By Jessie Fillingim
Joe Sixpack will soon have a new addition to his porn collection: “Nailin’ Paylin.”
The Hustler film depicts a nymphomaniacal character, “Serra Paylin,” strikingly similar to the Republican candidate for vice president.
Three of the most powerful women in today’s government, Gov. Sarah Palin, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, are represented in the film.
The bisexual “Hilly” and “Condi” engage in a threesome with “Serra Paylin.” “Bill Orally” makes a non-sexual, comical appearance.
Sen. John McCain’s choice of Palin as his running mate may have a negative impact on his campaign in light of recent public ridicule. From Saturday Night Live’s depiction of the clueless-but-cute Palin to CNN’s constant replaying of Katie Couric’s train-wreck interview, there is a resounding message that America does not want Palin as its vice president.
Swimsuit photos of the Alaska governor participating in a scholarship pageant have circulated with great interest. By exaggerating the effect of the swimsuit photos, Hustler encourages the “MILF” fantasy.
“Nailin’ Paylin” highlights the sexual politics within current United States politics. By manipulating the likeness of Palin to perform acts that most would call degrading, Hustler aims to take power away from the vice presidential candidate.
No likeness to male political figures appears in the film. The public is not intrigued by the thought of Sen. Joe Biden having a threesome with President Bush and Vice President Cheney.
I might have expected this kind of reaction from Hustler, a male-focused magazine. But even Couric seemed a little more intimidating than usual during her interview with Palin. Biden smiled and laughed during the vice presidential debate as if Palin was just being cute.
The media portrays Palin as flighty and ignorant. Maybe she is, but we can’t possibly know with this unfair representation. Why hasn’t anyone attempted to intimidate Biden in a sit-down interview? Why hasn’t the media probed into his life? Why isn’t his likeness stripped down and degraded without his consent?
Palin is like “Vice Presidential Barbie.” It’s fun to dress her up, give her a gun or put her in a beauty pageant. But it’s all pretend. We can’t take Barbie seriously. Palin is a different kind of woman than we’re used to seeing in power, and I think it scares us. She’s not frigid, bitchy or stiff. She’s a soccer (or, in this case, hockey) mom: warm, compassionate and engaged in the community.
Women have to act like men or be seen as a little masculine in order to be taken seriously. We don’t want a woman with too much femininity in power- just look at how many feminine women are in power today. In order to gain power, a woman must lose her femininity.
As a feminist Democrat, I know that other Democrats love to hate Palin. We claim to object to her policy, but we reject her in such a way that we strip her of all respect. By creating so much hatred against her, Democrats rally sexist sentiments. No one wants to defend her. Even if she really is ignorant, Palin does not deserve to be publicly humiliated through mockery.
Using Palin’s likeness in a pornographic film crosses the line of good fun. But this film is only an exaggerated representation of the public’s already present sexist scoffing.
We believe we have come so far in women’s equality, but sexism has just changed form. Our thinking has gone from “women can’t do everything men can do” to “women can do anything men can do, as long as they do it like men.”
Until we are able to take femininity seriously, we will never completely eradicate sexism.
Jessie Fillingim is a second-year law student. You may e-mail her at [email protected].