casual sex. . . is oppressive to women. An assertion about
female oppression more common outside of the feminist movement than within
it. Advice columns "Ann Landers" and "Dear Abby" typically
advise women that whenever casual sex takes place it does so to his advantage
and at her expense. Sometimes the claim is linked to utilitarian concerns,
in which access to women's bodies is portrayed as a commodity in exchange
for which the man should have contributed something meaningful; more often,
it rests squarely on an assertion that sex for women is different than it
is for men, and that women are hurt emotionally and spiritually by casual
sex in a way that men are not. Such views were contradicted by feminist
Germaine Greer in the 1970s, and when she recanted in the 1980s [Sex
and Destiny. NY: Harper and Row 1984], her new view that casual sex
really is bad for women was rejected by many feminists.
Examples of this attitude are apparent here.
Modern
theories exist which state that women's reproductive situation led to
the development of a female sexuality that emphasizes men as providers.
(Another example).
The image of the promiscuous woman, the slut, is interwoven in our culture
with the concept of prostitution as well, which provides another
point of departure for examining the sexual double standard.
(return)