In her discussion of Annie Lennox, Whiteley brings the ideas of influential Belgian feminist Luce Irigaray to the forefront of her analysis. Irigaray, alongside her fellow feminist theorists such as Julia Kristeva and Helene Cixous, argues for the exploration and discovery of a “feminine” language, to counteract the representations of women created and sustained through patriarchal language. Arguing against Freud and the idea of woman as representing the threat of castration and consequently shaped by her “lack” of a penis, Irigaray emphasizes female genitalia as “the site of pleasure” (Whiteley 120). Instead of being represented through a patriarchal, phallocentric language, Irigaray argues a language which can express the plurality of female sexual pleasure (multiple orgasms for example) “will encourage women to experience themselves as something more than excess within the dominant ideology” (121). For Irigaray, the stress is on the interconnectedness of language, sexuality and power. Challenges to the dominant ideology and patriarchal language can come in the form of exploring feminine sexuality (through lesbianism) but also through what Irigaray refers to as “miming the miming”—challenging patriarchal representation of women through taking on the stereotypical images of women in a confrontational manner.
Whiteley argues Lennox was one of the few female musicians who challenged traditional representations of femininity through taking advantage of the music industry’s new found emphasis on visual appearance brought on my the birth of MTV in the 1980s. Whiteley’s analysis of the Eurythmics video “Who’s that Girl,” convincingly demonstrates Lennox’s exploration of feminine pleasure outside phallocentric ideology. The title of the song itself seems to question feminine identity, especially when sung by Lennox who is performing the part of a glamorous night club songstress. The final scene of the video illustrates Irigaray’s ideas most clearly, when Lennox’s night club singer persona kisses Lennox’s Elvis-inspired male persona. By essentially kissing herself and “playing” with herself, Lennox demonstrates feminine pleasure without of the presence of a man. As Whiteley argues, Annie Lennox ironically confronts femininity as defined through patriarchy, and is one of the first female musicians of the music video era to subvert the static images of femininity through ironic and challenging videos.
Whiteley argues Lennox was one of the few female musicians who challenged traditional representations of femininity through taking advantage of the music industry’s new found emphasis on visual appearance brought on my the birth of MTV in the 1980s. Whiteley’s analysis of the Eurythmics video “Who’s that Girl,” convincingly demonstrates Lennox’s exploration of feminine pleasure outside phallocentric ideology. The title of the song itself seems to question feminine identity, especially when sung by Lennox who is performing the part of a glamorous night club songstress. The final scene of the video illustrates Irigaray’s ideas most clearly, when Lennox’s night club singer persona kisses Lennox’s Elvis-inspired male persona. By essentially kissing herself and “playing” with herself, Lennox demonstrates feminine pleasure without of the presence of a man. As Whiteley argues, Annie Lennox ironically confronts femininity as defined through patriarchy, and is one of the first female musicians of the music video era to subvert the static images of femininity through ironic and challenging videos.
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Theorists like Irigaray and their incredibly innovative ideas are what make me so enthusiastic and interested in Women's Studies. Thinking of patriarchy as rooted primarily and significantly through sexuality and sex completely blows my mind.
As soon as I read this chapter of Whiteley, I looked up the Eurythmics' 'Who's that Girl' music video on Youtube, and proceeding to repeatedly watch for the next hour. In this video, Lennox completely takes androgyny to a whole new level, by presenting herself as seperate personas, one feminine and one masculine. Whiteley's analysis of this video and Annie Lennox, has helped me to realize the radical possibilities of alternative sexualities, and lesbianism in particular.
In terms of my own life, learning about sex and sexuality has been largely through popular culture. Coming from a traditional Japanese family, I have never even seen my parents kiss. Because of the very 'pretending-its-not-an-issue' attitude of my parents on sex and sexuality, much of my informal sexual education came through the forms of television, films and music. Most of the music I listened to during my teenage years were centered around love, and rarely around sex. The Spice Girls' song 'Naked' was one of my first experiences where music dealt with sex. I remember often fast-forwarding through the track when I'd listen to my coveted Spice Girls' Spice tape, feeling uncomfortable with the subject matter and sensual tone of the music.
Whiteley's discussion of Annie Lennox has not only opened my eyes to the importance of sexuality within feminism, but helped me realize how political the personal really is. The fact that music and female musicians have influenced me to think about the radical potential of feminine sexuality is very liberating.
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