Amy Schumer & From Sex to Sexuality

http://www.businessinsider.com/amy-schumer-sexual-double-standards-men-women-trainwreck-comedy-2015-4

The embedded link is one in which Amy Schumer gives a brutally honest interview about her sex life. The clip begins with the father from the movie Trainwreck stating, “Monogamy isn’t realistic” and has his kids repeating after him (Gaines, 2015). Amy Schumer then speaks about the sexual double standard of men and women and speaks about her own experience with this standard and attitudes toward commitment.

After watching this clip I quickly thought about the reading, From Sex to Sexuality. This clip directly relates to the reading as it provides realistic examples and views towards two of the complementary sets of codes from the heterosexual script. The first code is the sexual double standard. The sub-code of Good Girls states “the use of words such as slut link a woman’s sexual history to her value as a person” (Kim et al., 2007). This is demonstrated in this clip when Amy Schumer speaks about her own experience of sleeping with two-dozen men. Although she is open about this fact she feels that women do not talk about the amount of men they have slept with due to being ashamed of their actions. Amy therefore calls herself, and her friends, whores. This word is similar to the use of the word slut that the reading talks about. While it is acceptable for men to sleep around, girls are bullied and looked down upon for the same actions. For example, Amy states that she has never slept with anyone on the road because it is not acceptable yet all the men sleep with whomever they want. This shows that the “Good Girls code” is implemented in real life and is followed.

The video clip begins with the father from the movie Trainwreck stating, “Monogamy isn’t realistic” as he also has his kids repeating after him. This reflects attitudes toward commitment in relationship, in particular Masculine Commitment. This brings to life that “men actively avoid commitment, marriage, monogamy, or taking their romantic relationships to the next level” (Kim et al., 2007). In this clip the father is teaching his kids Masculine Commitment at a young age so that they grow up with these thoughts engrained in their head. In contrast, Amy Schumer demonstrates the opposite of Feminine Commitment, as she is not seeking monogamy, marriage, or commitment in this clip, indeed she seeks the opposite. She is simply trying to have fun and believes that “women should be empowered with their sexuality” (Gaines, 2015). Rather than women needing a boyfriend to make their lives complete, Amy Schumer believes women should enjoy their sexuality! While this clip may support some of the readings statements about attitudes toward commitment in relationships, it also gives the other side to these attitudes, which is interesting to see within the span of a few minutes. 

References:

Kim, J. et al. (2007). From Sex to Sexuality: Exposing the Heterosexual Script on Primetime Network Television. Journal of Sex Research, Vol. 44, 145-157.

Gaines, J. (2015, April 29). Amy Schumer gives brutally honest interview about her sex life. Retrieved September 24, 2015.