South Park takes on purity rings
I can't believe I missed this episode (and that I have to wait weeks till the full episode is available online)! Outside of the mouse-on-teen violence, I really liked this clip - especially how it points out that by focusing on purity these companies/singers are actually focusing on sexuality, just in a "safe" way.
Thanks to Lucas for the heads up.
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And yet, in that same episode, Kenny's girlfriend apologizes for "being a notorious whore" after she gets pressured into giving another student head. She apologizes for this transgression, blaming her irrational sexual acts on the "tingly" feelings that the Jonas Brothers gave her.
Oh, South Park. You are so hit and miss.
I think that her 'whore' comments were intended to be satirical rahter than sexist.
Most things on South Park are. Satirical instead of actually offensive,, I mean.
I have always mistrusted Disney. Call me a sicko, but I love seeing Mickey so violent and vulgar. I tend to put some of the blame on Disney that little girls have become so "feminized" so young.
I loved it too. I always new Mickey Mouse had a dark side! mwuahaha
Yes!!! I thought they did an amazing job on this episode. Disney would like parents to think that they care about wholesome Christian values, but they really care about money.
Tween culture is very sexualized (ahem, Bratz dolls) but is able to slide past because no one wants to believe media for children could be about sex!
The full episode actually is up online. It can be viewed here: http://www.southparkzone.com/episodes/1301/The-Ring.html
Also, I didn't find the "notorious whore" dialogue to be that offensive. The other boys warn Kenny about his girlfriend's reputation (pretty typical adolescent behavior), but instead of turning away from her, he is actually excited when he hears this news. And when she comes clean, she explains the feelings she was having and it is because of the Jonas Brothers that sex is on children's minds and they have no education on how to understand or deal with sexual feelings.
I think the end could have been a lot better. I mean, he died from an STD cause he put his penis in an American girl's mouth, even though he used a condom. I know they were trying to say something with abstinence only education, but it was really unclear.
I know what you mean, but i think they did that ending for ironic and comedic effect more than to make a statement about "whores." Kind of like Kenny didn't deserve that, but Kenny always dies for some reason or another anyway.
This episode was the best. Go back to slumber in Val Hala, Mickey.
For anyone not up on their Jonas Brothers knowledge, note that neither the poster nor the part of the episode where the Jonas Brothers spray foam from their guitars onto the faces of little girls are fake.
The Poster: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1026/3175483750_7f333580f5.jpg
Foam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfgqEiXW-OU
I think you/we are looking at this through adult's eyes. When those girls go to those concerts they aren't seeing the innuendo, I'm not even sure the Jonas brothers (maybe even Disney) know the sexual innuendo involved. I can't see anyone except a pedophile saying "I know a great idea let's have foam spraying out of hoses onto those little girls, nod nod wink wink."
People have foam machines at their children's birthday parties.
Holy shit! I thought that part of South Park was some ridiculous exaggeration. That is very bizarre.
OMG! Me too!!! So much scarier than I ever thought it could be!
Gasp! I thought that was an exaggeration! Wow.
Actually I think the funniest thing is the expressions on their faces in the poster. If you've dated/slept with a musician and then observed their on stage performance...you know what I mean.
The, ah, "Jo Bros" are best combated, in my experience, with actual rock. Worked for my niece, now she's familiar with the appropriate rock repertoire, sports her AC/DC T shirt with pride and denounces High School Musical. Now if I can just...prevent her from dating musicians we'll be set.
Not really a fan of South Park for politics though (but...I do love it when they rip on celebrities I'm not fond of)- not since the "Kennys soul in Cartmans Body" plotline where Cartman repeatedly entreats Chefs mother (if I recall?) to remove the extra "soul" from his body (watch the episode, you cannot miss it, the phrasing is very obvious) - gotcha Matt and Trey. You think abortion is a soul killin' crime...
Well I may be pro choice, but at least I didn't make Cannibal! The Musical.
Wait, Matt and Trey aren't pro-choice? Have they officially stated that? They've certainly goofed on fetuses/abortion/anti-choicers enough.
I just read that Kenny's soul in Cartman episode as some straight up dybbuk type thing, since they occasionally delve into stuff with metaphysics, religion or aliens.
They may well be, but...it was a little too much for me. I think they even coined the term "Southpark Republican" after the announced "outing" of Matt Stone as a Republican who was quoted as saying "I hate conservatives, but I really fucking hate liberals." Not that Republicans are evil inherently.
Charmer. Trey is apparently a libertarian, so what a wacky duo they must be.
