Flirting with Danger: Power & Choice in Heterosexual Relationships.

Jillian and I went to see the film Flirting with Danger: Power & Choice in Heterosexual Relationships. I was already quite skeptical of just the title, as the term ‘flirting’, in my mind, brought up a connection to slut-shaming, as almost placing some blame on the victim. I interpreted it as a way of saying the women in the film were knowing towing the line between safety and danger, like a game.

A very interesting revelation brought up in the interviews, was that all the interviewees were highly educated and aware of what defined rape and sexual assault, yet they were not likely to label their interactions as such when they met the criteria. They would say they weren’t victims, they were not like ‘those’ women. I think this brings up a very important issue surrounding the stigma of being a survivor of sexual assault.

I really enjoyed how Lynn Phillips dissected the way popular culture idealizes two contradictory roles for women, that they are apparently suppose to embody at the same time: the overtly sexualized women and the ‘good-girl’ persona. Phillips showed clips of music videos, television shows, advertisements and many more that displayed these contradictory depictions. One second a woman is suppose to be a ‘strong’ woman in charge of her sexuality, the next she is suppose to be virginal and delicate. I’m definitely not sure what the solution to this will be, but it was extremely rewarding to have it pointed out so blatantly, as it was shown in the film.    

--Erika