I understood why because her parents basically catholic guilt tripped her all of the time. This is what made it sad to me, but rewatching the clip made me frustrated because God doesn’t kill people to punish others for sex. It doesn’t work that way.
At the time of its premiere I was still prudish and religious (and YOUNG), AND my mother and I got embarrassingly sucked into the drama of the series, so we genuinely found it sad. Years later, it's one of the unintentionally funniest things in all of television history.
"It's about how the bodies of women are policed in such a way that you begin to think the chastity belt wasn't entirely a myth. It just took a different form." Holy shit, well fucking said.
I'll never forget being a young lesbian with my casually intolerant parents, going to see Blockers in cinema without knowing one of the characters was gay. Seeing the way she was treated as a character in the movie, how normal and okay and sympathetic it was in such a regular comedy (as opposed to a Gay Film, capital letters intended) was so special to me. It really changed and uplifted the way I saw myself. So special.
The whole "men have sex and are celebrated" but "Women have sex are shamed" has always been a disturbing thing to me. I was a teenager in the 1970s and I remember how this discussion went. Now don't think I was that progressive about this or anything, the drive for boys to have sex was a serious one - I mean when we were young. You didn't want to admit you didn't have it because it became like a stigma. However the question I constantly asked was, "Well, if women become less when they have sex, who do the guys have sex with? " Because that was the weird part to me. How do you not devalue the women if you want to have sex with them? Why would you want to do something that devalues another person? (I put it way differently when my vocabulary was more. . .teenage boy.) The reaction to that thinking - and let me make this clear, by my male and women peers - was "Are you gay or something." Good topic. Great video. Oh, and the sound was fine throughout, I would not have noticed you used your phone until you mentioned it.
As a heterosexual guy coming up in the 90s/00s, the thing I’ve always wondered since I was a kid is, Why do heterosexual guys seem like they hate women so much? That math doesn’t add up right
@@pleasedonotwatchmychannel it doesn't. There is something homoerotic abt men who are attracted to women but their lives.. are completely homosocial. Women are for sex but not much more. Their intimacies are with men.
The streets ain't ready for that one bruh, lol. I agree with you though is what I mean to say. I never liked the whole screwing someone just to leave them cuz that just objectefies people and that's just too shallow for me.
The "who do guys have sex with if women aren't supposed to have sex?" is such an important point. It kind of implies that some women are sacrificed to eternal sluttiness to feed men's egos and give them practice for their future pure wives. I don't think our culture collectively views female sexuality/promiscuity as negatively as we used to, but it definitely persists in many circles. I watched a video recently about the podcast "fresh and fit", which espouses the above perspective on women and sex, and was horrified at the size of their following because their views belong in the 1800s. We need to make that mindset go extinct
As someone who was socialized as a boy, and who is fem attracted, I always felt the same. A lot of guys want to have sex with girls, they are frustrated that finding a girl to have sex with can be difficult. So from a stand point of pure logical self intrest they should really like girls who have shown themselves as also wanting to have sex with guys. They should want to hang out with them and encourage that behaviour in other girls. But they don't, they shun them and treat them like crap. As a teenage "boy" who wanted to bone I got quite annoyed at that. And now as a fem myself who has come to terms with the fact I like to bone guys too I think its doubly crap
I loved Easy A and the To Do list. Need to check out Blockers and Plan B. I was so happy to learn the young ladies in Blockers weren’t sexualized. So many movies and shows could take note.
On the topic of male trauma connected with the loss of virginity - it's always sunny has an episode where Dennis mentions that his first sexual experience was at the age of 15 with a much older woman and he himself, being a very delusional man, sees it as his "conquest" even though it's very disturbing to the audience and it provides context for the way he treats and views sex in his adult life and it partially explains his behaviour. I just think it's interesting because sunny is of course is a sitcom with a very dark sense of humour and I think depending on who's watching it can be viewed through different lenses.
The point how men's flippancy about virginity leading to trauma and is so true and they don't even know it half the time. The amount of times I've shared first time stories with guys and they brag about how they did it at a young age, or how it was with an older woman is crazy. And then I ask if they are okay or how that doesnt seem like it was good and I see them actually examine their experience for the first time, and they slowly realize it wasn't as "cool" as they thought. Kinda sad really
Booksmart is a really good movie (which I did NOT realize was a s*x comedy before watching it with my grandparents 💀) and even as an asexual, I thought it was really funny. I also want to point out Never Have I Ever, which does good on not shaming girls for their sexuality, but also kind of sexualizes the "teenagers" in the show (especially Paxton.)
I thought the sexualisation of Paxton was on purpose as Devi is an unreliable narrator. But I hope the next season touches more on Paxton and his personality and not his body :/
I literally thought Blockers was that dumb version I got from one trailer where I thought they were all stopping their daughters to keep them pure, i may watch that now.
