Yeahhhh baby, Yeahhhh.
When we think of 2022 and how it has encompassed so many social strides and changes. It still baffles me how we have things like racism, wage gaps, political struggles leading us to the brink of war, and a global climate crisis, that many continue to ignore. đ¤Ż
Too many hand exchanges and parlor tricks to get the attention from one hand and onto another, all to say that even though we are standing on a precipice of what is sure to come, an apocalypse. Yes, the zombie kind, women speak up loudly at their protest on any number of subjects. The one I am most proud to stand behind them on is sex. We live in a consumer culture that is surrounded by sex. Yet, it is still rare to see a realistic portrayal of female sexuality. Granted, minor improvements have been made on this front with shows like "Girls," "Insecure," "Masters of Sex,"; and many more have taken the mantle of openly talking about sex from a woman's perspective.
While Masters of Sex was based initially in the 1950s, the show has done a great job of breaking down how progressive and game-changing Virginia Wolf's research was in educating the female orgasm (in its many forms). Something that sets this show apart from any others is how the directors could fashion the multitude of experiments and tie them into the storyline. Doing all of this while not shooting the scenes as if they were made for your average 15-year-old adolescent.
Girls creator Lena Dunham does a fantastic job of portraying what normal probably looks like for a considerable chunk of her viewers. Some people might even argue that she spends too much time walking around naked on screen. Still, I love that in the aspect that most of us do walk around naked, and not all of us look like societal standards of model-ish figures. Every episode challenges societal norms about sex, and that's refreshing in and of itself. In each season and episode, Dunham explores what exactly "normal" is regarding sex. With these explorations starts a debate on the biosphere of what the perception is on sex and how we need to change how society has constructed us to think about it.
( you don't need to turn the lights off or wear that "flattering" piece of lingerie because it covers up the right amount of "flaws" that you are trying to hide about yourself.)
You're gorgeous no matter what you have on your body, or off đ. The constant comparison of ourselves to each other does more harm than any negative words we could throw at each other. This brings me into another show that I ate up from start to finish called "Insecure." Insecure is one of a few TV shows that I am happy to report is Hollywood's attempt at having more representation of POC dominating more of the screens we watch. This show has a dynamic cast that shows how all of the struggles that Issa Dee encounters and the success story on her come up. The hardship you witness ranges from her personal relationships, professional life, and dating and sex life. Issa Rae said, " The goal {of this show} was to elevate regular black people and make us look as beautiful in our regularness as humanly possible"- "True representation is the ability to show your vulnerability." Issa had a habit when she was going through a stressful time and needed to either talk herself through a problem or talk herself out of some negative thinking. That was to speak or throw some rhymes to her reflection in the mirror that met her specific situation. No matter the true meaning behind it, the symbolism of what it did to her self-confidence is something I think that we all need to put into practice is how to speak to ourselves. I am not trying to veer off onto another subject entirely. Still, I do want to break down that how we talk to ourselves daily helps mold our vision in how we see ourselves.
Part of the biggest struggle we live with today is that we are constantly fighting an uphill battle on the narrative and constructs of female sexuality. How are we supposed to own that narrative and change it into something that empowers us when we still talk to ourselves like: "I have too many rolls" or " the cellulite in my thighs won't attract anyone," or "these clothes aren't flattering on my body so let me rush into an oversized shirt." More and more, I see things starting to shift in the conversations mothers, and fathers are having with their daughters and sons. We have certain parts of what influences younger people's behavior in the materials and media they consume in their shows and the content they watch and create online. However, there is still work to be done, and I implore all of you to read that the first thing we need to do is correct how we talk to ourselves and then talk and encourage each other.