Virginity & Representation in "Jane the Virgin"

I recently watched the pilot episode of Jane the Virgin at a friend’s recommendation. Its seamless interaction of American and Latino culture, and positive representation  (the reason I watched it in the first place) definitely delivered. However, it also deals with virginity in some really interesting ways. The trailer is below, which gives a picture of the approach to virginity loss that Jane, the show’s protagonist, was raised with, and a brief overview of the initial plot.

Kelly (2009) breaks down the major narratives of virginity, as represented in the media, with the following thematic categories: the abstinence script, the management script, and the urgency script. She describes the abstinence script, which I think is quite obviously represented in Jane the Virgin, with the following components:  “virginity as a gift; the pleasures of virginity and the positive consequences for maintaining virginity (often, but not always, until marriage); and the physical, mental, and social dangers of sex and the negative consequences of premarital sex” (482).

Jane’s idea of virginity, given from her grandmother, is represented as a beautiful white rose – the picture of purity. The rose represents the “gift” and the “pleasures of virginity” in one picture: it’s a pleasant, beautiful object that becomes ruined once it’s given away (Kelly, 2009, p. 482). The pure flower is obviously a desirable picture of virginity. The negative consequences of premarital sex are obviously shown in the image of the crumpled flower and Jane’s grandmother’s warning that once you lose your virginity, you can’t get back to the pure, beautiful state of the original rose.

Jane embraces the abstinence from the time she’s 10 and hears this message until she’s 23, when the show’s plot begins. However, even though it’s prevalent in the protagonist’s life, the “virginity as a gift” mindset doesn’t seem to be the show’s angle on virginity. Jane herself takes this stance, at least at the beginning of the series, but other characters also weigh in with opposing views and experiences. Jane’s grandmother, as you can see in the trailer, is highly religious and firmly believes in the abstinence script. Jane’s mother became pregnant at 16 years old, and clearly didn’t follow the abstinence script. She’s a bit more cynical about the “virginity is a gift” metaphor, and having active opposition to the abstinence script sort of gives it a balance and lets the viewer decide the message.

The show portrays the abstinence script itself in such a way that emphasizes Jane’s strength and agency. She doesn’t seem to see herself as an object or a victim. Jane is very clearly the protagonist of the story, and she doesn’t seem to play by anyone’s rules other than her own. Even though she does have a long-term boyfriend in the pilot episode, she doesn’t see herself as a prize or an object of someone else’s desire – a portrayal that presents a counterexample to the norm Kelly describes, in which “female sexuality is disempowered and disembodied” in most media representations (Kelly 480). One could argue that going along with the abstinence script is ultimately disempowering Jane’s sexuality, but it doesn’t seem that way to me. She seems to have a lot of agency, and virginity is her own choice.

Furthermore, no one in the show is shamed for being sexually active. Jane’s fiancé, Michael, isn’t a virgin, and he’s not treated any differently by any of the characters for it. However, although his character provides a different point of view about virginity, it does still play into stereotypical gender roles with the man being more “experienced” and the woman setting sexual boundaries. Jane’s mother offers a different picture of past sexual experience, having been a “teen mom,” and she’s not treated poorly either, even by her ultra-religious mother.

The obvious ironic twist in the show is that even though Jane hasn’t had sex, she still ends up with the (potentially) most feared consequence: unintended pregnancy. This throws another complication into the mix, and it actually sort of lessens the importance of virginity and sexual activity in its characters’ lives. This turn of events shows that bad things can happen no matter how careful you are, and that if you do face consequences, well, life goes on.

