Frances Wong

English 110
Professor Lacker
Decemeber 14, 2023
Trashy Media

Marilyn Monroe is remembered as a sex symbol, but in an industry dominated by men,

she fought for gender equality. Indecent by Paula Vogel explores how the perceptions of men

and women differ. Characters fight to show the good and the taboo, regardless of gender. Actions

will always be more taboo and more criticized because we are taught the "norm” of women is to

be polite and submissive. The problem is that women are not one size fits all; there are lesbians,

passionates, and even prostitutes that do not relate to the “norm.” In Indecent, Paula Vogel

applies how our society’s perception of women makes it harder to achieve their equality in

society by showing the pushback when they go against it.

Feminist criticism is concerned with "the ways in which literature (and other cultural

productions) reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological

oppression of women." (Tyson 83) Feminist critics argue that women's oppression has gone on

for ages in patriarchal cultures. Philosophical sexism consists of the pronouncements (male)

philosophers make about women, femininity, or relations between the sexes. (Feminist

Knowledge) The sexism created and catered to by men has caused women to be seen as no more

than objects in society. Women are expected to be calm, collected, mothers, even when they are

just as human as men. If a woman does not convey these traits, they are reprimanded and

oppressed even further. When Ashe shows his work to Madje of two lesbians in love, Vogel

showcases the excitement of being heard, but the pushback from directors shows that society

stops women from being represented.

 The play is introduced by Ashe showing Madje the play he had written about a lesbian

couple. Madje is instantly in love; it portrays all the emotions—the good and the bad—of

women. “The roots of all evil: the money, the subjugation of women, the false piety... and then,

oh Sholem, the two girls in the rain scene! You make me feel the desire between these two

women is the purest.” (Vogel 12) At this time, lesbians aren’t represented as normal and are

rather excluded from society. Madje showcases what happens when women see women

represented as something other than a sex symbol for the male gaze. “Our play will catch fire in

Berlin! It's the twentieth century! We are all attracted to both sexes. “(Vogel 13) Madjes

character highlights that women can be passionate. She knows that society represents women

objectively. Women should love men, but that doesn't mean that lesbians don't exist. A play

represeting lesbians would be innovative because it is out of the norm. Madje’s character

challenges the traits of a “good” woman because she is opposed to the idea that men should be

with women and women should be with men.

Madje is enthralled by the idea of lesbian representation and breaks the normalization of

women loving men only to please me; however, the directors Ashe showcases showcase the

opposite feelings and oppose the idea. “You cannot translate this hateful play. If you must throw

stones, throw them outside the tent." (Vogel 20) Wait. Wait. Am I still a woman here? I am not

reading this garbage. None of us are reading this garbage! (Vogel 14-15) The directors aren't

open-minded about the idea that a woman can love another woman and refuse to finish reading

the play. This goes back to the idea that “girls were different from boys... the difference seemed

to make it clear. (Brownmiller 14) For men, the world is your oyster. Whatever you want to do is

possible; you can be a scientist, a mechanic, or a doctor, but for women, you are raised

differently. Your dreams aren't mindless; instead, you need to be ladylike. The director’s
discomfort with acting out the play makes that clear. It is shown when one of them says,

“Another play set in a brothel. Why are so many men writing brothel stories?" (Vogel 14). This

line shows that at least one of them had acted out a female in a man’s relationship to read out a

play. As a society, women are viewed as sex symbols on the screen; a brothel story was

normalized enough that it was just “another play,” but when it is between a female and another

female, the woman can no longer be objectified, and there is no man to praise. The only change

was that the relationship on screen was between lesbians, but because the focus was on the

relationship and growth of two females, the directors called the play “trash.” The hesitant nature

of these directors proves that, as a society, women are seen as no more than objects that they can

call trash. A factor like two female protagonists in love caused the directors to display it, feeding

into the narrative that it was wrong.

When Madje finally gets the play on stage, it gets pushback again. A pivotal part of the

play that showed the emotional love between Rifkele and Maneke was the rain scene. It

represented the desire to break free from societal constraints and express their true feelings;

however, the scene was cut short. When Dorthey, the actress for Rifkele, notices that the new

script in America was cut, she fights back. “I am not acting on this garbage. They've cut the rain

scene.” (Vogel 42) The rain scene would have shown the world that females could love someone

other than another man. The result of the scene being cut would be that the play would just be

another medium for male gaze. A female can like another female, but they cannot feel the same

sexual pleasure from each other that a man can provide. The idea of the male gaze, “an all-

seeing, patriarchal eye, imprisoning the object gazed at (usually female) within the'mind-forged

manacles’ of the sex-gender system and its oppressive hierarchies,” isn't showcased if the rain

scene stays in the play. Instead, it shows that females can pleasure each other just as well as
males. The power dynamic between men and women would be challenged, but because the scene

was cut out, it further proves that the love “isn’t real” and is just a friendship between two girls.

Although the play shows that women are undermined in society, Vogel also shows that

society can undermine but cannot crush passion. When the cast gets out of jail, they perform

what they believe in. This play consists of a rain scene. This part of the play showcases the

tension between societal expectations and the determination to show real life. By showcasing

their sexuality,they “invoked notions of confidence to empower.” (Women’s Studies

International Forum) In the end, although society opposes women, women will still try to fight

for what they believe in. The rain scene opposes all the sexism in society that is shown

throughout the play. Rifkele and Maneke are in love and can feel love sexually. Men are not the

only people who can give women pleasure.

Although the rain scene is a great opposition to the sexism showcased throughout the

play, it is also a double-edged sword because they don’t actually perform to the world as they

wanted to. Instead, the play ends with the group on a “single file line” assumed to be killed.

(Vogel 73) The playwright ends up dying without bringing norms to women with different

characteristics. By the end of the play, it is still not normal for women to love each other or not

be sexualized on stage.

In conclusion, by showing the performance of lesbians, society’s flaws towards female

equality are shown. Paula Vogel criticizes society’s actions toward female sexualization in the

media as unjustified. The treatment between male and female versus female and female should

be the same; one should not be more oppressed than the other. When a female wants to be

represented, she should not be shut down because it is not advertiseable. Instead, there are all

types of women in the world, and they should be represented.

 Work cited

1) Yalkin, Cagri, and Ekant Veer. “Taboo on TV: gender, religion, and sexual taboos in

transnationally marketed Turkish soap operas.” Journal of Marketing Management, vol.

34, no. 13–14, 2018, pp. 1149–1171, https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2018.1520738.

2) Feminist Knowledge (RLE Feminist Theory) : Critique and Construct, edited by Sneja

Gunew, Taylor & Francis Group, 2012. ProQuest Ebook Central,

http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/qc-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1092686.

Created from qc-ebooks on 2023-12-13 16:55:04.

3) Brownmiller, Susan. Femininity, Open Road Integrated Media, Inc., 1984. ProQuest

Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/qc-ebooks/detail.action?

docID=1799677.

Created from qc-ebooks on 2023-12-13 17:54:15.

4) Lambert, M. “Mapping women’s bodies and the male ‘gaze’ : reconciliation in

Aristophanes’ Lysistrata.” Akroterion, vol. 63, no. 1, 2018, pp. 35–56.

5) Thompson, Laura, and Ngaire Donaghue. “The confidence trick: Competing

constructions of confidence and self-esteem in young Australian women’s discussions of

the sexualisation of culture.” Women’s Studies International Forum, vol. 47, 2014, pp.

23–35, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2014.07.007.