TV Eye
Female Troubles
By Belinda Acosta, Fri., May 13, 2011
Something has always bothered me about the Parents Television Council, the watchdog group that makes it its business to point out how sex and violence permeate media – especially TV. Its preoccupation is with the sexualization of teen girls, as in the now-famous GQ photo shoot featuring Glee stars Lea Michele and Dianna Agron in provocative poses; co-star Cory Monteith was also in some of the photos, but since he's a guy, his participation was somehow not troublesome (see "TV Eye," Oct. 29, 2010). The PTC's most recent and perhaps most successful campaign has been against the U.S. version of Skins (MTV).
"Every episode features literally dozens of depictions of or reference to teenage sex and drug and alcohol abuse, all of which occur completely free of consequences," the organization's March 2011 newsletter declares. Recent PTC activism caused several corporate sponsors to pull their ads from Skins, while concurrently bringing up an uncomfortable question for the show's producers: Had child pornography laws been violated, since the actors participating in the sexually charged series are between 15 and 19 years of age? (No final word on that yet.)
True, images of sex and violence permeate popular culture. Girls in particular are expected to be sexually appealing, figuratively and literally. Those oversized shirts and slouchy pants that teen boys wear are the extreme opposite of the skin-tight, breast-baring apparel of many teenage girls. Being sexually ready (lest you be labeled immature, prudish, or worse) is also encouraged. But being a "good girl" – that maddeningly paradoxical combination of being chaste and available – is still prized above all else. Damn, it's confusing! And while I think the PTC means well, its black-and-white way of judging media is no match for the complexity of the situation.
Interestingly, it wasn't until images related to the Osama bin Laden killing emerged that I came closer to articulating why something in the PTC's mission seems to fall short. Perhaps the most iconic image from the bin Laden hit is of a pensive President Obama and his staff, presumably watching the mission unfold online in the Situation Room. It's mostly men accompanying the president, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is clearly in the foreground, her hand covering her mouth. In the background is the barely noticeable Director for Counterterrorism Audrey Tomason. The photo is now part of history – unless you read the Orthodox newspaper Di Tzeitung, which apparently photoshopped Clinton and Tomason out of the photo because "laws of modesty" do not allow them to publish photos of women. The Huffington Post, which picked up the story from FailedMessiah.com, went a step further by interpreting "laws of modesty" to mean that Di Tzeitung never publishes photos of women for fear that they could be "sexually suggestive." Say what? I'm still spinning at the idea that the image of a haggard-looking Clinton with her hand over her mouth might be considered "immodest."
Meanwhile, while many were cheering the bin Laden hit at the White House, back on the Hill, a band of Republican troglodytes were diligently working to limit women's access to abortion services, while redefining rape. The controversial bill, otherwise known as the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" or HR 3, passed the House 251-175. The bill, alongside the erasure of Clinton from Di Tzeitung and layered with the ongoing PTC activism, brings to light the insidiousness of the female situation in our so-called modern and enlightened society. Not only are women supposed to balance the Madonna-whore paradox, we apparently also have to be responsible for men's libidos. Men can't control it, so women must. When women fail, they are "immodest" at best, raped at worst. Either way, women are at fault.
So it's not like I don't think the PTC has a point. I just wish it would spend its considerable resources and widen its lens. In this case, who is defining sexuality and sexual expression in TV and media?
Sex, like many things in life, should not be taken lightly. Neither should the obliteration of women, whether it's through photoshopping magic or the outright dismantling of their basic reproductive rights. There are consequences.
