The Science of Sex Appeal

Last night, I spent a good chunk of my evening sucked into watch the Discovery Channel’s “The Science of Sex Appeal.”  If you haven’t seen it and have two hours to spare, I highly recommend it.  It is a very scientific look into such a common experience.  They go from determining the most appeal body shape in the eyes of the opposite sex, to the effect of a person’s voice, to what makes us fall in love, and eventually what keeps humans in love.  Essentially, it seemed like everything boiled down to finding someone to mate with.  When asking men about their preferred body type, the researchers found that the ratio of 7 (wasit) to 10 (hips) was the most preferred because it was the healthiest for carrying children.  They had women smell men’s sweat at different periods in their cycle to show that women were most attracted to males when they were ovulating.  They also found that dopamine is the drug released when we are in love that keeps us connected to our significant other.  It was certainly interesting enough to keep me glued to the tv during finals week, but it makes me a little nervous that love and attraction can be boiled down to hormones and such a primative drive as the desire to produce offspring.

Feel free to watch clips of it here to see if you are fascinated by the science of sex appeal or if it makes you a little nervous too

profanity in G.I. Jane

In this next film, the use of profane language is not the only barrier the main character faces.  Jordan O’Neil, played by Demi Moore in 1997’s G.I. Jane is in the position of being one of the first females to undergo the rigorous Navy Seals training.  This unique position causes her femininity to be both highlighted because of the stark difference between her and her fellow lieutenants at the same time that  she is attempting to forgo her own femininity to fit in with her peers and succeed in the program.  It only seems natural that this strange dichotomy would serve as the basis for Lt. O’Neil’s use of masculine centered profanity to emphasize the gendered nature of language and show how its usage by a woman can be particularly effective. 

The effect of profanity in the film is particularly poignant because of the homogenously male nature of the Navy Seals training unit that it portrays. The male only environment allows the use of swears to flourish because of the male-centric nature of the language.  The complete male segregation leads to exaggerates the increased profanity in male-to-male discourse that was previously seen in There’s Something About Mary.   However, more convincing is the link between swearing and aggression or catharsis, which fits in the realm of the military.[1]  The abundance of “fuck” and “hell” in the vocabulary of the trainees and generals show that profanity is intrinsic in their communication. 

 

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[1] Stapleton, ##

unfinished business

I found this article from the New York Times about the horrifying delays in testing rape kits.  Nicholas Kristoff writes that although victims must undergo the long and invasive testing process soon after the incident happens, tests can sit around for months to a year without being tested.  How can this can be the case?  Authorities claim that rape cases can be murky, but the fact is that these are crimes that are going uninvestigated.

I found this portion of the op-ed particuarly interesting:

Some Americans used to argue that it was impossible to rape an unwilling woman. Few people say that today, or say publicly that a woman “asked for it” if she wore a short skirt. But the refusal to test rape kits seems a throwback to the same antediluvian skepticism about rape as a traumatic crime.

I suppose that we can only hope that shedding light and attention onto the situation can prompt authorities to ensure that these cases aren’t looked over.

There’s something about Mary…’s swearing

Another example of forgoing femininity and adopting a habit of profanity can be seen in 1998’s There’s Something About Mary.  The film, which focuses on a man’s attempts to woo the girl of his high school dreams, casts Cameron Diaz as Mary the dream girl for nearly all men.  An article published in the Media Report to Women names the R rated film as one of its “Dirty Dozen” films because it averages one scene containing profanity every four minutes.[1]  However, it is worthwhile to note that the vast majority of the profanity comes from the many men populating the film and that the film’s female namesake is relegated to swearing only twice throughout the movie.      

It is necessary to first explore the acceptability of profanity in male-to-male discourse in order to understand the impact and meaning of Mary’s two instances of swearing.  The discourse between men, called “report talk” by Deborah Tannen, can be used as an opportunity to “prove their independence and maintain status.”  With this in mind, it only makes sense that profanity can be used in male-to-male discourse to maintain status as an aggressive and forceful figure.  The other important component of the general acceptance of profanity use by males is that the use of expletives has a relational function that constitutes oneself as a member of a group and reaffirms group culture.  Therefore, for the men of these movies, the abundant use of “fuck,” “shit,” and “hell” within the company of other men serve to create a community feeling with other men.

 

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[1] Anonymous. “Blue language red hot on movies, television shoes, new study finds.” Media Report to Women; Winter 2000, 28,1; Gender Watcch (GW).