The To-Do List is one of my favorite comedies. Everyone did a great job but Aubrey Plaza’s performance was especially entertaining. Brandy’s methodical attitude towards sexual curiosity and experience was such a breath of fresh air and actually made me feel more confident. And I died at the hand washing bit too 😂
@IntrepidTit idk about all that, but his now ex-wife wrote and directed the film and he publicly dated rachel bilson (who played the sister) some time in 2019 i think. a little sus I guess but we'll never really know.
Easy A was my hands down my family's favorite movie when it came out, with three teenaged daughter and my mom. This movie educated all of us tbh and it really opened up a conversation space with our mom (who thankfully is cool as hell). At the time we were all teenagers when it came out and really changed the game on how I came into young adulthood. Oh, and Burlesque. Can't forget about Burlesque.
if I could elaborate on the point about teen boys not being protected from predatory behavior, there's this film starring River Phoenix called Jimmy Reardon where he plays this casanova type character. 15-year old Phoenix was pretty much sexualized the entire movie, with multiple love scenes and one even featuring a 35+ year old actress. even watching as a teen it made me WILDLY uncomfortable. it was directed by William Richert, who is a good friend of Gus Van Zant and Bruce Weber, and we already got their tea on their sketchy works involving young boys/men.
I love that movie. I forgot about that scene with that lady and him wasn't she also dating his father in the film😬made it more uncomfortable than it already is.
You know. Really thinking about it, it's hilarious that people ask for homosexuality, without wanting homosexuality. I mean, if a guy's gonna lose it, but you dont want women to until they're ready, who else can a dude lose it to?
I like The Reader because it makes it clear that Michael was taken advantage of. Hannah was a twisted, abusive woman and he learns as he ages how much that affair impacted him.
I'm not the audience for raunchy comedies, but I'm glad to see that we're moving in a direction where movies can talk openly about sexuality and its complications (especially the double standard placed on women). Thanks for the analysis. I can't wait to see part 2 and what it has to say as well
This is a very important video and is something that I have commented to some of my friends before. How women have been robbed of the happiness or satisfaction of having and enjoying sex freely, because it "devalues them" but also how men have been pressured into being sexual beings to the point where not being sexually active for a man is seen as a failure. And how both this ideologies contradict eachother, and how they turn sex into a life changing event. I loved this video, I always love your videos Yhara
I watched Fosse/Verdon on Hulu and there’s a scene where Bob Fosse is encouraged by his buddies to tell his infamous loss of virginity story. He describes how when he was 13, he danced in brothels to make money for his family and two middle aged sex workers forced themselves on him, taking turns. I was horrified and it was implied that Fosse was uncomfortable recounting the story. But his friends go on to call him “the luckiest boy in the world.” In the next episodes Fosse’s true feelings regarding the incident were explored more deeply and he says he felt humiliated, confused, guilty, and self loathing. I was relieved to see that the show did not perpetuate the harmful trope that sex is an accomplishment for men regardless of age or circumstance. For Fosse, it was traumatizing and they did a good job depicting it as such despite his friend’s accolades. It was very progressive.
I hated the sexual pressure I had on me as a teenager in the late 90s and early 2000s. What made it worse is that there was no adult who wanted to have a real conversation about it, so these movies were all a lot of us had, as bad as they were.
awesome video, the sex negative shit also fucked me up as well(cis-het male) because i didn’t want to mess up any potential partners lives. i still remember when i was older and had an unabashed female friend who told me i was being a dumbass. Excellent analysis, and i can’t wait for part 2 :)
A good movie that should be included is Margarita with a Straw (2016) . I haven't watched it in a bit but I thought it took an interesting twist on the sex journey for teens. Especially since the main is a bisexual, disabled woman from India
totally an aside but blockers and plan B both having a south asian main character is lovely--i know it's not the focus of either, but the way that your upbringing and identity affects your perception of sex and purity growing up is intense, and it makes me smile to see it portrayed positively/kindly in mainstream media :)
That's definitely another aspect of sex and sexuality and being a woman that wasn't mentioned. That and religion (in regards to Grace crying in Secret Life of the American Teenager). Good point and I definitely want to check out Plan B. I think it's cool seeing more representation because despite the fact I am white, I've always hated how "white" everything is in Hollywood. I like that our world is made up of people of different colors and backgrounds and such because it's boring for everything to just be one thing.
Why is the virgin always a straight A, type A person. I like when movies take that kind of student and make her a person that also likes sex or parties or "dumb" nonsensical things too. I was that kid growing up and for some reason, everyone's pressure just made me wanna act out the more I was told to be perfect
While they weren't the main characters, the "cool and popular" kids in Booksmart were actually intelligent (not Valedictorian boring straight A straight type people like the main characters are) yet were still getting good enough grades and attending the same/similar colleges as the main characters and yet were partying and having sex and enjoying life.
