The Idea Of Slut Shaming In The Film Easy A

The media plays a significant role in the way we think about social problems. The media is our primary source of information regarding these problems, and it also is largely responsible for framing our thinking surrounding them. “Slut shaming” is the social shaming of women for participating in and/or enjoying sexual activity. “Slut Shaming” is a topic that is not new, but one that has gained significant traction in the last decade. The movie Easy A (produced in 2010, running time: 1 hour 32 min) explores the concept in a satirical way, based loosely on the principles discussed Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. The recent film analyzes the concept of “slut shaming” and connects the modern day verbiage to thoughts and actions that have

The story is fairly objective; the narration is really where the audience gets to learn about the impact of slut shaming. The main character is a teenage girl named Olive Penderghast. She lies to her best friend about losing her virginity; the whole school gets word of this and she suddenly becomes very popular. She then lies about having sex with her friend Brandon so he will stop being bullied for being gay. Brandon’s friends then bribe Olive with gift cards so that she will say she has had sex with them too. This whole mess leads to Olive being labeled as the “school slut.” To make matters worse, everyone in the school thinks that she is having sex in exchange for money. The whole situation shows the rhetoric and emotions behind the morality of women having sex. At the end of the movie Olive gives an online “tell all” where she sets the record straight and essentially says that her sex life is no one’s business but her own, and she can do whatever she

No judgment, but you kind of look like a stripper” Olive: “Mom!” father: [to Olive] “A high-end stripper, for governors or athletes.” This conversation implies that you can tell if someone is a stripper just by the way the dress. Everyone in the movie either consciously or unconsciously acknowledging Olive’s newfound label. The implications of public perception almost immediately being to effect her actions and choices. She has nothing to lose, because she’s already lost it all. This movie gives us an expedited version of what happens to women in real life. Easy A does subtly use a sociological perspective. The story isn’t just about a girl that lies about having a lot of sex. The narration shows the audience why the negative language about women having sex is so harmful. The film uses this perspective in order to have the messaging resonate with the audience, and makes them think more about how they think of sex, and if they are contributing to a culture of shaming women for being sexual