Bitch Planet Blog no 5

Blog 9/29/17 Bitch Planet: Reflection on Dystopian Society

What defines a “good girl”? This odd sexualization of women being subordinate to men is a theme that occurs in Bitch Planet in the advertisements. Most of the standards for women to be “good girls” are sexually based, their behavior is deemed “good” if it pleases men. This dystopian society makes clear standards for women, and even clearer for the consequences in failure to uphold these expectations.
 Eye- catching the readers’ attention “Advice for Ladies!” several boxes promote different societal expectations for women. The standards for women to uphold mostly prioritizes sex and their value in the male eyes are for sex. For example, on the mentioned advice page, it starts with a recipe for muffins but the message was “your family will love you more if you bake!”, then moves onto scented douching with the rational “what evert girl should know, your vagina is disgusting”. “We get by when we comply” is stated before the advertising of behavior correction pills. There is a shift from the focus of women pleasuring men to the reminder of the consequences for failure to obey. The same company that manufactured compliance pills sends another expectation for women to have wet vaginas, again for the pleasure of men. The final message on the advice page is “you’ll never be enough”.

Women in this society are constantly being brain washed, and the underlying fear of being sent to Bitch Planet if they do not follow expectations. Bitch Planet exaggerates the consequences for women’s actions in the life or prison best. Their entire self- esteem and value are placed in the hands of white men who can still send a compliant woman to Bitch Planet. For example, Marian was a compliant woman in the society but still got chucked if they are no longer appealing.

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 28, 2017 at 8:42 AM

    I like that you incorporated the ad pages in your analysis! They are also what stuck out most to me while reading. I thought it was interesting when you said that women in society are constantly being brainwashed to mold to expectations because advertisements are commonly seen as subconscious brainwashing as well!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What We Hunger For: Deep Thoughts

"Just because you survive something does not mean you are strong." To be completely honest, this story was one that I could almost watch in my head. Perhaps part of that was because it was written vividly with strong imagery and diction; perhaps because I could see a reflection of myself in Gay's story. This year has been a transformative one for me, as I have learned to become more self-aware and acknowledging that there is immense power in naming our struggles. I am consistently told by my friends how "strong, courageous, and unfuckwithable" I am... which, I think, genuinely stems from my inability to be comfortable. I've survived too much. I've been exposed to and made it through too much... and apparently, the fact that I managed to make it "out" of those immediate situations is seen as strong. However, I am very thankful that Gay made the comment above. To me, I've always seen strength as how people cope with the long-term effects o...
Read more

A word is a word is a word

In "Bad Feminist: Take One," Gay opens up about her inner quarrels regarding her identification as a feminist. This is something I, too struggled with. At the time, the term was gaining a less than popular connotation, with a minority of the movement taking it upon themselves to spread their isolated belief that women rise above the equilibrium of society; they are superior to men and all men are inherently awful. It is easy to understand, then, why a young girl that does not share these extreme views and stereotypes may not want to be a placed beneath a spot light during such a tense situation, and would subsequently ditch the term. Ditching the term, for me at least, did not mean that I lost my way and would slowly evolve into the submissive, modest, and good woman deemed to be the ideal. Although, ditching the term is controversial and some may see it as a betrayal to the movement executed by a ‘ bad ’ woman. If the individuals remains true to their beliefs and conti...
Read more

Fifty Shades of Fantasy

I've never been too intrigued by all the 50 Shades of Grey concept. As a social work major, reading the first book in the series and watching the first movie with my aunt (yes- my AUNT...), all I could think of when I was exposed to that plot was the lack of focus on Christian's real need and outcry for help. The novel flips the 'usual' narrative of the woman being the victim and her inability to retain a healthy relationship, and shows us a man who seeks domination and control, which- some argue- is what women *really* want. I will not be the first to argue that point. In "The Trouble With Prince Charming," Gay references 50 Shades and how the author uses a disgusting sense of erotica that we can't help but be turned on by, to romanticise the idea of pure abuse, submission, and toxicity in the text. I will commend the story on one thing: Christian is adamant about consent. Mostly because it could result in a MAJOR lawsuit against him if ever interprete...
Read more