BOOK REVIEW: Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch

Note: I recently read this book and I thought the women on this forum would find this topic interesting.

This is my book review of Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch by Ariel Levy. Despite having some out of date vernacular/jargon (this book was published in 2005) it is still as relevant as ever. The book describes the rise of raunch culture and the Female Chauvinist Pig as a response to that culture.

The Female Chauvinist Pig is an umbrella term that Ariel Levy uses to describe what we would call a pick me, a cool girl, a handmaiden, etc. 

The author divides the Female Chauvinist Pig into two categories:

1. The ones who try to get a man's attention by trivializing/ knocking down anything feminine and elevating anything masculine. Sheattempts to  remove herself from being victimized by men by offering up other women to be victimized instead.

2. The ones who try to get a man's attention by overly sexualizing themselves. She attempts to remove herself from being victimized by men by saying she's not a victim, she actually likes this treatment, it's actually empowering for her!

Levy basically argues because of the fucked up patriarchal world we live in many women will turn to 1 or 2 as a coping mechanism. 

Topics Discussed:

Sex Work: Levy discusses the absurdity of having a sexually traumatized group of people (porn stars) as our erotic role models. "It's like using a bunch of shark attack victims as our lifeguards". She also brings in a lot of stats about sex work and PTSD and sexual abuse. It is acknowledged that there is no real money to be made in this industry and that the majority of SW are poor and remain that way.

Sex and the City: Levy highlights the problems with the show. Samantha is described as having the "ego of a man" instead of a confident woman. Carrie often "couldn't help but wonder" what was going on in the head of the man she was seeing but rarely evaluated her own happiness as such.

First Sexual Encounter:  Some stats mentioned: A quarter of girls between the ages of 15 and 19 describe their first time as "voluntary but unwanted." An interesting quote from the book:

"What's saddening is that from the very beginning of their experiences as sexual beings they are conceiving of sex as a performance you give for attention, rather than as something thrilling and interesting you engage in for yourself."

Levy notes that "we are doing little to help them differentiate their sexual desires from their desire for attention."

In other words, many girls are willing to have sex to be liked, so the boys can "pick them" and we as a society are failing our girls here. 

Sex Pozzie BS: Levy ponders why this new feminist movement looks just like the old ways of objectification and "the truth is that this [new concept] as a path to liberation rather than oppression is a convenient (and lucrative) fantasy with nothing to back it up."

Celebrities: She calls out lots of celebs and lists examples of the types of misogynistic behavior they engaged in: 

• Fashion Designer Betsey Johnson had models go down the runways in clothing that said things like "Guys love BJ' and "Fluffer"

• Brad Pitt buying an entire film crew Girls Gone Wild DVDs as a thank you gift at the end of a film shoot.

• Jimmy Kimmel said no one wants to be friends with women, not even other women.

• There's one sorta good guy mentioned, cartoonist Robert Crumb. Hugh Hefner relentlessly pursued Crumb to draw for Playboy magazine for years, Crumb always declined. He also called the Playboy Mansion "dull and corny."

CONCLUSION: The book was a quick, easy read and the author holds many opinions that align with a lot of FDS principles. It is sad though that this book is almost 20 years old and not much has changed, in fact many things have only gotten worse.