Andrew Sullivan coined the term "South Park Republican," but you are right in saying that the creators are on the Republican/Libertarian side. However, I never got the anti-abortion vibe from that one episode. I do think that South Park tends to indict both sides of the political spectrum, although with a pretty heavy dose of anti-PC rhetoric. For example, there is an episode in which they pretty clearly indict the religious right's stance on the Terry Schiavo case from a few years ago.
If nothing else, South Park provides an interesting social commentary, even if I don't always agree with some of the more conservative agendas that are found in it.
Yea, I hate the South Park guys' politics. I'll be watching an episode with my boyfriend and just get kind of agitated, and say to myself, "fucking libertarians." (I didn't know one of them was a republican, now this makes a lot more sense, because I usually don't disagree with libertarians to that emotional degree) And, the people they usually spend an entire episode lampooning are usually liberals, like the "Smug" episode for Clooney, and Streisand, and Bono, and Clinton, and Gore.
I hadn't even seen that episode. So they might be anti-choice too? Even better.
Up there on my ridiculous hate of episodes o' meter is the atheist future, where everybody has wars about what to call their atheist alliance. Yea, I don't think if everyone were atheists that would stop wars, but I'm pretty sure wars would just happen for straightforward reasons. "We want your oil" :::bombs::
And then there are just ridiculously dumb episodes like the lesbian bar 300 one and the one where Kenny huffs cat urine to go to the land of boobs. In the 300 one they had the little kernel of funny where the Mexican immigrants knew more about American history than the kids and the other one has a point about prohibition, but it's all wrapped up in an extra 20 minutes of ridiculously stupid and unfunny stuff. Same with the "smug" one. Yea, some people are smug about how much they are helping the environment...that's why we need 20 minutes of huffing farts and the implication that the children of liberals do hardcore drugs in fourth grade.
I do not understand this sites obsession with this...but its getting stale.
Then stop fucking reading it.
Why the hostility? Why not just ignore LalaReina's comment?
Obsession with what? South Park? Purity rings? Embedded videos?
agreed. speaking of making money- one of the bloggers on here has some book out about purity or something and as a result this site has talked about little else for a while. the community section is much better.
Actually it's been a hot topic here for a long time. Which is probably what led to the book, not vice versa.
Anyway, there's nothing wrong with a little self-promotion. If I had a book out and a website full of devoted readers I'd pimp it hard, too. The lady's gotta pay her rent, after all.
Obsession with purity rings...or South Park? I'm guessing the purity ring stuff, as I don't remember there being any South Park ones before this.
Am I the only person who thinks having sex while wearing purity rings would be funny?
No, that would be awesome--wait, wait, marketing idea...
PURITY COCK-RINGS!!!!(TM)
dude, that is *brilliance*. i seriously would buy those for everyone i know.
See, you say "Purity cock rings" and I imagine some kind of weird chastity device wired to electrocute anyone who comes in contact with it ... (on the outside, I mean).
Although I imagine those aren't for the "abstinence" crowd so much as the "I like having my cock locked up" crowd ...
hahahaha that's so funny!
My thoughts exactly.
Jonas Bros cock rings?
Kind of the way anti-smoking ads make me crave a cigarette even though I quit several years ago?
yea, that's so creepy. They did a study where they found out that the anti-smoking commercials that told parents to talk to their children about not smoking made them want to smoke more. Don't trust the tobacco companies to create your anti-tobacco advertising.
I wonder who makes the anti-pot commercials, because my friends and I have noticed that half of them make much more sense if the person was drinking instead of smoking. Like hitting the kid on the bike and the one where the kids say, "I let people draw on me," and etc. My friends and I were just like, umm, who let's people draw on them with Sharpie while high? That totally only happens to drunk passed out people.
I LOVED this episode, quite possibly the most brilliant one I've seen yet. I felt that the 'notorious whore' thing was a clear jab at the misogyny of the meme that if a girl/woman does anything vaguely sexual, she's a horrible slut (whereas if a guy does a similar thing, he's stud *ht Jessica*).
I also loved seeing Mickey portrayed as so violent and dangerous. I think back to how much vile shit was fed to me by the Disney movies alone (sexism, racism, heteronormativity, helpless princess complex, etc, etc, etc), and shudder at how much I've had to retrain my mind to think differently about things. Not to mention the vast quantities of merchandise made in sweat shops, no doubt. This just might have been the most realistic portrayal of the Disney corporation ever.
But so many men who watch south park don't give a crap about feminism. They will just like seeing the JB being made fun of "because they're fags" and think "whore" jokes are funny. Its sad but some of the worst sexists I've known have worshipped south park and family guy humour.
