The Madonna-Whore Complex destroys the meaning of womanhood

By Kristyn Dentremont Editor-in-Chief

In 1978, movie-goers sat in awe watching Olivia Newton-John transform her character Sandy in “Grease” from an innocent, loving and long-skirt wearing girl to a promiscuous, sexually desirable woman styling tight pleather pants. Though she reveals this whorish persona with only about nine minutes left in the movie, she seems most desirable to her lover Danny Zuko, played by John Travolta, in these same nine minutes. On the surface, “Grease” is an iconic film that captures the essence of a once-in-a-lifetime teenage romance; however, it also manages to illuminate this prevalent, misogynistic dichotomy known as the Madonna-Whore Complex (MWC). Originally coined by psychologist Sigmund Freud, the Madonna-Whore Complex is a concept that separates women into two, non-overlapping categories: the virtuous, pure “Madonna” or the promiscuous, scandalous “Whore”. Speaking as a young woman, I can say with certainty that this term devalues and objectifies women, and I fear that this complex will continue to influence future generations; nonetheless, I believe that it is important to understand the Madonna-Whore Complex and its prevalence in modern society in order to discover how it can be permanently terminated.

Clearly, the MWC is deeply rooted in its heterosexual male origins. As I previously mentioned, this is a concept used to categorize women, yet it was initially theorized by a man. The blatant irony of its creation immediately deems the MWC as polarizing, dehumanizing and painfully misogynistic as it forces women to have an identity based on their sexual activity rather than their womanhood. In the eyes of a man, the “Madonna” is worthy of being loved and married, but the “Whore” is the secret, lustful desire, which puts women at odds between identifying as the “virgin” or the “slut”; however, there is a caveat to both of these categories. The “Madonna” is presumably respected in comparison to the “Whore” as she is less “sinful”, but she is also known as the “tease” because she is unwilling to sacrifice her virginity to her partner. Likewise, the “Whore” embraces her sexuality and asserts her dominance, but her sexualness also makes her seem “dirty” in the eyes of a man.

As an insecure, impressionable 18 year-old girl, I find much discomfort in this ideology because I feel as though it dictates much of female development from a very young age. For example, when shopping for an outfit for my first day of sixth grade, I remember shopping with my mom in Hollister and finding this denim skirt with sparkles on the front pockets, and I knew I could not resist a sparkly piece of clothing. Upon trying on this skirt that I fell in love with at first glance, I found myself feeling surprisingly uncomfortable and insecure. The back was too fitted, my hips looked too wide for a sixth grade girl, and most notably, the skirt was not long enough to reach past my fingertips. At only 11 years-old, I found myself fearing that I was going to fit into a category where I would be considered “inappropriate” for my age. I do not condone little girls wearing promiscuous clothing in any regard, but I also do not support the idea that little girls, or anyone for that matter, should feel insecure at such a fragile stage of life. While the name of this concept was unbeknownst to me at the time, I can now say that I, as a child, was influenced by the fear brought on by the Madonna-Whore Complex. I find myself disgusted to realize how much of an impact this dichotomy has on completely innocent people at young ages.

Back in 2020 when I was isolated in my house with nothing but my iPad and infinite hours to scroll through Amazon Movies, I came across this interesting film titled “Bombshell”. I was drawn to the movie because of the three beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed women on the movie poster with stoic facial expressions. Knowing very little about the film other than the fact that these actresses depicted three female broadcast journalists, I pressed play, intrigued by what I was going to watch. 15 years-old, at the time, I sat in disbelief as I watched a film about dozens of female journalists open up about being sexually assaulted by former CEO of Fox News, Roger Ailes. Female reporters, like those portrayed in “Bombshell”, are are expected to uphold this “appealing” image on television with kempt hair, perfectly blended makeup and styling a fitted dress with stilettos; however, this image gives women an unwanted sex appeal that attracts perverted men like Ailes. Consequently, women in this field— among other professions—are deemed “whores” because their appearances come across unprofessional. It saddens me and terrifies me to know that the Madonna-Whore Complex not only exists, but thrives, in professional environments, which makes me fearful for future generations of women.