Response
Levy’s argument that numerous women falsely believe that they are empowered by raunch culture because they internalize patriarchal thought is based in the Marxist concept of false consciousness. Several feminist authors have criticized feminist attributions of false consciousness, including Liz Stanley and Sue Wise in their book Breaking Out: Feminist Consciousness and Feminist Research: "The idea of 'false' and 'true' consciousness, with 'true consciousness' being what revolutionaries have, is offensively patronizing. It denies the validity of people's own interpretations and understandings."
Levy places considerable blame on women for the phenomenon of raunch culture, explicitly stating “It no longer makes sense to blame men,” despite attributing raunch culture to patriarchy.
Levy’s discussion of raunch culture could be perceived as slut-shaming, in that some of the language in Female Chauvinist Pigs is disparaging of women who express their sexuality in a particular way (e.g., referring to them generally as “bimbos”).
Read more about this topic: Female Chauvinist Pigs
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