows men to hold power, but it continues the oppression of women being considered easy targets for sexual violence. This laundromat example is just one of the many instances where women feel a conscious fear of the aggressor, and the way in which males both consciously and unconsciously use the idea of sexual terrorism to frighten women and have them live in a constant fear of being watched and attacked (Sheffield 451-452).
The inferiority that women have due to these situations, contributes to the behaviors that most men exhibit in regards to feeling entitled to control the woman’s body and dominate her entirely. This type of domination can even be found in the workplace, where men are seen as more powerful and justified for holding their management positions than women. This justification relates back to what Simone de Beauvoir discusses in her article “Introduction from the Second Sex,” where she explains that women are not viewed as important or considered primary in the way that men are. “A man is in the right in being a man; it is the woman who is in the wrong” (Beauvoir 76), and this parallels the way that men are excused from sexual assault in society. In the same way, men are viewed as justified for their sexual conquests simply because they are men, and because due to the patriarchal society they are entitled to the body of a woman. These alarming reasons and examples can not only be proven, but there are specific statistics and instances in society that prove the way in which women are blamed as victims and the assaults against them are not seen as an issue but rather apart of an everyday norm; A norm that through the evolution in history has become less and less a heinous crime, and more of a situation that just happens to occur against women. “While the intent of the legal reformers was to insure fairness and equal protection of the law for all involved, thereby correcting some of the more blatant abuses of past legislation, we contend that the effect of many of these changes was to trivialize the offense of rape and to devalue the victim” (Giacopassi and Wilkinson 1). The examination of the numerous statistics of rape cases and the behavior behind the male aggressors committing the rape crimes must be examined and understood. The way in which these male behaviors originally form, and the result of the behaviors is a major force behind the reason women live in conscious fear of the sexual assaulter. Some men are raised in a social structure that does not agree upon the severity of rape or even the degree that men are responsible of such crimes. Dating back as far as 1977, issues regarding women’s sex and body have been viewed as trivial instances that have no importance in society. As Michael Foucault states,
One can always produce the theoretical discourse that amounts to saying: in any case, sexuality can in no circumstances be the object of punishment. And when one punishes rape one should be punishing physical violence and nothing but that. And to say that it is nothing more than an act of aggression: that there is no difference, in principle, between sticking one’s fist into someone’s face or one’s penis into their sex (Cahill 1).

The history of rape has been viewed as a situation that is perceived as simply violence, rather than sexual violence, is a viewpoint that has transcended into American Society today. Although Michel Foucault made these comments in past history, Ann Cahill made a point to revisit such writings to prove the way in which society has always been dominated in biased form by male dominance. The way in which rape has been viewed and the system that protects such acts, is what leads women to conscious fears of being attacked. These fears originate from a place in society where actions speak louder than words, and being that “A woman is raped every five minutes in this country and three out of four American women will be violently, physically, or sexually assaulted in their lifetimes” (Hall 5-6), these findings alone give women the right to have these fears and reasons to watch their surroundings. However, why do women have to rearrange their own lives, when most males who commit these crimes do not? The answer is quite simple, society allows for these crimes to continue and the men who commit these crimes are excused from the consequences or reality of this act of violence, simply because he is a man.
The conflicting views that society alone has on rape, is a contributing cause of the continuation of sexual assault. Men are not perceived as part of the problem, which is mind-boggling because more than likely they are the ones committing these sexual acts of violence against women. Studies show that until men are taught that they are in the wrong, and are forced to understand that they do not have the right to control or have a woman’s body, these problems will persist. Some may even argue that “the problem with this account of rape is that it does not take into account the possibility of good heterosexual sex within a context of patriarchy... It seems unjustifiably cynical to suppose that the mere possibility of the man asserting male privilege is always a meaningful factor in a woman’s decision to participate in heterosexual sex” (Reitan 12). Erica Reitan’s seeks to further understand why men are presumed to view sex as a form of patriarchy, when oftentimes most men just want to have sex. Reitan’s argument is quite valid; however the examination of his argument must be saved for an article that seeks to understand the importance of coercive sex. The meaning behind rape and sexual assault does not allude to, nor envisage any such happenings of coercive sexual relationships, and therefore that is what will further be examined. A 1990's Advertisement for an anti-rape campaign had a message that shapes the public consciousness of the assaulters and this advertisement campaign should be a cornerstone for changes in society in regards to male violence, “Only men can stop rape” (Hall 10), is exactly the measures that societal structures must take in order to decrease the amount of fear in women and the instances of rape occurrences. Rape and sexual violence must no longer be used as a silencing method for patriarchal societal men to continue having power over women, but rather changes must be implemented in the framework by which we live. The slogan “No means No”, has lost its true meaning, and the focal point for society must cease to be about men, and move toward a bettering for both men and women.

