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Is Pop Culture Finally Admitting That Women Like to Touch Themselves?
Maybe I’m imagining things, but has anyone else noticed more allusions to female masturbation on TV? On Gossip Girl a couple of weeks ago, the show started with Blair having a sex dream and Dorota (her housekeeper) warning her that “God is always watching” -- and Blair telling her to go away, ostensibly so Blair can finish her business. Last week on Grey’s Anatomy -- a show which is legitimately terrible at this point -- Izzy (spoiler alert!) is having loud sex with her ghost-boyfriend and her room mates (including her real-boyfriend Alex) hear her. Everyone’s confused, and Alex says something like, “She’s flying solo. It’s hot.”
I’m only 25, but growing up I never heard about women masturbating -- and I certainly never saw it referenced on TV. Male masturbation, on the other hand, was an assumption -- something all men supposedly did, that they could joke and talk about. Female masturbation was gross and weird, something we all denied doing, if we talked about it at all. So I’m glad to see it presented as normal.
In other pop-culture self-love references, Jezebel has the top 10 pop songs about female masturbation. And just because it’s the holiday season and I’m feeling generous, a little Chuck Bass to inspire your dreams tonight. Thanks for the link, Ann!
Tagged as: sex, gender, television, sexuality, entertainment, masturbation
Jill Filipovic is a New York-based freelance writer and a law student at NYU. More of her writing is available online at her blog, Feministe.
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