[Weiran Ni and Arianne Shahvisi]
It is forty years since the contraceptive pill became widely available. Now, with soft porn readily accessible on our TV screens and free condoms in the college laundry rooms, it would appear that attitudes regarding female promiscuity have changed. This, however, is not the case: it is still socially unacceptable, and often alienating, for a woman to choose to be sexually promiscuous. After all, how many of us would use the word ‘player’, usually reserved for men, to describe female sexual activity? One is more likely to hear more overtly derogatory terms.
Feminists are often accused of unnecessary outbursts of self-righteous anger at any hint of political incorrectness. However, in this case it is evident that social expectations have become an oppressive norm, dictating how women should behave. This issue, therefore, strikes at the heart of the debate relating to the prejudices that arise from gender roles and stereotyping. Yet sexual liberation seems to have taken a backseat in the grander scheme of the feminist movement. There are two main reasons for this.
Firstly, the issue is divisive: some think sexual liberation in women gives men the excuse to treat women as sex objects. This misses the point, as the issue with objectification lies in the potentially destructive actions that result from it. Ultimately, objectification is an abstract concept that cannot be eliminated; it exists in all aspects of life. We objectify the shopkeeper, the teacher, the waitress, seeing them not as people with families or even lives outside of what they mean to us. We do, however, have to treat them as people: when this principle is breached it is the responsibility of the government to step in and provide adequate punishment, legislation and support.
Secondly, it is often assumed that the campaign for female promiscuity to be socially acceptable merely serves the interests of high-spirited girls looking for fun, at the cost of other feminist issues demanding more urgency. Ultimately, the women’s movement is not just about fighting for better representation and improved welfare: it is a fight for empowerment. It is a struggle for women not to be patronised and sheltered from the realities of life: the choice between wantonness and abstinence is an individual one.
The main trouble with this kind of oppression is that it is difficult to fight against. Unlike the abortion policy, there is no central organisation which can be focused upon. However, it is important to realise that many of today’s social norms are reflective of a male-dominated society. Attitudes must shift in order for society itself to be reformed. It results from a backward mindset, and in many ways embodies a much more fundamental form of inequality.
The temptation is to hope that the passage of time will bring about a more open and tolerant way of thinking, and it almost certainly will. But in the meantime, remember that unlike the laws that bind us, social expectations do not need to dictate our lives. Women do not have to protest, it is their right not to conform. We all have sexual freedom at our disposal; why not use it?