Btw has anyone noticed how horribly sexist Family guy is? maybe its just me but there is definitely a theme of hurting women. Peter beating Lois up, Stewie wanting to kill his mother the whole time, making jokes about killing strippers etc
I'm sorry, but if the list of earnestly sexist sitcoms is now supposed to include Family Guy along with the likes of Everybody Loves Raymond and Rules of Engagement, then irony truly is dead.
I just don't find jokes about killing strippers funny. Theres not much else for me to say about that. I do find South park can be extremely funny. But thats just my opinion.
If you're going to reject Family Guy as "horribly sexist" because it once featured a throw-away joke about killing strippers, then you're pretty much obligated to also reject South Park because it once featured a throw-away joke about killing hookers. "But that's just my opinion" isn't a get-out-of-blatant-self-contradiction-free card.
To be honest, I don't even like Family Guy all that much. It's got its moments, but on the whole, it's just generally not that funny. But anyone who thinks that it's an earnestly sexist show is probably not very good at processing irony and satire.
What about the episode where Quagmire forcibly raped Marge Simpson, who afterwards said "That was fun! I don't know what I was fighting for!"? Or the episode where we watch a rape for 3 minutes in service of an Aquaman joke they'd done before? Or the episode where Peter asks a waiter to have sex with Meg, and the waiter agrees, but only if she's crying while they do it? (Peter agrees to the term)
If the last sexist thing you saw on Family Guy was a throw-away joke about dead strippers, then you haven't watch it for the last few seasons.
Because clearly, that's so much worse than Kenny spending an entire episode and finally dying inside the bus driver's vagina, or a teacher named "Miss Choksondik," or Hillary Clinton carrying around a nuke in her genitalia, or a long-running gag about what a slut Cartman's mom is, or a clearly effeminate man who rapes chickens to promote reading, or Chef marrying a literal succubus, or entire episodes that imply that sexual harassment and child molestation are more-or-less baseless moral panics, or the one that mocks the concept of metrosexuality, or the whole Mr/Mrs. Garrison saga, or this episode.
But no. Clearly, Family Guy is the most sexist show EVAR.
What? I never said anything about "South Park." I think "South Park" can be incredibly sexist for the exact things you point out. I was disagreeing with your belief that everything sexist on "Family Guy" is a) tiny throw-away lines and b) merely satire that I am not intelligent enough to pick up on.
I also don't get your weird leap there at the end about me thinking it's the most sexist thing EVAR.
I'm not American so I haven't seen much of southpark. I said It *can* be very funny. I have also had to turn it off when I've found myself getting annoyed by it. I have a very good ability to process irony and satire thankyou very much. I grew up in a diet of BBC and channel 4 comedy sitcoms and political satire (have I got news for you and Bremner Bird and Fortune being my favorites). But I guess I have more of a British sense of humour. Yes I'm a feminist and yes I don't find family guy funny because it has frequent sexist humour, so what? I'd rather watch Black books.
I feel like a show like South Park is usually pretty far out there with the satirizing, not afraid to make fun of itself alongside everyone else they make fun of. SP it incredibly anarchic satire, and I respect it and enjoy it for that.
Family Guy, on the other hand, has a handful of tried-and-true cliche jokes that are just - well - cliche. When it first came out, I thought it was amazing, and somewhat like another SP, but it stalled itself: it's way too pleased with sticking to what's already been done: Peter's an ugly jack-ass with a wife who's too hot/smart for him (yet dumb enough to stick it out); Meg is an ugly and unpopular girl (Chris may be ugly and stupid, but escapes from the constant jabs towards Meg)... I can go on if you like. Basically (and I concede that this could be because I feel like FG started out strong and then fell flat on its face and hence heightened disappointment) FG had potential, but never lived up to it. For that reason, yes, it is like every other "hot wife - dumb-ass guy" sitcom on air right now. Even American Dad (by the same creators, I know) has more redeeming qualities than FG.
Man South Park makes me fucking laugh like shit - mostly because they make fun of EVERYONE EQUALLY. No-one is safe from their radar of piss taking which imho is a central pillar to some kind of equality - being able to not take things too seriously haha. But then again, I am Australian and decidedly unPC.
Did anyone see that new episode about the economy? Fuck man, I pretty much pissed myself when I watched that.
I'm only 15... I'm kind of a little feminist myself. I actually just found this site because I'm doing a research paper about women... ANYHOO.
I've seen this episode, and I thought it was hilarious.