THANK YOU, because I knew couldnt be the only one who remembered the bonkers storyline from The Secret Life of The American Teenager where her dad dying was connected to her having sex. That's sexism, but also because Grace is supposed to be the christian girl, I think there's an aspect to purity culture that exists in American Evangelicism.
blockers is one of my favorite comedies, I watched it expecting to hate it but ended up loving it, it's ao funny, so heartwarming and so mature (like it handles the subjects it presents with responsability), it's a total go I found plan B the other day, it's on my list already, but now this video may be the sign to go for this one as well, thanks Yahra
There are some great anime about female sexuality too: such as B Gata H Kei, O Maidens in Your Savage Season, and Girls High are some good examples I can think of.
What do you think of the Devi in Never Have I Ever. Watching it I found it interesting how even though she's comically thirsty she wasn't sexualized or demonized for it. It also flips the script with social status where she gains a lot of social clout from lying about sleeping with the hottest guy in school.
Damn, Yhara really can not stop creating thoughtful, insightful, and funny as hell social/filmic commentary. I really love your video essays Yhara, thank you for putting your content out to the world 💖
@8:06 Ok i wanna comment about the substance of the video (which so far is great, love your work as always) but i am OBSESSED w/ this violin cover of WAP
4:14 In most south asian,east asian,west Asian nations even boys,early 20s men r frowned upon if they engage in premarital sex, there's a unspoken rule to do that after getting married,not talk about the opposite sex,love interest,potential girlfriends while interacting to adults. patriarchy affects people differently in different places.
I always get personally irked with the overabundance in teenage sex narratives as someone who's 29 and still a virgin, and as someone who feels like their youth has disappeared, just the sad fact that I never experienced young love. I always wanted to have sex and I'm immensely frustrated because nobody I meet wants sex and nobody ever desired me in that way and I feel so utterly lost and hopeless. It's kind of why I think high school sex lives like these are all fabricated and fake, or, if they aren't, then I am deeply resentful I never got to be a part of it. In any case great video and a great thesis I agree with. Female sexuality is so often demonised that I get the feeling plenty of women in my life have bought into it without giving a good critical thought to it or their own bodies. Personally when I hear that a woman has a libido and a sexual autonomy it just makes me desire them more.
You need to understand that it's a huge myth. Kids really aren't having sex as much as you think in high school. Regardless of whether you did or didn't, it shouldn't be the end all be all and make you regret your life. You need to understand that there's a lot more to life than sex. And if all you do is beg for it and mourn over not having it, your life is of course going to pass you by. There's so much more to life than just that. It will happen. There is no real normal age to have sex. My husband's aunt got married for the first time and had her first relationship 3 years ago at 79. Don't let society and Hollywood trick you.
I didn’t see Blockers because, like you mentioned, the trailers made it seem incredibly misogynistic and one of those “dad’s can’t help but want to pRoTeCt their ‘little girls’” movies. I appreciate your review, analysis and now I’m gonna check it out
This channel is so unique in part because of your smarts, fun editing, and comedy. You’ve given me insight into fandoms that I never would’ve encountered, as well as introduced me to my favorite movie to date, Blindspotting (I’m a cyborg, but that’s ok is a runner up). But the best part is the range of black creators whose content I would have never seen, your collabs are amazing. so thank you from the bottom of my heart. Please put higher tiers on your Patreon so I can throw more money at you.
Around 1998 until about, I dunno, 2002ish (or whenever the Paris Hilton craze hit) there was this "fad" of virginity that most of the young pop stars had to pretend to adhere to, like Britney and Justin even though everyone knew they banged. And then Jessica Simpson, the boy groups... Christina Aguilera's first single was genie in a bottle about not giving in to the horrors of bodily temptation lol. It was always a theme in TV shows too. It was pervasive even though everyone knew it was all schtick. Then Paris Hilton happened and the whole thing went out the window lol.
I actually was grossed out by the trailer for Blockers and avoided it because of that Trojan horse thing. I saw the offered horse and was like "gross, hate horses"
Great work as always. As much as I love musicals I have never been able to get into Hairspray. I watched the 2007 version and enjoyed it but never watched it again. It just made me uneasy for some reason maybe some of this is why. I may revisit.
Honestly, I think Mary Jane’s Not a Virgin Anymore is a great example of a type of raunchy chick-oriented teen comedy (I swear, in some alternate universe this became the low-budget indie documentary-like darling instead of Clerks) that doesn’t punish female sexuality.
Itd be really interesting in part two for you to dissect the trope in these kinds of movies to have a lesbian best friend. In many of the more recent films of this genre (Booksmart, Blockers, Plan B, Unpregrant) all have a side arc of the supporting friend character embracing her queerness. Its great seeing queer arcs in coming of age movies, its just interesting of this pattern in this movie of it always being a side arc and always being exploring lesbianism
Yhara, I always love your videos. They truly are an education for me. You consistently challenge me to confront my biases (often biases that I didn’t even know I had) and that is a gift. Thank you for your work.
