By Rachel Ponting & illustrated by Charlie To
Trigger Warning: sexual violence
Why does so much of pop culture fixate on women’s suffering?
Numerous songs, films, books, and even video games center on women’s suffering – whether that be struggling after a break-up, experiencing sexual assault, or other forms of violence. The arts have been grappling with issues that many women have faced for decades, since creative expression is a means by which many work through difficult times. However, it seems that the boundaries have become blurred between art and media exploring the lived experiences of women, and giving fetishised accounts of them.
Take for instance the new Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde, based upon the fictional novel by Joyce Carol Oates and directed by Andrew Dominik. The film is an extremely disturbing watch with scenes of rape, domestic abuse, and drug use. Whilst the film could be said to reveal the exploitation of women within Hollywood, it simultaneously contributes to this very exploitation. For example, it depicts distressing moments from Marilyn’s life which are not based upon real-life events. The film has also been critiqued for exemplifying a violent male gaze. For much of the film Ana de Armas, who plays Marilyn, is either crying or naked. Little attention is paid to the many successes of Marilyn’s career or her political activism. Instead, she is reduced to a powerless – but beautiful – victim, and so the film turns into almost three hours of trauma porn. Not only is this film disrespectful to Marilyn’s legacy, but its production also raises wider societal questions: why is the portrayal of women’s suffering considered entertainment?
This question, albeit on a slightly different scale, is also relevant to the British dating reality TV show Love Island. The 2022 season hit record ratings, hitting five million views for its first episode. That said, the British broadcasting regulator Ofcom also received thousands of complaints. These were mainly focused on the misogynistic behaviour and bullying by the male contestants of some of the female contestants. Unfortunately, this is nothing new in TV series. Charities such as Women’s Aid have released statements concerning the actions of past cast members. Luca Bish, one of this year’s contestants, revealed that producers told the male participants to ‘keep up the entertainment’ before they left for Casa Amor, a separate villa on the TV show. This might explain why so many of the male contestants disrespected the women they were previously coupled up with during their time away from the main villa. This yet again begs the question of why the mistreatment of women is considered good television. Moreover, what impact do such shows have on viewers?
American model and actress Emily Ratajkowski has used her social media platforms to speak out about the impact of the media’s fetishisation of female pain. Drawing on her own experiences, Emily states that many girls learn to enact their pain in a way that is “sexy”. Many girls feel they have to adhere to romanticised tropes prevalent in the media regarding being ‘lost,’ ‘misunderstood,’ or ‘broken’. This romanticisation of female suffering is deeply problematic for multiple reasons. Most notably, it can inhibit women from working through upsetting experiences or serious mental health issues in a healthy way.
It is important to note that this fetishisation of suffering is not only confined to women. Pop culture has also sensationalised the lived pain and trauma of members of other minority groups. This becomes particularly evident in the production of, and reception to, the new Netflix series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. The true crime series about the infamous serial killer who targeted primarily black and homosexual men, has been condemned for re-traumatising family members of victims. These relatives were not consulted prior to the production of the show, despite dramatisations of their own court testimonials being featured in the series. Meanwhile, memes from the show and fan edits obsessing over Evan Peters, who portrays Jeffrey Dahmer, have gone viral. This suggests that large numbers of viewers have become completely desensitised to the fact that the show depicts real events that affected and continue to affect the lives of real people.
Perhaps the inclusion of more female, LGBTQ+, or POC directors and producers can help to prevent shows like those mentioned above from misportraying the lived experiences of women and minority groups. However, the most recent UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report highlights that there is still a long way to go. Women and POC are still vastly underrepresented in Hollywood. It is clear that a societal shift is necessary to challenge people’s distorted attitudes towards others’ pain. This might be the only thing preventing the amplification of further suffering.