BUT.
I'm a big Jonas fan and a BIG BIG fan of abstinence... maybe I just haven't grown up enough yet, but I don't see why people are interpreting purity rings as something extremely sexual.
IDK... I just get weird about the topic of sex because of how I was raised and personal experiences. And my religion.
And I personally think it's freaking beautiful if a boy seriously wants to wait to get married to have sex! I love that!
But most of you probably think they're lying about it. *Sigh*
Ohwell. Back to my project.
people are interpreting purity rings as something sexual because wearing one signifies that you have pledged not to have sex until you're married.
i personally have no problem if people of either gender want to wait until marriage to have sex, and most of the commenters here agree. the problem we have is when chastity is emphasized for one gender only, or when people who choose *not* to remain chaste until marriage are depicted as bad people.
oftentimes, the messages sent to women from this movement both directly and indirectly tell girls/women that their self-worth is dependent on their virginity, and that they have to resist male attention. but these same messages aren't sent to boys/men...instead, they're told that sex feels really good and that they should get as much as they want.
there's very little talk of mutual respect and communication, which are the key to *any* relationship, whether or not you're married or sexually active.
does this help?
I do have to ask, in what is hopefully a non-hostile way, that if you just stumbled on the site, how would you know that most of us "probably think they're lying about it?"
And, as baddesignhurts said, abstaining from sex isn't what we take issue with. We believe people should make their own decisions about their sexuality -- whether or not to have sex, who to have it with, etc. The things we take issue with are things that involve selling "purity" to young girls and not boys (or at least, not boys in the same way), the dichotomy between "virgin" and "whore," etc. And also (especially?) the idea behind purity rings -- that the young woman is passing ownership of her vagina from her father (ew) to her husband.
I mean, here's something I found creepy -- an acquaintance of mine from college (I went to school in the south, so lots of right-wingers and religious zealots) got married shortly after graduating. That's not the problem. The thing that I found creepy was that there was a ceremony built into her wedding where she gave her dad back her purity ring, which he then gave to the groom to pass on to their "future daughter." She isn't even born (or conceived as far as I know) and already her vag isn't her own. Eeeek.
The part of me that was raised the same way you seem to be raised is also a big fan of the Jonas Brother's abstinence thing. Because it's nice to see guys talking about saving themselves for marriage and not phrasing it like "saving other girls for their future husbands." It's nice to see guys speaking up for this since it's so often only on the girls. I
The cynical part of me is suspicious of their claim and the reason it is being made. We all now know Britney Spears started talking publicly about waiting for marriage after she'd already had a live-in boyfriend (it bothers me so much that her mom wrote about Britney's teenage sex life in her book! The woman is still being exploited for her teenage sexuality). Sex sells, and talking about not having sex is still having sex. It's like saying, "Don't think about the elephant," you now instantly have the image of an elephant in your head. All these teen idols talking about how they don't have sex is a clever way of selling sex. They talk about sex all the time, it puts the image out there! I don't think the Jonas Brothers are actually notorious groupie hounds, and I think they probably are sincere about their beliefs, but I also think the Disney machine and the pop culture machine in general is exploiting their beliefs as a backdoor way of selling sex.
So that's why I see purity rings as being sexual. They display a person's sexuality. They are an advertisement about sex. Yes, it's a lack of sex, but it still puts the sex thought out there. If you want to wait I think that's great (as long as you're doing it for yourself and not because other people tell you you should or because you think having sex will make you less valuable as a person). But it should be a private choice, not something advertised to the masses.
Okay, thanks guy!
Yeah, everything you're saying makes sense. I just think that the purity rings WERE originally a personal, religious decision by them, and Disney just happened to totally eat that up.
I really, really don't know much about relationships because I have no experience and I'm so young, but for some reason I love the idea of abstinence. I think it shows that they just don't get with girls for sex, and that they mean well. And... I just have this idea in my head that boys/men are after sex sex sex, and it's good to know that the Jonas Brothers care about... like a longer relationship I guess?
IDK. I'll learn more about this one I actually HAVE a boyfriend, hahaha.
I just have this idea in my head that boys/men are after sex sex sex
Welcome to the patriarchy :/
Guys are encouraged to have sex sex sex, but that doesn't mean that's how they (all) are. Same with girls. I know when I was in my first relationship, I was pretty eager for sex myself. It depends on the person. Boys =/= only wanting sex, and if they're not wearing a purity ring, it doesn't mean they aren't abstinent, or they aren't into a long term relationship. I see what you're saying though.
