Argumentative essay strategies and techniques

Ariel Levy's inquiries into the "raunch culture phenomenon" found that many believed the evolution of the "raunch culture" didn't mark the death of feminism, but rather its achievement. In many ways the achievement of a "raunch culture" could symbolize the fact that females felt they had finally "arrived," giving them the confidence and ability to flaunt their beauty and sexuality in ways they would have never dreamed about doing before. However, I also believe many women still consider themselves disenfranchised as they struggle to obtain the goals and objectives that feminists originally set out to accomplish. As a result, I believe the creation of a "raunch culture" is not necessarily a result of women achieving their feminist goals. There are probably many women who are still attempting to obtain that status. Rather, I believe a "raunch culture" has been created as a product of the ways in which society has come to view women as they are portrayed in television, print and film, thus recreating the concept of what it means to be "feminine."

In Levy's introduction, she makes a large number of references to women who are considered "sex symbols" in our society; Britney Spears, Charlie's Angels, and girls portrayed in such magazines as FHM or MAXIM. She also alludes to women she sees passing by on the street, with tight shirts and low cut jeans creating what she referred to as the "butt cleavage." (Levy, 2) Despite the fact that these women represent parts of "pop culture" and entertainment that a majority of Americans have become recently obsessed with, it doesn't necessarily mean these women have buried the concept of feminism for all females. Rather they have "reinvented" themselves, and as a result reinvented the concept of what it means to be a woman in the minds of many women, but not all of them.

A also believe Levy focuses too much on a certain type of demographic in her argument about the "death or achievement of feminism." Throughout the book, Levy refers to young blonde women, who are getting boob jobs and dancing on stripper poles. (Levy, 22-23) Although a lot of mainstream America is aware of this phenomenon, there are still many American women (including young women) who would cringe at the site of a woman with breast implants and bleached blonde hair. I think Levy fails to realize and point out that there is a whole culture out there who isn't necessarily concerned with acting or looking sexy, but rather focus on other things such as the importance of having strong family and social values. Many of these young women may still have the desire to fulfill their dreams and ambitions as a female in a country in which they are still very much underrepresented and disenfranchised.

The rise of the "raunch culture" may also have a direct correlation to the rise of capitalism and access to the internet that has absolutely nothing to do with the death or achievement of feminism. Today, just about any female can get themselves in to a skimpy outfit and dance in front of a web-cam before distributing it all over the web. Making matters even worse, our society has not only come to condone such behavior, but also has enabled females to participate in this "raunch culture" and profit from it. Levy makes reference to Girl's Gone Wild and uses it as an example of how our society has allowed females to be exploited for profit. (Levy, 7-17) I agree with her here, but at the same time I don't believe this marks the death of feminism, for all females, but rather only for a select part of society who chooses to participate in such events as flashing big groups of people, or making out with other females for the whole world to see.

Another one of Levy's examples are based on other television programs such as HBO's Sex and the City and G-String Divas, a show in which strippers talk about their experiences. Although these shows have indeed redefined what it means to be a woman for those who buy in to the idea, there are still many women who don't believe they themselves fall in to that category of "being a woman." Speaking with friends who have seen such shows, often say things such as is "that's what women are really like," and "I've never come across a group of women like that before." I believe this is another example of how Levy oversimplifies the concept of feminism and what it means to be a woman based on the way women are portrayed on television or in the media. Just because a certain group of women are portrayed in a certain way, it's still strictly for entertainment value and there still is a large part of the population who can make this distinction. And although a group of women may get together and talk about there sexual encounters and recent flings, I believe there is still groups of women who get together and talk about how they can improve their own place in society despite the fact that they are females.