Female Chauvinist Pig

The section on Uncle Tom’s Cabin (pg 104-108) in Levy’s chapter, “Female Chauvinist Pig” was very enlightening and made me think a lot about the analogy she aimed to get her readers to understand in terms of feminism. At first, I was a bit confused of the connection Levy makes regarding female sexuality and its relationship to chauvinism, to the coping strategies of Tom and George.

She focuses on Tom, who tries to fulfill his oppressors' every expectation so thoroughly that he does not even need to be “shackled.” This made me wonder: Is this meant to parallel womankind today? Are we supposed to believe so deeply in our oppression that we happily act out the ways in which we are “shackled”?

On the other hand, there is the George Harris character who acts white and strives to become "one of them," thereby acquiring their status. In both cases, Levy argues that an inferior group embraces stereotypes as a way to gain the dominant group's acceptance.

Levy makes an interesting case on the analogy to women who participate in raunch culture. On the one hand, there are the women who use Uncle Tom’s tactics to get to the top. In other words, you are “conforming to someone else's...distorted notion of what you represent. In so doing, you may be getting ahead in some way...but you are simultaneously reifying the system that traps you” (106). This reflects the image of women who wear skimpy clothing and get plastic surgery for men’s attention. Levy adds, "Tom submits to the system that oppresses him, he actively strives for the love of his oppressors, and loves him in return" (107).

On the other hand, there are women, like the producers of The Man’s Show, who act like men in order to get ahead in this masculine dominated field. By acting like men, they approve of raunch culture. These are the women who will attend strip clubs and look at Playboy, and if they work in the entertainment business like Sheila Nevins, will actually produce shows about strippers and porn stars. I have attached a clip of the “Girls on Trampolines” from The Man Show to illustrate this example of raunch culture. Nevins describes her program as “big, dumb, goofy fun” (112). In order to be accepted as "men," they need to prove that they are not like “girly-girls” (101) who participate in raunch culture, but that they still approve of men’s desire for these “girly-girls.” What other examples can you of in terms of how this plays out in today’s society?