The Michigan Daily - Weekend etc. - November 12, 1992- Page 5 An ideology or just another material girl? "The question is: what sexuality are women tobe liberated to enjoy?Merely to remove the onus placed upon the sexual expressiveness of women is a hollow victory it the sc;: ality they become freer to enjoy remains the old one that converts women into objects ..This already "freer" sexuality mostly reflects a spurious idea of freedom: the right of each person, briefly, to exploit and dehumanize someone else. With- out a change in the very norms of sexuality, the liberation of women is a meaningless goal." -Susan Sontag sited from MacKinnon "My pussy is a temple of learning" -Madonna "Sex" Which one does not belong? If you haven't guessed, it would be Madonna'sself-absorbed comments re- fening to her pussy as a place of study --one of many introspective and eroti- cally vacuous statements made by the newly minted porn queen in her new book, "Sex." I used to think that Madonna was the ultimate feminist -making all her own decisions, doing only what she wants. However, after spending an hour with "Sex" at Border's Bookstore, I have changed my mind. Madonna is not a feminist -she is a capitalist, selling what women have been able to sell since the beginning of time - sex. Yes, "Sex" is pornography in its mostrefined form.l gamnottrying topit Madonna against the feminist move- One of the many photos in her book shows Madonna being tied up while two women hold a knife to her crotch. If it were a knife at a man's penis, no one would buy the book. I am not saying that the book would be any better if there was a knife at a man's penis, rather I am pointing out a fact of life. If Madonna, or any other woman, held aknife to a man's penis, she would be labeled a man-hater, or an angry lesbian. However, if a woman holds a knife up to her own crotch, it qualifies as erotic and she is seen as powerful because she "chose" to do it. This is the loosest definition of choice ever. Madonna claims that some women who are in abusive relationships must "like it." I have news for Madonna - no woman likes it. No woman chooses to be hit or have a knife held at her crotch. Not in her dreams and not in real life. Madonna does an injustice to the situation of women who are forced into the pornography industry merely to stay alive - women who have to sub- jugate themselves for a living. Maybe, on a grand scale, Madonna is a victim like all women. After all, no one would even pay attention to her if she wasn't selling her body - she isn't that great a singer. Madonna's fame and the success of her book, and for that matter, the suc- cess of the pornography industry in general, highlights a truism that many people try to deny: we live in a society that rewards women for self-objectifi- cation---asociety that sees a woman's sexuality as her greatest commodity. What sells in our society? What sells is a woman's body. What sells are pictures of women being tied up by men. What also sells is women being tied up by other women. This has sold forcenturies, and Madonna's new book is just packaged better. I don't care if people line up at Border's to take a peek at the book. But let's not fool ourselves. All "Sex" is meant to do is shock people into spend- ing their $50 on high-class pornogra- phy. Itisnotatextbook tobeusedin sex education classes. It is not out to make a statement. It is not out to teach people the difference between sex and love or erotic fantasies and reality. This would be giving the book too much credit. You can see these same pictures for a dollar in Hustler. Anyone who thinks that "Sex" is more artistically valuable than Hustler Magazine or that Ma- donna is making a statement about feminism is being fooled by the Mylar cover. It is a woman selling sex for the almighty dollar. Same old, same old. ment. The feminist movement is not one specific ideology - rather it is a movement that at its roots is committed to women. However, Madonna's book is not committed to women and she is not leading a "Sexual Revolution." I - _______________________________________________ L Q I U U ) AVOID THE JANUARY RUSH MAKE RESERVATIONS NOW! -BAHIA MAR HOTEL & CONDOS. -PADRE SOUTH CONDOS - -SHERATON HOTEL & CONDOS' - 5and 7 nights - VOYAGER - DESERT INN - n . , AAII Ir rAr rrr rr nA-rrnr