Extra Credit Assignment for Figleaf

Image by from Young Lusty Sluts:A Pictorial History of Erotic Pulp Fiction by Michael R. Goss, published by The Erotic Print Society

The Prudish Libertine could not be happier. In a recent post about his return to the classroom, Figleaf exclaimed:

I gotta figure out where I can do more of this work, especially in groups, either in graduate programs or for (gasp!) work. Because it's not just good it's been *good* for me!

I could not think of a better way to to keep the Libertine Prude in the pink than to present him with an Extra Credit Assignment:

Prepare a post for your blog analyzing the societal views of gender as expressed, both directly and indirectly, in the following three selections:
No. 1: Fast Women from Godey's Lady's Book, February, 1857
No. 2: I was encouraged by my culture to be a man from Buying Sex: A survey of men in Chicago.
No. 3: Inability to confine sexual behavior to private life is considered low class and untrustworthy. from comments in response to Amber Rhea's post, Compartmentalize, or you'll get 20 lashes!

No. 1: Fast Women from Godey's Lady's Book, February, 1857

FAST WOMEN.--One of our most promising lady writers, Mrs. R. B. Hicks, editress of the Kaleidoscope, thus deftly describes this new variety of womankind:

This fast age, with its fast horses and faster men, has brought about that rather fashionable monstrosity, the fast woman. They were a want of the age, those fast women, or the age would never have developed them. Fast young men wanted something to keep up with them, and, presto! We have the fast young woman. The gum-elastic nature of woman supplied the deficiency; and she, who is the pride of earth and the incentive to heaven, consented to lend her splendid capabilities to fill up the measure of Young America's insolent requirements, and to become, for his convenience, the fast woman.
Accordingly we see them with dresses decollete and bare arms, with loud-ringing laugh and questionable wit, with polka and Redowa, and a thousand other accomplishments peculiar to themselves, attracting the blasé foplings, whose attention the true woman would instinctively shun. They are up with the times and, to the honor of Old Virginia be it said, somewhat in advance of her daughters, these fast young women. But, though they are so attended, and so applauded, and so exhilarated, there is no young fopling in their train who has not at least brains enough to sneer at them behind their backs. And thus it happens that these fast young women do not marry quite as fast as they dance. In the hymeneal race, we find them lagging behind; and, as their speed is all gotten up expressly for the hymeneal race, it must be exceedingly mortifying to them to find themselves beaten by dozens of quiet, genteel girls who never danced a polka in their lives. It is the old fable of the hare and the tortoise. We would advise them not to be quite so fast.

No. 2: I was encouraged by my culture to be a man from Buying Sex: A survey of men in Chicago.

The title of this selection was the response given by one man when asked why he paid for sexual services. He was one of 159 men interviewed by volunteers of the Chicago Coalition of the Homeless on April 23, 2004. While there has been considerable research about the women and girls engaged in prostitution in Chicago, little research has been conducted on the customers of the sex industry. The Prostitution Alternatives Round Table (PART), a project of the CCH, decided to conduct these interviews to determine their age and marital status, the frequency with which they purchase sexual services, and any contact with law enforcement. The volunteers, who were former prostitutes, wanted to find out how much these customers knew about the prostitutes and the violence that was part of their existence.

The interviews were conducted in bars throughout the Chicago neighborhoods, during a televised game of a Chicago sports team. While this survey does not purport to be a statistically valid sample, the findings do reveal more about the consumers of the sex trade. For the purposes of this survey, the sex trade was defined as street level prostitution, strip clubs, escort services, massage parlors, private parties, and indoor venues. The key findings quoted in the report are as follows:

• A large percentage, 81 percent, of all men surveyed admitted to having been to a sex trade venue at least once in their lifetime.


• There were no significant differences between users and nonusers of the sex trade industry based on marital status, age,ethnicity, and race. Users in this sample are younger, on average, than non-users, but frequent users are older. Frequent users are more likely to be older and married.


• On average, users of the industry visited 2 sex trade venues. The majority visited two or more.


• Over 50 percent of men who said they had visited strip clubshave done so 6 or more times in their lifetime.


• Men find out about sex trade venues primarily through word-of-mouth referrals.


• The majority of users in this sample frequented indoor sex tradevenues, rather than street-level venues. Based on the men’s responses, illegal sex trade activity appears to be occurring in legal, regulated indoor sex trade establishments such as strip clubs.


• Only 4 of the 129 men who are users admitted they had any contact with law enforcement.


• Large numbers of the men appeared indifferent to the plight of the women from whom they are purchasing sex-acts.

Forty-two percent said “yes” and 44 percent said “no”.

No. 3: Comments in response to Amber Rhea's post, Compartmentalize, or you'll get 20 lashes!

First, I recommend that you read Amber's post entitled Why I Quit Download Squad. Second, follow the links in her post to her article, Compartmentalize, or you'll get 20 lashes!, in which she challenges the general assumption that if a woman's online image is sexual, she will be stigmatized as unprofessional. Or, as Amber stated:

So, YES, if one's sexuality is the ultimate representation of what it means to be unprofessional, then absolutely we have a problem here.

Inability to confine sexual behavior to private life is considered low class and untrustworthy.

Ok... there's only one way to settle this... why don't you go ahead and post some naked pictures of yourself and perhaps some voting buttons... "Pro" / "Unpro". See what the stats say after say... 24 hrs ;-)

[I]if you hang your goodies out for all to see, you're unprofessional. It's low class and slobby. Do you have the freedom to get a tramp stamp? Sure. Accept the fact that you are stamping "tramp" on yourself.

Facts is facts. Hot women and powerful men are pursued. Plain or ugly women and wimpy men resent it.

Okay, Figleaf. Time to put your handsome shoulder to the wheel.