Sex/uality Artifacts

For my second artifact, I picked this episode of That 70’s Show because I feel like it encompasses not only today’s topic but also a great deal of the topics we’ve discussed for the last few weeks.  In the beginning of the film, Kelso (the kid with long hair), begins feeling uncomfortable during the X-rated film because he is getting back together with his ex-girlfriend, Jackie. As he leaves the theater, Fez (the foreign exchange student) tells him to “not forget his dress on the way out.” Kelso is male, so he is expected to enjoy watching X-rated films. If he does not, to Fez, this means he is acting like a female. In some ways, however, this episode does not conform to sexual scripts. As we’ve discussed, sex is often portrayed as very easy. The clothes just fall off, it is immediately enjoyable for both parties, and everything goes smoothly. That 70’s show does an excellent job of showing how sex cannot go smoothly. Clearly it does not go smoothly in this episode, as Donna leaves because of a move Eric tried which she found too perverted. Also,  the show has episodes in which the character’s first time was not that enjoyable, where the mother goes through menopause, and many morethat show sex in a different and often more realistic way. The second topic from class that can be applied to this video is the negative effects of pornography. The boys watch an X-rated film and Eric immediately feels inadequate. This leads him to incorporate one of the moves he had seen in the film into his own life, which turns out to affect it negatively. The last part of the clips apply to consent. Eric does not discuss with Donna what he is about to try in bed. Donna is uncomfortable with it, leading her to exercise her right of consent and leave the bedroom. People often think of consent as something to be exercised against strangers, not people whom they are dating. This episode provides a great example of how consent can be practiced within the context of a relationship.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6a6cu_s3-ep19-eric-s-naughty-no-no-part-1_shortfilms

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6a6ha_s3-ep19-eric-s-naughty-no-no-part-2_shortfilms