Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Feel like a pre-teen again!
7 comments
*Shudder*
Something about this just really creeps me out. I think I'd be highly offended if my partner bought this for me.
*Shudder*
Something about this just really creeps me out. I think I'd be highly offended if my partner bought this for me.
Posts
July 22, 2008 at 10:15 PM
When they posted about this on Feministing... a bunch of people were saying they found nothing wrong with this, that they used it (or knew someone who did) for sexual pleasure.
I don't think there is necessarily anything wrong with using it for sexual pleasure, but there IS something wrong with the wording. Liquid "Virgin"... why are we putting so much importance in virginity? As if a woman is loose and used and worthless if she's not one? Why not just call it something else, that isn't tied to some concept of purity?
July 23, 2008 at 12:20 AM
Oh, I didn't even know they posted this on Feministing!
Yeah, I mean... it's not necessarily the concept of it I suppose. I agree with you about the name - it's just really inappropriate. I also have a problem with the packaging... how it's decorated with pink hearts and bubble letters. It looks like something a 12 year-old would draw. THAT part creeps me out.
July 23, 2008 at 7:51 AM
True.. like "make your vag feel like you're 12 again!"
July 24, 2008 at 1:21 PM
Ladies, Ladies....
Seriously, you need to pick our battles a little better that this recent example.
If Leslie and Amy are entitled to feel offended at the wording of "Virgin" (it's a personal lubricant.. aka sexual aid, hardly the realm for political correctness), then I reserve the right to be offended at the multitude of "massagers" out there that give me (and my fellow males) a sense of inadequacy.
Sexual inadequacy goes both ways. For years men have always been expected to "measure" up -- if not among you -- at least among a large cross-section of women. So now the shoe is on the other foot, and suddenly it's taboo to suggest sexual "enhancement" for women. (Need I even mention vaginal rejuvenation surgery?)
Come on, Gimme a break.
As for the packaging designed for a "12 year old" -- I guess you haven't been a a Spencer's store in a long time, have you?
My suggestion: try to stick to serious topics, like Muslim women getting hymen restoration surgery, rather than this bit of silliness.
July 24, 2008 at 1:56 PM
First of all, we never said that we weren't just as against all those penis enlargement products that are out there. I think those types of products put an enormous amount of pressure on men to be "adequate" and I think it's unfair and outrageous. Simply because I made this post doesn't mean I'm solely offended by sexual enhancement products marketed towards women. I am just as disgusted by penis pumps and such for men.
I don't particularly understand you being angry at "massagers" (I think you mean vibrators) because those are toys to be used for predominantly masturbatory purposes. "Liquid Virgin" exists to be used during sex, when a woman's partner is unhappy with the state of her vagina. I think those two products are completely different. Something like a vibrating penis ring is a different story... because I understand how a man's partner presenting it to him and saying, "Please wear this, you don't make me come with your regular non-vibrating penis" can upset him. But vibrators? Not relevant.
Second of all... I'm not sure what Spencer's has to do with anything. They carry a variety of products. We're talking about this specific product that just happens to be called "Liquid Virgin" and looks like it was decorated by a 12-year-old girl. Since being a virgin is usually associated with being young, I find this creepy.
Third of all... I cover a variety of topics in this blog. I have talked about genital mutilation a couple times, along with rape, sexual assault, body image, eating disorders, discrimination, abuse, crime, racism, disease, and world hunger. Sometimes I write about "lighter" topics to balance the blog because writing about heavy topics constantly gets exhausting.
July 29, 2008 at 12:14 PM
The issue I have with wording is that it seems to suggest it will replace your hymen.. and in effect, your virginity (something you don't have anymore cuz you're a big dirty whore!). Rather than marketing it as a sexual enhancement product, it uses the wording ("virgin") to attach meaning to it (not necessary).
Same thing with enhancement products for men... I'm sure some people use them and enjoy them... but it shouldn't be marketed towards men in a way that makes you feel inadequate for not having a huge penis in the first place (just as "Liquid Virgin" seems to make women feel inadequate for not having tight, virginal vaginas).
Why is it that so many men (and women too) are quick to point the finger at feminists for ONLY caring about women's issues? Like Amy said, nowhere in her post did she say that men aren't affected by these things, or that she didn't care. Maybe if you found a product marketed towards me in an offensive way, and told Amy about it, she would post it on the blog as an example of how men are hurt by these sorts of discriminations as well.
And before you tell us to "stick to serious topics", maybe take a look at the rest of the blog and realize that we do. This entire blog isn't entitled "Why Liquid Virgin Sucks".. it's ONE post. Talking about this one product does not take away from our time to attend to more serious topics.
July 29, 2008 at 12:54 PM
I meant to say "marketed towards men"...