Kelly (2009) discusses the common tropes of teen dramas and female objectification – that female characters “seek to be sexy for males … but are not sexual themselves” and that this representation has “produced little discussion of women’s desire within the narratives about virginity loss” (487). She also states that as a whole, “racial, ethnic and sexual minority characters” are absent in these dramas, which “limits the range of sexual expression and images of normal and appropriate sexuality” (Kelly, 2009, p. 487). Jane the Virgin flips these scripts by focusing on a strong female lead with agency, featuring women of color at the forefront of the show, and even representing a variety of sexual orientation and activity – a lesbian character plays a big role in the initial plot line, and her actions have nothing to do with her sexual orientation at all. The show offers an array of characters who contrast with, and therefore add some much-needed difference to, the “distinctly middle-class, European American, heterosexual sexuality” that’s so often seen in the world of teen dramas (Kelly, 2009, p. 487).

Even though it’s unexpected from a teen drama with the word virgin in the title, Jane the Virgin doesn’t treat virginity and sexual activity with the utmost importance that’s common in other shows like it. With a variety of representation, Jane the Virigin actually limits the importance of virginity, virginity loss, and minority representation by portraying all of it as simply a part of life. Sexual orientation, virginity, or sexual activity is only one part of any given character’s story. The show’s wide array of characters offers many different representations of sexual desire and health, and the women at the forefront of the show are well-rounded and display agency in their decisions. Though it clearly shows the abstinence script being taught, the show itself represents the topic much more liberally.

References

Kelly, M. (2010). Virginity loss narratives in “teen drama” television programs. Journal of Sex Research, 47(5), 479-489. doi: 10.1080/00224490903132044

The Script of Alcohol Ads

I don’t often think of advertising as being as pervasive as films and television - yet alcohol advertisement as a whole strongly contributed to an entire culture of alcohol consumption. The party scene and alcohol advertisements is a really fascinating, and I think persuasive, addition to Chia & Gunther’s (2006) study on the media’s effect not only on individuals’ perceptions of sex and relationships, but also on their perceptions of their peers’ perceptions. Simply put, media creates social norms that may not exist outside of media, but only because of the unified messages sent by platforms like film, television, and advertisements. Specifically, much research has shown that young people “systematically overestimate how liberal their peers’ sexual standards are,” potentially due to the unified messages in the media about sex creating social norms that are then followed despite individual objections and differences (Chia & Gunther, 2006, p. 302).

The alcohol advertisements I found for this blog post, and those that I have experienced in the past, have created social norms around drinking with two distinct messages: one is the perpetual combination of alcohol and sexual behavior, and the other is the heterosexual script discussed by Kim et al, which is prevalent in most mainstream media at this time. Alcohol advertisements present a very exaggerated version of the heterosexual script, linking heteronormative behavior and imagery with alcohol consumption. This is most obvious in ads for more “masculine” drinks, like beer.

The images above, both beer ads, show hypersexualized female imagery without the same type of objectification of men. The first shows a group of people on an island presumably after a shipwreck, but because of the beer involved it’s a celebration rather than a tragedy. The women present are all hypersexualized and objectified, while the men are, for the most part, fully clothed. The only man who isn’t fully clothed is acting on his own, not drawing the viewer’s eye; however, all the women either look to the men in the picture or the ad’s viewer. They exist to be looked at - not active in themselves. The second advertisement shows a glass of beer in the shape of a woman’s legs, perpetuating the idea that women exist to be looked at even further by cutting up a body and fetishizing a single part - while mixing the image with that of alcohol. Both beer ads are clearly targeted toward heterosexual men in terms of the heterosexual script - expecting men to be active, expecting women to be passive, and creating expectations of alcohol to make it so.

Ads for more “feminine” drinks, like wine, are more subtle but still feature the heterosexual script. The images below are hypothetically meant for women, and they do show women at the forefront, but they reflect the “passive and indirect ways in which women attract or court a male partner” within the heterosexual script that Kim et al (2007) discuss, which center around self-objectification and being seen by men (148). These women are dressed up, made up, and seem to be waiting to be seen - whether by a man represented in the ad or by the viewer. Even in advertisements meant for women, women are still passively waiting to be seen by (presumably) men.

