Using Sexism to Criticize Power Relations
KABOBfest recently wrote a little article titled "KABOBfest Exclusive: Livni Sex Tape Exposed." I initially assumed was going to be a story of how Bebe Netanyahu and cronies rummaged through Livni's personal space and realized that she has a fully functional vagina and is putting it to use, but as it turned out it was a parody article that is sexist and anti-Semitic.
From KABOBfest:
A new sex tape emerged that should send shockwaves through Israeli politics. As this family-friendly screenshot demonstrates, Livni was getting it on with two of her security detail as she was covered in flowers -- in public. Pretty hot, but nowhere nearly as sexy as the Israeli porn classics, Checkpoint Chicks Meet the Golani Brigade, Menachem the Mohel (if you are into horror-porn), and Coma-Hoes (starring Ariel Sharon).
I sounded the first mental alarm in only the first sentence. "Should" send shockwaves? I didn't know people having sex constituted national or even international news. Should we give her a reality show too?
The article then plays around with porn titles like "Checkpoint Chicks Meet the Golani Brigade," which insinuates that mistreatment of Palestinians at Israeli checkpoints is comparable to being forced into sex. This idea may best be understood with the double-edged phrase "getting fucked." Punny...
The author draws on themes of powerful women in the Bible, such as the famous Jezebels of both the Old and New Testaments, in order to make sense of female political power. The Jezebels were viewed as utilizing their bodies to (re)claim power in society and that they were thus prostituting themselves. Tzipi Livni, who nearly controls the military power know as the Israeli army, is apparently also being viewed by this blogger as wielding her power through similar means, and the relationship between Livni, her power, and her followers is understood similarly to the Jezebels, their power, and their followers. The Jezebel of the Hebrew Bible is thrown, by her Eunuchs, from her bedroom window and eaten by dogs, the Jezebel of the New Testament is gang raped by her "children." Hopefully no one resolves the tension created by Livni's power to justify raping or killing her.
The shit this article spews doesn't stop there. It concludes, "However, the film may not offend the orthodox Jewish community: they were boinking her through blanket holes." This = exploiting huge misconceptions of orthodox Jewish sexual practices, which is, in my definition, prejudice.
The underlying problem here is that this article perpetuates the idea that sexual relations are reasonable ways in which people may demonstrate power relations and that, thus, sex and power can be used metaphorically, interchangeably, etc. But they cannot. Sex is an act that occurs between two or more fully consenting individuals. If power relations find their way into sex, as they find their way into the workplace, our school systems, dating life, etc., then that means one or more people will be subjugated by one or more people. That isn't sex, that's rape.
I understand that the situation in Gaza and Israel is royally fucked up, but the messiness of this situation cannot be understood in the same tired ass ways, i.e. sexism, anti-semitism, wtvs-ism.
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