Sexual Healing

-Jacki Vines

America has always been a patriarchal country, usually privileging men’s needs and desires over those of the majority of American women. Although the differences in gender treatment are evident in nearly all aspects of daily life including employment and schooling options, sexual freedom, and expectations have always been vastly different for men and women. Men, because of their biological and social privileges, are generally allowed more sexual and decision-making autonomy in American society than women. Many individuals believe that that the growing availability and improvements to birth control methods create a new American society where women may enjoy the same sexual freedoms as their male counterparts. The most important question however, is whether birth control alone is enough to create sexual equality and freedom for men and women in the American patriarchal society?
While America as a country is largely known for its ability to provide typically marginalized or oppressed individuals with opportunities to progress, as is evident in the concept of the American Dream, America still maintains some of the oppressive ideologies of the nations that comprise a portion of the American population. More specifically, at its core, America seems to accept nineteenth century European sexual ideologies. Nineteenth century European literature “prescribed two basic virtues, male continence and female purity…the former ideal required men to exert their will in order to control their lust; the latter assumed an innate passionlessness on the part of women” (Freedman 201). Furthermore, “Nancy Cott identifies the cultural sources of an ideal of female passionlessness in texts on etiquette, morality, and religion published in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries” (Freedman 202).
American acceptance of such European literature severely reduced American women’s sexual freedom because such ideologies led many American women to believe that “normal” women do not have the sexual desires that occur naturally within men. Sexual freedom is therefore an unnecessary and perhaps even harmful concept for seemingly non-sexual women. Thus for most nineteenth century European women and American women alike,

procreation was the ultimate purpose of sexual activity. With the exception of a few radicals, any means of birth control [was considered] unnatural…even feminists preferred to keep sexuality and reproduction linked…any non procreative sexual act constituted an unnatural “abuse” and hence excessive marital sex, masturbation, and homosexual acts [are] seen as causes of physical and mental decline. (Freedman 203).
For women, sex was unavoidable to maintain humanity, passion, desire, and choice were simply out of the question.
The historical framework and justification for unbalanced sexual expectations for men and women in America set the stage for the initial rejection and male dominance concerning the legality and availability of birth control in America. While various natural birth control methods were used in America such as abstinence, douching, and careful coordination with menstrual and fertility cycles, “many were not willing to risk public expressions of support for [most birth materials such as cervical caps and intrauterine devices (IUD)] or admit to [their] use. This reluctance influenced public
policy” (Powderly 9). Abortion was officially declared illegal by the majority of American states by 1870, and the Federal Comstock laws, which prohibited the transport of obscene material through the United States postal service occurred soon after the ban on birth control use (Powderly 9). The Comstock laws deemed birth control materials and sex education literature obscene material, and such materials were seized. Women were thus denied accurate and reliable birth control methods and knowledge.
Women received marginal birth control victories when Margaret Sanger created the first Planned Parenthood clinic in Brooklyn New York on October 16th, 1916. The clinic aimed to provide birth control methods and information to poor and ethnically diverse women without access to the expensive illegal importation of birth control materials many wealthy white American women enjoyed. While Sanger’s clinic was raided by New York City Vice Squad within a few weeks of its opening date, the clinic effectively served 464 women, and created a monumental victory for woman and birth control (Powderly 9). The New York State Court of Appeals reinterpreted the Comstock laws in order to allow contraceptive options to women by physician prescription only (Powderly 9). Although the reinterpretation was helpful, it still denied easy access to birth control, as birth control necessity was subject to the interpretation of predominantly male physicians.
The 1960’s and 1970 has brought further advancements in birth control policy and technology in America. Oral contraceptives became available, the Comstock Laws were repealed in 1971, and the Supreme Court guaranteed a woman’s right to birth control in the historic 1973 Roe v. Wade case (Powderly 11).
While the technology and policy allowing greater access to birth control are generally welcome changes in American society, one still must question whether such developments have actually diminished the unequal sexual gender expectations within American society. Gender, within this essay refers to “the expectations and norms shared within a society about appropriate male and female behavior, characteristics, and roles” (Blanc 190).

