When it comes to sex and desire, women are screwed.In film, on the page, in fashion, and in everyday life, women’s desire is routinely shown as subordinate to men’s — when it isn’t suppressed altogether. Lili Boisvert argues that there is one dominant principle behind heterosexualencounters: that desire is a male phenomenon and women are merely its object. To change this alienating system, shecontends, we must start by facing it head-on.From clothing to flirting, from our fascination with youth and innocence to the orgasm gap, every aspect of women’s lives is dictated by their status as sex objects. Is it any wonder that they are feeling sexually unfulfilled? In a series of explorations of what desire looks like under patriarchy, Screwed sketches the contours of what could be true sexual liberation for women, inside — and outside — the bedroom.

Facing the oppression and erasure of female desire head on.In the jargon of pornography, the cumshot is the final shot that depicts the exclusive enjoyment of the male actor. In it, Lili Boisvert sees the perfect illustration of the dominant principle behind heterosexual encounters: the idea that desire is a male phenomenon and women are merely its object. When challenged, adherents of this notion have insisted it was “human nature,” or spouted outdated psychological and biological theories, even though these are repeatedly contradicted by factual evidence. On film, on the page, in fashion, and in a host of other areas, female desire is routinely shown as subordinate to male desire — when it isn’t suppressed altogether. To change this alienating system, Boisvert contends, we must start by facing it head on. In a series of rebellious, humorous, and well-documented essays, she sketches the contours of what could be true sexual liberation for women.

When it comes to sex and desire, women are screwed.In film, on the page, in fashion, and in everyday life, women’s desire is routinely shown as subordinate to men’s — when it isn’t suppressed altogether. Lili Boisvert argues that there is one dominant principle behind heterosexualencounters: that desire is a male phenomenon and women are merely its object. To change this alienating system, shecontends, we must start by facing it head-on.From clothing to flirting, from our fascination with youth and innocence to the orgasm gap, every aspect of women’s lives is dictated by their status as sex objects. Is it any wonder that they are feeling sexually unfulfilled? In a series of explorations of what desire looks like under patriarchy, Screwed sketches the contours of what could be true sexual liberation for women, inside — and outside — the bedroom.

Facing the oppression and erasure of female desire head on.In the jargon of pornography, the cumshot is the final shot that depicts the exclusive enjoyment of the male actor. In it, Lili Boisvert sees the perfect illustration of the dominant principle behind heterosexual encounters: the idea that desire is a male phenomenon and women are merely its object. When challenged, adherents of this notion have insisted it was “human nature,” or spouted outdated psychological and biological theories, even though these are repeatedly contradicted by factual evidence. On film, on the page, in fashion, and in a host of other areas, female desire is routinely shown as subordinate to male desire — when it isn’t suppressed altogether. To change this alienating system, Boisvert contends, we must start by facing it head on. In a series of rebellious, humorous, and well-documented essays, she sketches the contours of what could be true sexual liberation for women.