Even advertisements that feature the harmful side of alcohol consumption perpetuate the heterosexual script and the alcohol culture created by ads in the first place. The ad below, which was quickly pulled after it was released in Pennsylvania, was meant to be a cautionary message about date rape and alcohol. Unfortunately, it failed to break out of the heterosexual norms about women being “sexual gate-keepers” who are “responsible for setting sexual limits, for thwarting men’s sexual advances, and for dealing with the negative sexual consequences of sexual activity” (Kim et al, 2007, p. 147-8). The ad clearly states, "She didn't want to do it, but she couldn't say no" - implying that if she could have said no, sexual assault wouldn't have been a problem. If a woman drinks too much, the ad implies, her guard will be down and she won’t be able to perform her role of a sexual gatekeeper. The solution implied in this ad is for women to keep themselves and other women from drinking too much, rather than to shift the discourses of sex and responsibility.

Advertising for alcohol perpetuates the heterosexual script and creates skewed expectations for social norms in its viewers. I don’t think that changing the advertising for alcoholic beverages will really change the negative outcomes of it - I definitely think there are more factors at play here. But I do think that changing the expectations for alcohol use that are perpetuated by the media might leave room for varied experiences - and divorcing sex from alcohol in the minds of media consumers might do some good for the next few generations who grow up learning from media.

References

Chia, S. C., & Gunther, A. C. (2006). How media contribute to misperceptions of social norms about sex. Mass Communication & Society, 9(3), 301-320. doi: 10.1207/s15327825mcs0903_3

Kim, J. L., Sorsoli, C. L., Collins, K., Zylbergold, B. A., Schooler, D., & Tolman, D. L. (2007). From sex to sexuality: Exposing the heterosexual script on primetime network television. Journal of Sex Research, 44(2), 145-157. doi: 10.1080/00224490701263660

Meeting Your Parasocial Idol

Parasocial attachments between young girls and older male celebrities are a often-experienced but rarely studied phenomenon. In a 2001 study, Rachel Karniol explored these attachments to find out what causes them and how they affect young women. Karniol hypothesizes that young girls become attached to male celebrities with feminine features, or who exhibit normative feminine character traits, because these stars are safe love interests - at least, safer than much older male sex symbols in the media. Many of these young women who aren’t ready for a relationship are disinterested in sex, but are told in society that they should be romantically interested. These distanced, safe celebrity crushes are, Karniol says, a state between experiencing romantic interest and becoming ready for real relationships. They serve as “convenient romantic attachment[s], which not be feared, can be idealized, and can be symbolically available at will” (Karniol, 2001, 62).

To illustrate this strong parasocial relationship, the following clip shows a girl who actually does get to meet her idol:

Admittedly, I can’t make assumptions about this girl’s peers, her reasons for idolizing Justin Bieber, or even her age. However, her description of Justin and explanation for her crush really stand out, especially in the context of Karniol’s study. When Ellen asks her why she loves Justin so much, she says, “He honestly has the biggest heart. He cares so much about his fans. He’s always doing things for his fans, he loves his family, his music is so inspirational. I just love him so much.” Following the logic of Karniol’s hypothesis, this reasoning completely defines Justin as safe and caring, and has no hint of a real or sexual relationship.

The results of Karniol’s (2001) study did find that young girls who “choose feminine idols tend to think of them in loving and comforting terms,” as opposed to other girls who chose more masculine celebrities and tended to think of them more sexually (75). However, she also found that even some girls who chose nonfeminine celebrities also attributed feminine characteristics to their idols. The qualities Jaqueline likes about Justin are traditionally feminine - he’s loving, he cares for his fans, he goes out of his way to help his fans - so although I can’t say for certain whether she likes Justin because she thinks he looks feminine, she is definitely drawn to these safe and compassionate characteristics.

