CAKE Byte - Iconography
Ah, Springtime — a return to warmer weather, raging hormones, fewer clothes and of course…the seasonal brand of street harassment. Given this time-honored tradition of particular men feeling the urge to gaze longingly at our cleavage, whistle and holler at us, and otherwise act as if women are their prey, we want to know what is it about Springtime that brings out the worst in male rudeness? Pardon our naivety, but even though us girls are feeling the same reawakening and urges to copulate, we do not treat the boys with the same lack of respect and ill-mannered sidewalk protocol — leading us to believe that this phenomenon is socialized behavior and is thus subject to some serious reevaluation and change. Time to evolve boys. Enough said.
Now on to the good stuff — female sexual icons. Here at CAKE we are constantly asked who our role models are. As post-millennial feminists, we immediately answer — Madonna, of course - because over her twenty year career, she has reinvented what it means to be a sexual woman by demanding never to be categorized, pigeonholed or otherwise constricted. Yes, indeed, Madonna has proved that women can be a sexual being while also fulfilling multiple roles as rock star, businesswoman, sex object, masturbator, fashion plate, innovator, wife and mother. However, when asked to name a few more, we struggle to name other such examples, pausing to ponder the modern day question of who are our female sexual icons?
Let us say that a role model is different from "icon." An icon is more representative of a certain time period defining and encapsulating how people in a certain culture and moment define "woman," whether it be beneficial to women or not. "Rosie the Riveter" is an icon and she's not even a real person. A role model can be like your mom, but you mom's not a cultural icon, which doesn't mean that she's not a better person to want to be than say Marilyn Monroe is. And ironically, you can like an icon, and still see the problems with what she represents.
When it comes to female sexual icons, it seems there are two categories of women — those who fulfill a male fantasy of "object" and those who have struck out on their own to forge their own sexual path predicated on their own terms - to be "subject." Generally, female sexuality has been stuck in a self-perpetuating cycle of objectification throughout our culture, begging the question of - Who owns the female sexual icon?
Many people cite Marilyn Monroe as the ultimate female sexual icon. Even though Marilyn represents the ultimate femininity to many, there is a question of how much power she had over defining it. From the moment Hugh Hefner put Marilyn on the first cover of Playboy Magazine back in 1953, Marilyn’s sexuality was used to define male sexual culture and her sexuality ceased being her own. Playboy's "philosophy" believes that dressing women up as bunny rabbits — fucking pets! — epitomizes female sexiness.
Of course, objectification can be positive when women choose that predicament. In the mainstream world of fake breasts, an epidemic of eating disorders and plastic surgery, airbrushing, a world in which women still dress up like bunnies to denote sex appeal, mostly female writers and editors at women’s magazines and publishing houses decide that female sexuality takes the form of emaciated girl figures, then reuse and recycle images and storylines that insult women and when there are virtually no examples of female sexual culture, there are not many opportunities for choice and sexual identity.
On the whole in America, there is a consistent myth that female sexuality belongs in the bedroom or on the sanitized pages of female magazines rather than anywhere near to everyday, unbridled pleasure. Word to the wise - there is a trend on the streets that isn’t being reflected in the media, in entertainment, or anywhere outside the white-collar world of academia. All around us, women are examining the images of sexuality they see around them, sexualized images of women, or themselves and realizing things don’t add up. Women are more than models, than mannequins, than consumers, than a way to sell a product.
Women are at a stage in history where they are truly coming into their own - financially, socially, and sexually. Women have more disposable income, careers, extended reproductive lives, and are more confident and secure than they ever have been before. In many respects, this is the direct result of the feminist movement, which was the impetus of many developments that are now considered social norms. Feminism changed the American landscape in many respects and brought women's lives into focus. Our criticism of feminism is that it has been relegated largely to academia. It is NOT experiential. CAKE is all about experience. Embody the lifestyle. Live as a women.
CLUB.CAKE provides this environment, if for one night a week, to allow women a glimpse of what if — what if female sexuality was at the forefront of culture? At CLUB.CAKE, women are neither someone's pet or cute bunnies, but rather empowered sexual beings controlling the environment.
Knowing our history, the history of the female sexual icon allows us to effect social change and possibly, just possibly shift that street harassment power dynamic to reflect male and female sexual equality - as world in which rudeness is equated with downright silliness. Watch yourself boys, next time you inappropriately target a girl on the street, she may just be a CAKE.Girl — who won’t take your shit or might just whistle back.
Your picks from last week’s "Question of the Week" are Susan Sarandon in Rocky Horror and The Hunger, Marilyn Monroe for her real body, Pam Grier for her pioneering, Marilyn Chambers for being the first porn "star," and of course Madonna for her hands down ballsiness. In our opinion, what makes a female sexual icon? — the confidence and the ability to demand pleasure. For our generation, perhaps, it is all about YOU. Of course in the end every damn CAKE.Girl is a female iconic bombshell.
CLUB.CAKE
Speaking of CAKE.Girls. EYECANDY is produced for you — a female centered environment that allows you to ogle your favorite CAKE dancer and maybe, just maybe, let them give you a lapdance. We are cultivating a new brand of entertainer and a new brand of sexual entertainment for women. Here’s the score — every Wednesday in April CAKE presents EYECANDY at Flow. To attend each event, you must RSVP prior to that Wednesday event on CAKE. We will update the Feature section with CLUB.CAKE Dancer profiles and party pictures for you to scope out the scene for the next week. CAKE provides the space, the vibe, the DJ, the entertainment and most importantly the choice to be sexy. You supply the warmth.
Question of the Week
When it comes to your sexual pleasure, and getting turned on, what do you want to see and experience in real life - live and in person? Give CAKE the juicy details. Submit and read responses from last week's question in the REPORT section.
Love,
CAKE