While there are various non-prescription birth control methods available to women including male and female condoms, spermacides, and douching products, the most scientifically effective methods of birth control such as oral contraceptives, IUD’s and cervical caps remain prescription only methods; most of which are more expensive than non prescription birth control methods. Birth control methods cannot provide sexual freedom if the women who might appreciate their benefits are still denied access. Furthermore, the majority of prescription birth control methods, not including oral contraceptives, are not widely advertised. Additionally, many oral contraception products including Seasonale are not advertised as birth control methods, but rather for their ability to reduce the amount, or severity of monthly menstruations. There are very few, if any magazine, television, or radio advertisements for such products. Many women may still be unaware of the myriad of birth control methods available.
Furthermore, birth control offers women protection against unwanted or unplanned pregnancy, not full autonomy over the decision of whether to engage, or rather “become engaged” in sexual activity. In fact, results from almost 50 population passed surveys worldwide show that between 10 and 67 percent of women report being physically harmed by a male partner at some point in their lives, and these numbers do not include psychological or sexual abuse (Blanc 195). The statistic suggests that the percentages of reported would increase had instances of sexual abuse been included in the data collection. The reality is that women are raped everyday, and such an unfortunate reality shows that despite the emergence of legal birth control, it is highly unlikely that women control their sexuality or have complete sexual freedom. Simply put, “it is often alleged that female sexuality is a more complex matter than men’s, and if so, a major reason is that sex spell potential danger as well as pleasure for women” (Dubois and Gordon 7).
America’s history with contraceptive use has been largely controlled by men and patriarchal gender ideologies. Patriarchy by definition is a power distribution that privileges men and masculinity over women and femininity; formal power and decision-making held by men; or masculine ideals and practices as norms. The legal rulings made for the Comstock Laws, and individual state laws prohibiting abortion and other birth control methods were created predominantly male legislators, and subsequently upheld by the predominantly male American criminal justice system. Clearly, men hold the majority of influence with respect to the decision to provide women with an opportunity to control their own reproduction. Women may not have sexual freedom when women, for the most part, do not control the creation and reconsideration of public policy surrounding sexual and reproductive capability.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, access, and use of birth control does not eliminate the social stigma surrounding unmarried sexually active women. The nineteenth century European ideal for appropriate female sexuality essentially rendered the American woman’s sex drive invisible. Women using birth control methods in America may therefore be considered unnatural or improper women. Women in America, unlike many women around the world, have legalized access to birth control, and as a result of such rare access may feel more liberated to enjoy sex both within and outside of marriage. However, access to birth control can also contribute to the widely accepted notion that “women are often expected to be sexually available without appearing to be sexually active” (Blanc 198).
Most women may not receive complete sexual or autonomy over their sexual lives until women change the gender inequity that exists in America in general, or the ideology that woman “is defined and differentiated with reference to man and not with reference to her, she is the incidental, the inessential as opposed to the essential. [Man] is the subject, he is the absolute,-[woman] is the other” (de Beavior 150). When woman is the complete social equal of man, she will naturally not only acquire complete sexual freedom, but also all of the benefits and privileges of manhood and masculinity in American society.

Popular Obsession

-Janay Jefferson

As Americans sing at ball games, America is the home of the free and the land of the brave, modern day America is imprisoned, held captive, and controlled by and within the idea of sex. Most Americans’ thoughts are dominated, motivated, and captivated by one common denominator: the erotic. Religion and cultural morality teaches sexuality is wrong, and its arousing thoughts, actions, and feelings should be banished from the consciousness. Because Americans feel obligated to conceal their sexual desires, they rebel, thus becoming obsessed with its pleasures, images, and risk.
Since 1996, nearly $1 billion in state and federal funding has been budgeted for abstinence-only education, despite the lack of evidence supporting the effectiveness of the abstinence-only approach (Rose 1208). According to Susan Rose, “In abstinence-until-marriage materials, sex is often equated with death, disease and danger…used to persuade young people to steer clear of sex before or outside of marriage.” (Rose 1208).

The abstinence-only video, No Second Chance, shown to middle-school audiences, correlates having sex outside of marriage with images of men dying from AIDS (Rose 1208). Even the title of the film, No Second Chance implies one will not be forgiving for the sin of having sex, before marriage. In No Second Chance, a sex educator compares sex outside of marriage to playing Russian roulette (Rose 1208). According to Rose, the sex educator tells a classroom of young people that:
‘Every time you have sex, it's like pulling the trigger - the only difference is, in Russian Roulette, you only have one in six chances of getting killed." When one boy asks, "what if I have sex before marriage?” he is told, "Well, I guess you'll just have to be prepared to die. And you'll probably take with you your spouse and one or more of your children (Rose 1209).
According to Katherine Sender PhD, of Annenberg University of Pennsylvania, whose areas of expertise include consumer and popular culture and cultural production, argues sexual content was not banished, but was contained by aesthetic "tastefulness" or was used as a class-based frustration which "respectable" families could compare themselves with the seemingly lower classes, which participated in promiscuous sexual activity (332). Sexuality was thus deployed in clarifying new formations of social structure; a respectable professional identity was distinguished both from the lower classes and from degenerate social elite in part through the training in sexual modesty (Sender 332).