I have learned that it is a mistake to assume that a guy waiting for marriage=a guy who respects women. Some guys are waiting because of deeply held beliefs and they do have genuine, healthy respect for women. Other guys are actually waiting, but they see girls who choose differently as sluts who aren't worthy of respect. I would run far, far away from any guy who saw a girl as damaged goods because she made different choices with her sexuality (run even faster if those choices weren't entirely her own and the guy still judges). Other guys still are lying and using it as a front to either look good or lower girls' defenses. This issue is just one of many factors you want to consider when choosing a boyfriend and, as always, make sure you pay for attention to actions than to words. Watch how they treat other girls, not just what they say about the subject.
A few of my friends and I had a joke club in high school that centered on how we were proud to be prudes. There seemed to be a lot of pressure from guys and girls to be sexual and none of us felt ready for that. So we'd joke about it every once in a while- "yes, I got dumped for not wanting to give head on the second date, but I'm proud to be prude!" I am still really happy about that time. I'm glad we spent more time being kids and having fun in less complicated ways. Some of us changed our minds about the sex before marriage thing and that was cool too. What I liked about that was that we all CHOSE what we felt was best for us. It was a rational, "I feel ready for this now," thing, which is what I hope for my daughters one day. It's what I hope for you too. I hope you make your choices because they are what's best for you, not because other people put value judgements on you one way or another. Be proud of the choice you are making now, and if you decide that needs to be re-evaluated later, be proud of that choice too.
Oh wow. I never really though of it that way, but it's completely true.
The thing is... I had this best friend, you know. And we always had the same stance about sex: That it was stupid to do it really young and stupider unprotected, basically. And also, her dad was murdered right at the beginning of freshmen, and I was really there for her through that.
Then she got this boyfriend, and you know, everyone LOVED him and she started hanging out with me less and less. And then when she was 15, still in freshmen year, she told me she lost her virginity.
And I didn't know what to do at all.
But in THIS situation, with her family in tragedy and all, I though her boyfriend should have said no to that, or at least had the balls to go buy protection, you know? but he didn't. And everyone still loves him.
that's a very long at personal story, but that's where I'm coming from!
I'm 15 too, and I consider myself a feminist. However, I hate the idea of people waiting until marriage because of some kind of "purity" idea (And the Jonas Brothers, but we aren't on a music website so we won't get into that arguement :)). I think the purity idea makes it seem that if a woman (or a man, but most of the "purity" crowd focuses on women) has sex, then they're considered "impure", "dirty", or "worthless". It sickens me.
And no one on this site is that close-minded as to think you're lying.
I hate South Park. My dad and uncle watch it all the time and I know people say that I just don't "get" it or whatever, but I don't see it for the amazingly hilarious satire it apparently is. I just think it's juvenile and plays to the lowest of what people find funny. Sure, they rip on a lot of the same things we rip on here at feministing, but from what I have watched of the show they have proven time and again that they are after cheap laughs at the expense of propagating stereotypes.
I hate family guy, too. I guess I'm just one of those damn unfunny feminists.
i loved this episode..partly because i love south park satire..and south park satire mixed in with the jonas brothers (who i think i hate the most in the world) is beyond lovely..haha
south park "satire" seems to be mostly in the service of the privileged being unpleasant to minority groups ( oh just joking (not really))
I particularly remember a really hateful episode about transsexual women that is often repeated as somehow validating transphobia....
Just out of curiosity, how would you all feel if the Jonas bros were replaces with Miley Cyrus and she was beaten bloody by micky mouse?
Outside of the mouse-on-teen violence, I really liked this clip
Outside of the mouse-on-teen violence
This reminds me of a bit in Russel Brand's recent special on Comedy Central. I know, the guy is pretty hit and miss but he had a really good point in this bit, which was part of a larger joke in response to some hate mail he got:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWVqoRDHVVU&feature=related
It starts at the 5:15 mark. Here is a transcript:
"I implied that the Jonas Brothers' chastity rings and virginity might be a cynical marketing ploy utilizing the theories of Michelle Fuco who said that in Victorian society, the repression of sexuality was just another way of bringing sexuality to the forefront of our consciousnesses. It's a marketing technique. By saying that the Jonas Brothers are virgins, you can't help but think about them having sex. The Jonas Brothers are not having sex. The Jonas Brothers are not having SEX. [pelvic thrust emphasizing each time he says "sex"] The Jonas Brothers are not having SEX. As long as you're looking at the rings on their fingers [waves fingers] you're not wondering about where them fingers ain't straying [his hand grabs his crotch to illustrate]."