American Morning
In defense of 'dirty girl' culture
Editor's Note: Jaclyn Friedman is the executive director of Women, Action & the Media and a charter member of CounterQuo, a national coalition challenging the way we respond to sexual violence. Her anthology, "Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape," was named one of Publishers' Weekly's Top 100 Books of 2009.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/04/29/friedman.art.jpg caption="Author Jaclyn Friedman says we should stop worrying about "bad girls" and focus on the men who put them in danger."]
By Jaclyn Friedman, Special to CNN
Last Friday, Carol Costello interviewed me for a story about what she called a "dangerous," "dirty girl" trend, (embodied by pop-star-come-lately Ke$ha) saying it involved girls being "rude, crude, and sometimes very, very drunk," and asking if mothers should worry.
While Carol and I agree about the importance of women's safety, watching the final edit of the piece made me realize how much we disagree about how to get there. Kindly, she's invited me to share my perspectives with you.
Now, I'm no Ke$ha fan. (I just cringed as I typed that ridiculous "$" in her name.) Her lyrics and videos embrace shock value for no reason beyond shock. But pop stars being blandly offensive are nothing new – Elvis was no different. Except for one tiny detail: Elvis was male.
And that's what's really at issue here. Bad boys make us shriek and faint. Bad girls make us worry. Don't they know that acting like that is dangerous?
Of course they do. That's why they're doing it. Know what else? All the girls dancing to their music know it's dangerous, too. That's why they like it.
Young adulthood has long been a time for rebelling against social norms, and that's not likely to change anytime soon. Want to keep girls safe while they figure out where their limits are? Don't ask them to be good girls in order to stay safe, when they can see that no one asks boys to do the same thing. That's not just unfair – it doesn't work.
Gut Check: Are we living in a 'dirty girl' culture?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/04/23/snooki.gi.art.jpg caption="Women in pop culture are depicted as either angelic, as in Taylor Swift, or not, as in Snooki from “Jersey Shore,” says feminist author Jaclyn Friedman."]
By Carol Costello and Ronnie Berke, CNN
(CNN) – You see it everywhere – in videos, movies and even TV shows. Young women who are rude, crude and sometimes very, very drunk. Are we living in a “dirty girl” culture? Or are these just examples of kids having fun and nothing to worry about? Time for a Gut Check.
The newest “dirty girl” is the violent tween in the movie, “Kick Ass.” Her potty-mouth rants would do Chelsea Handler proud. Handler, whose raunchy sex talk and love of alcohol have fueled three best-sellers, is more popular than ever.
Pop star Ke$ha’s hit song “Tik Tok” celebrates promiscuity and drinking until you pass out in a stranger's bathtub. Her catchy tune goes: “Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack.”
Some, like social commentator Nancy Giles, find the trend alarming. “There seems to be this strange ... hazing ritual or a badge of honor, how drunk can you get, how bad can you behave? How close to the edge can you go? I don't get it.”
Giles says it's as if girls are celebrating the worst of frat boy behavior as a way to female empowerment. Some young women agree.
“Women are becoming more comfortable with themselves and their sexuality,” says Lauren Casiva, 24, in Washington, DC. “They realize that it’s okay to behave as men behave.”
When it comes to binge drinking, experts say, sadly, women are up to the challenge. According to Southern Illinois University, in 1996, 33 percent of women admitted to binge drinking or having five drinks in one sitting – in the prior two weeks.
In 2008, that percentage shot up to nearly 41 percent. It’s a disturbing trend to feminist editor Jaclyn Friedman, whose book “Yes Means Yes,” explores the problem of date rape. She says women having fun and making stupid mistakes is one thing, but adopting destructive, raunchy behavior is, well – scary.
“When it comes to sexual assault, most rapists use alcohol to facilitate sexual assault.” Friedman says the real problem is a lack of reality-based role models. In our popular culture, women are either depicted as angelic, as in Taylor Swift – or Snooki, in “Jersey Shore.” There’s no one left in the middle.
What do you think? Send us your comments below.
Gut Check: Sen. Scott Brown still a Tea Party fave?
By Ronni Berke and Carol Cosetllo, CNN
(CNN) – Is the love affair over between Scott Brown and the Tea Party? Time for a gut check.
Brown, a Republican, won a special election in Massachusetts this year to fill the late Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy’s seat, in part, because of Tea Party financial and political support. Yet, he was notably absent at the Tea Party rallies held this week. He told a local Boston radio station that he was busy – working.
“We have votes that we’re working on,” he said. “That’s my job and I’m here doing exactly what members of the Tea Party and others sent me here to do.”
Some political observers say Brown is tip-toeing away from the Tea Party, because it may cost him reelection in 2012.
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