http://www.flirtygirlfit.com/successes.html#back
Media Culture Project
It comes as no surprise that today’s culture has become overly obsessed with image and perfecting one’s outer appearance. For years, women have been chanting that true beauty shines from within, although if one watches television for as little as fifteen minutes, that slogan will seem contradictory. While watching television with my roommates one night, we realized that every commercial was either promoting weight loss or pushing for the latest acne medication regimen. Just as we were talking about this, a commercial for Flirty Girl Fitness came on. Complete with a DVD kit and a “fitness pole”, Flirty Girl Fitness promised it was a “fun and sexy” way to lose weight and gain confidence. Despite the fact that Flirty Girl Fitness might be a more interesting way to lose weight as opposed to the mundane treadmill, how come women have to pose as strippers to “feel sexy and confident?” Do these behaviors perpetuate the raunch culture that is so prevalent today?
The beginning of the commercial displays women in workout clothes and words such as “long”, “lean”, “tight,” and “beautiful” are thrown across the screen. The women performing the workout are in great physical fitness. During the commercial “sexy” and “erotic” are mentioned several times. As one could argue, and Levy would agree, who are these women learning these stripper-esque routines for? Although it could be promoted as a routine to gain confidence, learning to wrap their bodies around stripper poles and dancing on chairs is primarily done for male gratification. The whole idea and method of this workout most likely came from clubs and bars where the majority of customers are men. The Flirty Fitness “fitness pole” has a weight restriction however, reinforcing the fact that while the commercial claims that it promotes confidence, it is not built for all women. After watching clips of the workout, it is easy to see that the moves are designed with men in mind. The description of the program certainly proves its hidden intent:
“Grab your pink feather boa ladies; it's time to put a fun sexy twist on your workout routine. Arch your backs, gyrate your hips, flip your hair and have a whole lot of sexy fun while you get your workout in. In fact, you're going to love this workout so much, you'll want to show it off to someone”
If women are learning these routines that derive from masculine desires, how empowering is Flirty Girl Fitness?
Searching through the Flirty Girl Fitness website, you can read many of the customers reviews and testimonials. Almost every woman interviewed on the website claimed that this workout routine was “empowering for [her] femininity and a great way to feel sexy.” Every woman claimed it unleashed her inner sexiness and one woman even went as far to say it awakened the “goddess” within her. One woman stated:
“Over the course of 3 months I experienced wonderful things… lost over 15 lbs. and approx. 25-inches, plus actually enjoyed the process!! WOW! The results speak for themselves but most importantly, the Flirty Girl Fitness program helped bring back my inner confidence and inner sexiness that had temporarily gone astray. Today, I’m very happy, successfully traveling my fitness path, in great health and dating an amazing man! What more can a gal ask for?? Always, always remember to never give up on yourself. Thank you Flirty Girl Fitness!"
It is interesting to note that this woman attributed her new “amazing man” to the workout regimen and followed her testimonial with “what more could a gal ask for?” Levy might argue that a gal could ask for a lot more, including the notion that feeling empowered and sexy does not need to come from learning how to dance like a stripper. When questioning the empowerment behind performing like a stripper, Levy responds, “spinning greasily around a pole wearing a facial expression not found in nature is more a parody of female sexual power than an expression of it” (p. 98). Promoting exercise workouts like Flirty Girl Fitness only perpetuate the raunch culture that we have found ourselves in today.
Women participating in these programs display the disconnect between raunch culture and sexual liberation. Much like the CAKE group that Levy discussed, many women say they perform these behaviors to feel empowered, but for the wrong reasons. “The truth is that the new conception of raunch culture as a path to liberation rather than oppression is a convenient and lucrative fantasy with nothing to back it up” (p. 82). In an interview in her book, Levy comes across several women who claim that stripping is empowering, yet they themselves would never strip. Stripping still carries with it a negative and degrading connotation, yet women are labeling it as empowering. This contradiction among women, as Levy discusses, arises from the fact that women need to prove that they “get it.” They need to view stripping and similar behaviors as acceptable, to prove that they are one of the guys.
Until raunch culture is separated from the idea of sexual liberation, I think one of the fundamental goals of feminism will never be achieved. Programs like Flirty Girl Fitness only make it easier for women to be stuck in this contradiction. Dancing like strippers to gain confidence and feel empowered is putting the source of their esteem in male hands. In order to truly be sexually liberated, women need to gain confidence from their own merit and not base it off the fantasies of men.
This commercial always gets me. I think that this commercial touches on two important concepts: body image and sexuality. Not only does this pole dancing workout address the idea that women need to be thin, but also it addresses the fact that they need to constantly allude to sex. If they do these two things then they will attract a great guy. This just reiterates the fact that women do things for men. I think it is safe to say that Ariel Levy would be firmly against these stripping workouts. She would claim that women do these things claiming that they are doing it for themselves, but in actuality they are doing it for men and thus, are nothing more than objects.
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