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March 2011
Jessica Valenti speaks at Vanderbilt Cuninggim Lecturer promotes sex-positive feminism By Dylan Thomas staff writer
In celebration of Women’s History Month, this year ’s Cuninggim Lecture on Women in Culture and Society brought the fresh air of third-wave feminism to Vanderbilt campus. Jessica Valenti, a fiery sex-positive feminist known widely as the creator of Feministing, a popular Internet blog devoted to feminist causes, delivered the lecture’s keynote address to a packed audience in the Student Life Center ballroom Wednesday night. Valenti and the audience explored a smorgasbord of topics crucial to women’s equality. The talk started with popular conceptions of feminism and moved toward sensationalist media geared against women and the faulty ideal of virginity in Western culture. Opening the conversation, Valenti made it clear that her dedication to feminism is highly personal. “This month, I’m a feminist because the number one cause of death among pregnant women is murder, committed by their partners,” Valenti said. She also cited current legislation that would not only allow hospitals to refuse life-saving abortion services to women, but that would give hospitals the right to refuse to refer a woman in need of a life-saving abortion procedure to another hospital willing to perform the service. “And that’s only from this month,” she said. Valenti examined the overwhelmingly negative attitude toward feminism she witnesses both among individuals and the media. At one point, Valenti asked the audience to shout out words that recall the image
“It’s time to teach our daughters that women’s ability to be good people depends on their being good people, not on whether or not they’re sexually active,” said Valenti as she read from the introduction of The Purity Myth. of a stereotypical feminist, and responses included “lesbian,” “angry,” “bra-burning,” and “hairy.” Valenti attributed the propagation of the erroneous negative feminist stereotype to the worry of many that feminism is still a real and influential movement that carries a threat to its opponents. Later, she brought to light the growing trend among journalists and authors
to use bombast and scare tactics when discussing issues of women’s sexuality, citing news headlines of spring break “Girls Gone Bad” and anti-feminist
The talk started with popular conceptions of feminism and moved toward sensationalist media geared against women and the faulty ideal of virginity in Western culture. books with images of women who sit alone, heads buried in their hands. Valenti also addressed ideas from her recent book The Purity Myth, which focuses primarily on the problematic way Americans conceive of virginity and the detrimental effects this convoluted idea has on women and gender equality. The audience sat in angered shock when Valenti told the audience about the growing popularity (and previous government subsidization of) purity balls, prom-like events in which prepubescent girls promise to their fathers to remain chaste until marriage. On the other hand, she showed the crowd images of girls’ t-shirts sold at popular clothing stores geared toward pre-teens, emblazoned with phrases such as “I’m tight like spandex.” The main problem with our idea of virginity, Valenti argued, is that women are nearly forced in our culture to seek worth through their sexualities, and they are given mixed messages as to whether they should furiously cling to their virginity or oversexualize themselves, looking to billboards and Cosmopolitan covers for guidance. Throughout the talk, Valenti reiterated the importance of teaching young women to value themselves for more important characteristics than sexuality, or lack thereof. “It’s time to teach our daughters that their ability to be good people depends on their being good people, not on whether or not they’re sexually active,” said Valenti as she read from the introduction of The Purity Myth.
After the address, Valenti took questions from a receptive crowd which was keen to explore ways to encourage and apply her brand of sex-positive third-wave feminism. Though she offered the crowd many pieces of advice, Valenti stressed in particular the importance of a comprehensive sex education program through middle school and high school as a necessary stepping stone to any major expansion of a sex-positive worldview, especially among college students. Valenti left the crowd with a reminder that how we conceive of virginity is more pervasive than we may permit ourselves to believe. She made clear to the audience that it is imperative to women and to gender equality that our attitudes toward women’s sexuality be critically examined—we may find the high value we place on virginity comes at a real cost we cannot bear. The Cuninggim Lecture on Women in Culture and Society is given annually during Women’s History Month and is sponsored by the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center. The Center, founded in 1978, works toward the advancement of women’s rights while providing a positive community for the women of Vanderbilt University.
Photo: ProgressiveBookClub.com