1. Alfred Kinsey's report on Sexual Behavior in the human female. This was released in 1948 and stirred things up. It stated that half the women in the country are having unmarried sex. He interviewed 5,940 unmarried white 30-year-old women and over half were having sex.
2. The new climate of anxiety and excitement over sexuality, both in men and women. The magazine Playboy first published in 1953 and was dedicated to enjoy a range of sensual pleasure;... Playboy was happy to pursue a resolutely urban line, celebrating indoor activities of which sex was the only one.
3. The release of the film, The Moon is Blue.
All of these factors contributed to the creation of the sex comedy genre. The films seem innocennt at the times, but what impact did it have on the affirmation of gender roles. McDonald later writes about the shift or reversal of roles, but it still demeans the woman. Simone de Beauvoir wrote, "To decline to be the Other, to refuse to be a party to the deal – this would be for women to renounce all the advantages conferred upon them by their alliance with the superior caste."
This is reflected in the films when the female role has to switch to correspond with the "mood" of the male. The female in these movies is always the "Other."
In arguement to the first statement, it could also be argued that the sex comedy just portrays the changes in real life. If women are more sexually open, then why not make films that portray this. There is nothing overtly radical there.
But to play Devil's advocate again, in both scenarios, the woman is still portrayed as a "slave" to the man. Whether it's the woman wanting or avoiding sex, it still depicts the woman as the one chasing.
Regardless, it was interesting to see the historical context of the Sex Comedy and realize that it's been around longer than I had imagined. I guess when I heard Sex Comedy, I automatically thought over the top sex, like Porky's. Good article.
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