Another thing that stood out to me in this clip is that though it’s a great illustration of a parasocial relationship, this superfan is actually meeting her crush. It’s not a merely imagined relationship anymore; they’ve interacted in person. Since our digital world has begun to grow closer together, interactions between fans and celebrities happen much more often than they used to - whether through social media, live concerts, or even a chance to go on Ellen. This makes me wonder what effect these new methods of connection have on young girls with celebrity crushes. According to Karniol’s hypotheses, the parasocial nature of the relationship is what makes it safe, which is a driving force of these crushes. Because they’ll never meet face to face, young girls can depend on their imagined “boyfriends” to offer support at all times and to be exactly the kind of partner they need. However, if digitally interacting with a crush or even meeting in person is a possibility, does that make crushes less safe or more exciting? Personally, for more young girls, I think it becomes more exciting - but with the added risk of being let down by a celebrity crush - realizing he treats you the same as his other fans, or responding rudely on Twitter. Either way, I don’t think these parasocial relationships will cease anytime soon, and we’ll have much more time to research more thoroughly.

References

Karniol, R. (2001). Adolescent females’ idolization of male media stars as transition into sexuality. Sex Roles, 44(1/2), 61-77.

Parks & Recreation & Educational Entertainment

One way media can positively influence sexual health and development is through a method Ward et al (2006) name “Entertainment-Education,” which is just as it sounds – entertainment media that also includes overt educational messages (p. 60). Ward et al (2006) discuss these entertainment-education shows in the context of developing or undeveloped countries, and ask whether these mass-media educational tactics could work in the United States (p. 60-61). Although effectiveness obviously varies based on the show’s audience, I’d like to present an episode of Parks and Recreation as a mainstream American example of Entertainment-Education.

For those that haven’t seen Parks & Rec before, here’s some context: Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler, is a councilwoman in the town of Pawnee, Indiana. She and her public servant coworkers are in this scene discussing a problem that has emerged among the citizens in their town.

This clip, and the whole episode, really, deals with the issue of the quality of sex education on several levels. There’s the obvious, explicitly problem of bad sex education leading to sexually transmitted diseases – Leslie says quite clearly, “A lot of them [senior citizens] haven’t had proper sex education, and as a result, STDs are having a field day.”

This example of entertainment-education is not just geared toward women or young girls, as much of the research on the topic focuses on. The decision to incorporate senior citizens as the students of sex education, besides making the situation funnier and more entertaining, makes it easier to offer sex education to both men and women – they’re not presenting a sex education lesson at a middle school to gender-segregated groups of eighth graders. It’s not a campaign to “keep the girls pure,” and it puts responsibility on all parties involved to make sure they’re having safe sex. Furthermore, because they’re talking to senior citizens, the show doesn’t make viewers feel bad about what they may or may not know about sexual health – there’s clearly no age limit on experience or knowledge here.

The scene above also offers information pretty freely and obviously as the characters ask the nurse Ann, played by Rashida Jones, questions about sexual health. This scene is both entertaining and educational, and it offers a safe way for viewers to gain understanding about basic sexual health.

Lastly, the episode makes a political statement about the dangers of bad sex education, basically showing the “save our children” idea as ridiculous. In the following scene, Leslie encounters Marcia and Marshall Langman, who potentially too satirized recurring characters known for their crusade for “wholesome family values” in Pawnee.

The couple makes it difficult for Leslie to teach proper sex education to Pawnee’s elderly population, forcing her to become more creative about the way she teaches it in the rest of the episode. With this addition to the narrative, Parks & Rec tackles the still-present issue of abstinence-only sex education and provides a solution to the problem it confronts for the entire episode: better education is an answer to poorly prepared citizens, which can lead to serious health problems.

In this episode, Parks & Recreation provides an abundance of safe sexual health information while simultaneously calling for a reform to help solve the problem. In this way, it serves as entertainment-education on multiple levels: by showing the consequences of not having safe sex, answering questions about sexual health, and showing the dangers of poor sex education among a population, providing the example of better education as an attainable solution in the real world.

References

Ward, L. M., Day, K. M., & Epstein, M. (2006). Uncommonly good: Exploring how mass media may be a positive influence on young women's sexual health and development. New Directions for Child & Adolescent Development, 2006(112), 57-70. doi: 10.1002/cd.162