"Sluts" on the Small Screen: Female Promiscuity in Scripted American Television Series

by Libbie Searcy

Overview

Viewers spend years laughing, crying, celebrating, and mourning with their favorite TV characters, but when those characters are promiscuous women, different viewers may have very different reactions. Both sexual freedom and sexual shame run deep in the cultural waters, so as TV's promiscuous female characters navigate those choppy waters, what unfolds onscreen reflects—and ultimately shapes—perceptions of promiscuous women as liberated and adventurous, damaged and destructive, or even sick and gross.

This work examines fifteen promiscuous female characters and identifies trends in those portrayals—from what motivates their promiscuity to the reproaches they face, the revelations they have, and the redemption it seems they must undergo as a result of their "slutty" ways. This book aims not to promote promiscuity but to fight against the stigmatization of promiscuous women, which is a fight against puritanical patriarchy that benefits everyone.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476677125
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	02/21/2024
Pages:	277
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.56(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Libbie Searcy is an associate professor in the humanities and communication department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
The Cast(aways)
Naming Her Without Name-Calling
Reading Through Two Lenses
Part I. Makings and Motives
1. Stunted Daughters
Daddy Issues
Mommy Problems
2. Jouissance Junkies
Sex as Sedative
Sex as Stimulant
3. Societal Outlaws
Script Flippers
Free Spirits and Big Brains
4. Horny Women and Other Unicorns
Wanting Only One Thing
Wanting It All
Part II. Reproaches, Revelations, and Redemptions
5. The Slut Life
The Privileged Two
Stigma Fighters
Hot Messes and Shit Shows
6. The Risky Life
Suffering Violence and Disease
Causing Trauma
Getting Healthy
7. The Good Life
Falling in Love
Giving Life
Afterword
Appendix A. Makings and Motives Character Chart
Appendix B. Reproaches, Revelations, and Redemptions Character Chart
Episodes Cited
Works Cited
Index