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Start Date
24-6-2022 12:00 AM
End Date
24-6-2022 12:00 AM
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in unprecedented restrictions on physical touch, leading media productions to rethink the ways in which they film intimate moments such as sex scenes. Yet, even prior to the pandemic, the aesthetic and narrative conventions of the Hollywood sex scene had undergone substantial reinvention, marked by the proliferation of awkward sexual portrayals that evoked discomfort and uncertainty rather than eroticism and arousal. Initially associated with the series Girls, this form of sexual awkwardness has increasingly become a televisual mainstay encompassing dozens of comedies over the last decade. This transition and its feminist implications have generated much cultural debate, however, academic literature on the topic has mainly focused on the series themselves instead of audiences’ responses and interpretations. To more fully account for the meanings these sexual portrayals produce, I interrogate the discourse surrounding the rise of awkward sex scenes, examining features and online discussions that spotlight this emerging trend. I argue that audiences have utilized these portrayals and the sensations of cringe they engender to deconstruct cultural definitions of “successful” femininity, masculinity, and monogamy, and to challenge the binary perception of sex as either ultimate pleasure or harm. Moreover, I showcase how audiences tie sexual awkwardness to notions of authenticity in ways that create expectations from programs to be more conscious of the ethical implications of their sexual depictions. Thus, I show how representations of sexual awkwardness can act as a form of affective politics and can alter the ways we assess and value sexual portrayals.
The Good, the Bad and the Awkward: the affective politics of the awkward Hollywood sex scene
The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in unprecedented restrictions on physical touch, leading media productions to rethink the ways in which they film intimate moments such as sex scenes. Yet, even prior to the pandemic, the aesthetic and narrative conventions of the Hollywood sex scene had undergone substantial reinvention, marked by the proliferation of awkward sexual portrayals that evoked discomfort and uncertainty rather than eroticism and arousal. Initially associated with the series Girls, this form of sexual awkwardness has increasingly become a televisual mainstay encompassing dozens of comedies over the last decade. This transition and its feminist implications have generated much cultural debate, however, academic literature on the topic has mainly focused on the series themselves instead of audiences’ responses and interpretations. To more fully account for the meanings these sexual portrayals produce, I interrogate the discourse surrounding the rise of awkward sex scenes, examining features and online discussions that spotlight this emerging trend. I argue that audiences have utilized these portrayals and the sensations of cringe they engender to deconstruct cultural definitions of “successful” femininity, masculinity, and monogamy, and to challenge the binary perception of sex as either ultimate pleasure or harm. Moreover, I showcase how audiences tie sexual awkwardness to notions of authenticity in ways that create expectations from programs to be more conscious of the ethical implications of their sexual depictions. Thus, I show how representations of sexual awkwardness can act as a form of affective politics and can alter the ways we assess and value sexual portrayals.
Bio
Daphne Gershon is a PhD Candidate in the Media and Cultural Studies program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research interests center broadly around the representation of gender, sexuality, and ethnicity in the media, and television in particular. Currently, she is interested in portrayals of sexual dysfunction. She has published work in Feminist Media Studies on portrayals of erectile dysfunction in television comedy and on global discourses surrounding feminist portrayals of sexual violence within Pakistani cinema. Email: dgershon@wisc.edu