Because sex becomes taboo, the risk of sex becomes much more fascinating. The repression of sexuality is a contributing factor in the obsession of sex. Sex, then, becomes a force in which to overcome taboos. According to Michel Foucault, “More than the old taboos, this form of power demanded constant, attentive, and curious presences for its exercise; it presupposed proximities; it proceeded through examination and insistent observation…It implied a physical proximity and an interplay of intense sensations” (Foucault 1663). The erotic, is then seen as a form of liberation, freeing one from the shackles of constant repression and reprimand from the church and morality. When taking this form of freedom, some become hyper-sexualized and obsessed. As stated by Foucault, “This need to take sex ‘into account,’ to pronounce the discourse on sex that would not derive from morality alone but from rationality as well, was sufficiently new that at first it wondered at itself and sought apologies for its
own existence” (Foucault 1652). Repression then is the cause, if not the definition of hyper-sexuality.
The thought of sex, is a dominating thought amongst members of society. According to S. Michaels, J.H. Gagnon, and E. Laumann, PhDs of the University of Chicago in the Department of Sociology, fifty-four percent of men think about sex everyday or several times a day, only forty-three a few times per month or a few times per week, and a mere four percent less than once a month. Nineteen percent of women think about sex everyday or several times a day, sixty-seven percent a few times per month or a few times per week, and fourteen percent less than once a month (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994). These statistics prove that sex is, in fact, one of the most concentrated subjects.
Profits made from sex, in ways independent of prostitution, also has an effect in the American society’s obsession of sex. Images portraying sex dominate the airwaves, television stations, especially in advertising. According to African American feminist and author, Audre Lorde,” Erotica is marketed to women in their homes like Tupperware, or through cable channels and video cassettes” (113). According to Katherine Sender PhD, “The common sense of ‘sex sells’ masks the relationship between sexuality and commerce, discouraging analysis of the particular ways that sex is articulated to marketing and ignoring the limits placed on visible manifestations of sexuality in advertising and commercial media” (331). Sex seems to be everywhere from advertising of digital cameras, to the advertising of cheese-burgers, images of sex has been proven to increase sells.
To overcome the sense of imprisonment, people perform sexual acts to provide themselves with a sense of power and control; to release themselves from the tension directly correlated with sexual repression. As stated by Linda Singer, member of Miami's Philosophy Department from 1980
to 1990, who specialized in the field of Sexual Theory and Politics, “The function of power is not to limit or repress sexuality, but is rather to produce and proliferate sexuality and the demand for its disclosure” (Singer 151). Singer also states, “Sexual proliferation made sense as a strategy since what was understood to stand in the way of better sex was a regime of repression and an economy of self denial” (148).
Sexual suppression is the cause of American sexual obsession. Strict codes in religion and societal morality imply and enforce that sex, out of wedlock, is morally incorrect, and those that participate in its pleasures, outside of marriage, are condemned in this life with their names and health tainted; as well as in the spiritual world, destined to eternal agony. These strict codes cause a cliché effect that “one always wants what one cannot have.” Society has become engrossed and fascinated in the ideas, images, and liberation of sex.

FEATURED ARTICLES

Popular Obsession - Janay

Sexual Healing - Jacki

What's No Got to do with it ?- Yvette

Booty is the new face - Ashley

Hey Young Boys - Tiffany

Black Greeks? - Nicole

Promiscuous Girl - Irene

Our Story

Seven girls came together with the same goal in mind - to prove a different approach to women's studies. Many women's studies courses often focus solely on the oppression of women but we want to present new ideals for women's studies and show how unknowingly they affect black women everyday. They title "Explicit" emphasizes our content. We do not sugar coat anything and we do not use euphemisms. We "tell it like it is."

The Writers

from left to right: Ashley Pruitt, Tiffany Tolliver, Nicole Barden

Yvette Hubbard, Irene Rose De Lilly, Jacki Vines, Janay Jefferson

Email
Nicole Bardern -mailto:nbarden@spelman.edu?subject=Magazine
Irene Rose De Lilly- mailto:irdelilly@yahoo.com?subject=Magazine
Yvette Hubbard- mailto:yhubbar1@spelman.edu?subject=Magazine
Janay Jefferson-mailto:jjefferson5515@hotmail.com?subject=Magazine
Ashley Pruitt - mailto:apruitt@spelman.edu?subject=Magazine
Tiffany Tolliver- mailto:ttoliver@spelman.edu?subject=Magazine
Jacki Vines- jackivines@hotmail.com

Our Jobs

*Nicole Barden ........... Content Editor
*Irene Rose De Lilly .............Editor in Chief
*Yvette Hubbard ........................ Writer/PR
*Janay Jefferson ................. Managing Editor
*Ashley Pruitt .............. Web Designer
*Tiffany Tolliver....Photographer/Promoter
*Jacquelyn Vines .......................Copy Editor