JEFFREYS, Sheila - Eroticizing Women's Subordination PDF

Eroticizing Women's
Subordination
Sheila Jeffreys
I want to talk about the construction of women's sexuality around our

subordination, and what, if anything, we can do about it as lesbians
and as heterosexual women.
This has become a crucial issue because of the backlash, developed
by women describing themselves as feminists, against those of us who
fight pornography. In the early days, when we were first fighting por
nography and male sexual violence, it appeared to be a straightforward
struggle.
It was never really a straightforward struggle, since those of us in
volved in the British feminist movement against pornography often sat
around in groups and admitted, though not at first since it was not
easy, that even the most antiwoman material with which we were deal
ing could cause us to be turned on. Individual feminists who had that
sort of reaction to the pornography we were analyzing and trying to
do something about, would feel individually guilty and individually
isolated. We especially would feel so when other women in the group
would say they couldn't imagine how anybody could possibly be turned
on to this material.
After this situation had existed for a few years and we had not made
very much progress in understanding sexual reactions to pornography,
a backlash developed against us. This backlash came from women who
described themselves as feminists and who said they wanted to create
a new feminist erotica. Not surprisingly, the new feminist erotica looked
a lot like the old antifeminist pornography: it eroticized dominance and
submission.
Some of those women involved in fighting the feminist activists
against pornography, some of those involved in creating the, suppos
edly new, dominance-and-submission erotica, are feminists who at one
time were involved in fighting pornography and male violence them
selves.
What I think happened is that as feminists started putting out slide
shows analyzing pornography, and as women started having reactions
to those slides— at times becoming turned on by those slides them
selves— there were two choices that women could make. They could
say: "I am turned on by these slides. Isn't it absolutely horrifying how
my subordination as a woman has been eroticised and gotten into what
is the most intimate and personal part of me— the middle of my heart
and my body— and appears to be part of what is most personal and
most mine?"
They could say that, and become absolutely furious about the extent
to which women's oppression can actually enter into our hearts and
minds. That is the choice I have made and other feminists have made.
And therefore it motivates us even more to fight pornography and male
violence.
Alternatively, women who are turned on by such slides could think:
"I am aroused by this material. Therefore, I am angry with the femin
ists who are showing it to me. I am angry because they are making me
feel guilty and ashamed. Therefore, I will fight them." I think this is
why some feminists are fighting the antipornography activists, are
fighting us.
What I'm suggesting is that we all have the same problem: the way
in which our subordination has been eroticized. But there are two ways
of dealing with that injury: one is the feminist direction, and the other
is fighting feminists on this issue.
So it seems to me that the most important thing we have to do in
order to move on is to talk together as women, consciousness-raise,
about the construction of our sexuality. We've got to talk about those
things that have been so hard to talk about, such as the fantasies we
have had inside our heads, how we get turned on, what all of this is
about. Then we can start discussing the difference between negative
sexual feelings and positive sexual feelings. We can work out where
we're going to draw the line for ourselves. I think there is a line to be
drawn, and as yet there is a lot of confusion as to where it should go.
When we do that, when we are able to talk together about these
things, we will be able to come to grips with the extent to which we
have internalized our oppression, and how it has affected us. Then and
only then will we be able to get together again, reconnect, unify, direct
our anger out there at pornography and male sexual violence.
You probably know that some of the libertarians who have been
eroticizing dominance and submission have been promoting practices
among lesbians such as butch and femme role playing in relationships,
as well as sadomasochism. Butch and femme is beginning to take over
any kind of possible analysis of lesbian sexuality right now, and I find
this very alarming. (For a discussion of the implications of the revamp
ing of role-playing for lesbians, see Sheila Jeffreys, 1987.) An example
of the eulogizing of role playing is an article called "What We're Roll
ing Around in Bed With" by Cherrie Moraga and Amber Hollibaugh
(Amber Hollibaugh and Cherrie Moraga, 1984). In that article, Amber
Hollibaugh identifies as a femme and says that you must not injure the
sexual identity of a butch because it is fragile. Where have we heard
this before? Therefore, she says, she would just go and sit on the lap
of a butch rather than make an approach to a butch in any way more
obvious.
Her co-author, Cherrie Moraga, identified as a butch in this article,
talks about how— because she is butch— she doesn't just go and sit on
somebody's lap; she goes for the throat. Now the part played by the
femme here is terribly similar to the role of the heterosexual femme in
Marabel Morgan's antifeminist classic, The Total Woman (Marabel Mor
gan, 1975).
A problem with raising these issues is that it can look as if it is only
or mostly lesbians who are eroticizing dominance and submission. That,
of course, is far from the truth. However, it is necessary for lesbians to
confront role playing in order to work toward an egalitarian sexuality.
When I came out as a lesbian, for the first time I wasn't playing games,
and I wasn't imagining that the person I was with was somebody com
pletely different with incredible powers that she actually didn't have.
For the first time, I was able to have an egalitarian sexual experience.
I do believe that it is possible for women to transform our sexuality
and to move toward egalitarian ways of relating sexually. But I think
this transformation may be more difficult for heterosexual women than
for lesbians.
Role playing is endemic to heterosexuality, of course, but women
with raised consciousnesses often see themselves as exempt. If you
look at any pro-feminist, nonsexist couple, you will find that the dis
parity between the ways in which they sit, move, and dress is extreme.
The eroticizing of inequality is not necessary to lesbianism since the
inequality of sex class is not the basis of the sexual relationship. It is
difficult to imagine how heterosexual desire— considering the role
playing in just about every relationship— could possibly be egalitarian.
So, I think that as lesbians and as heterosexual women we all have
a problem to confront and try to solve. I think we've got to do some
thing about the eroticizing of our own subordination. It's undermining
to us personally, and it's undermining to our relationships. It's also
undermining to us politically because it makes it difficult to fight male
supremacy. Only by attacking the construction of our sexuality can we
move forward and actually make an impact upon the hetero-patriarchal
society in which we live. So perhaps we can begin a dialogue, as les
bians and heterosexual women, about how we go further toward an
egalitarian sexuality.
REFERENCES
Hollibaugh, Amber, and Moraga, Cherrie. (1984). "What we're rolling around in bed
with: Sexual silences in feminism." In Ann Snitow et al. (Eds.). Desire: The politics of
sexuality. London: Virago.
Jeffreys, Sheila. (1987). Butch and femme now and then. Gossip, 5. (Gossip is a British
Lesbian Journal published by Onlywomen Press, 38 Mount Pleasant London WC1X
OAP, UK.)
Morgan, Marabel. (1975). The total woman. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

JEFFREYS, Sheila - Eroticizing Women's Subordination PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

JEFFREYS, Sheila - Eroticizing Women's Subordination PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

JEFFREYS, Sheila - Eroticizing Women's Subordination PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Eroticizing Women's

I want to talk about the construction of women's sexuality around our

You might also like