The To Do list is so good. I am a fan of the American Pie franchise but it certainly has tons of predatory themes and moments, it's unfortunate cus the root of the main 4 films are strong. I rewatched during quarantine and the cathartic escapism and nostalgia was wild.
I think the only male lead sex comedy where none of the leads get laid and they all get hit with the life lessons that used to go to female protags in this genre was the Japanese drama series, Stand Up!!. I remember watching this in my early 20s and being so disappointed at the subversion. Just sitting there like "All....that.....effort....."
Juno would have been a good example, but also you need a whole video dedicated to the nuances of that movie. I realize my comments are late, but I just came upon your channel, and I'm loving it, so this rabbit hole goes deep and I'm going to go further I promise.
I haven't watched it in a long time, but I know the tv series Some Girls (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Girls_(TV_series)) had episodes about the girls wanting to lose their virginities or having sex generally. My vague memory is that it was handled quite plainly.
Curious on your thoughts of Yes, God yes. As someone who grew up in a religious home it hit home for me, I can only imagine what it was like for women or teenager girls.
I remember when Blockers was coming out and I turned up my nose at the trailers because I thought it was one of those double standards movies. I might watch it now!
I love that you made this video. Even I, someone who discovered she was Asexual at an early age, have always been irritated by the double standards of sex in movies and society. I've been sex and contraceptive and female choice positive and have just been irritated by how some things such as this still haven't changed a lot through the years. I try educating people the best I can on sex and help if contraception is an issue and do what I can to educate people. I was lucky and had educational parents who ensured I knew the negatives and positives of growing up and let us make our own decisions but were always there for us to ask questions and learn and such but a lot of people aren't fortunate. Movies are definitely changing and I am glad about that. Blockers was a cute movie. I need to watch the other two you suggested.
Plan B and UnPregnant have a lot of the same plot points, with UnPregnant being somewhat older girls (HS seniors) with higher stakes (Needing to travel for an abortion in a "heartbeat law state" rather than needing Plan B. Both are very worth watching for the skewering of double standards, religious ridiculousness about sexuality, and realistic depictions of young female friendships.
TIL that chastity belts are a myth lol. "Blockers" and "Booksmart" are two of my favorite movies of the last decade. So glad you featured them! I'll have to check out "The To Do List"; never heard of it.
i remember wanting to watch the to do list so badly when i was in high school, thank you for reminding me that it exists! i'm very very excited for part two, literally love your videos so much!!
Maggie Carey used to be Bill Hader's wife, then they got divorced and he got into a relationship with Rachel Bilson his co-star from The Todo List. Really funny in a weird way tbh. Also I still love American Pie and always will especially Jim and Michelle, it was refreshing to see a girl who isn't the hot one nessicarily but she leads him in sexual experience and knows what she wants.
Love Yhara always expanding my movie recommends. Can't wait for part 2! Also glad Ike Barinholtz keeps getting work, wish more of that happened for the MADtv cast tho as it does for the SNL cast as most seasons had really talented actors.
I've always hated teenage sex tropes, all of them. Not only are women shamed for having sex, being called "sluts", but men are also shamed for _not_ having sex. Either they're called "gay" which is incredibly homophobic, or the word "incel" is misused as an insult for any man that hasn't had sex in high school, when in reality an "incel" is something VERY different. ContraPoints has a great video on the term Incel.
I loved Easy A and Blockers but i've never heard of Plan B or the To Do List! Now i want to watch those too. As always excellent and thoughtful video, excited to see part 2 as well!
3:47 even the fanfiction used this running gag (because well, it was part of the show). 6:54 oh yeah, I remember this. God I hated it. 16:57 can we please put him in the Single Dad Who Tries club?
i was too young or rather not ready to watch the to do list, but i' mglad i did because it made me understand very young the balanced opinion of sex, so i am thankful for it
Thank you for giving me this list of movies to watch. I worked in a theater when one of the american pie sequels came out and it completely turned me off to the genre, even though I was supposedly the target demo. I have heard of all of these movies but never seen them, but I'm going to give them a go! Maybe this genre can be redeemed for me.... edit: love u for including the interview of the kids in Blockers talking about how they didn't feel uncomfortable or sexualized - I really need to hear this kind of stuff
"he didn't die just because you and I had sex" made an actual bark laugh come out of my mouth
SAME. I thought it must be a parody. It is not.
It was her reply that did me in. Something about her so seriously saying "Yes he did!" just killed me.
I forgot how ridiculous Secret Life of an American Teenager was.
@@rruhland That show was so bonkers, I can't believe it lasted as long as it did.
I understood why because her parents basically catholic guilt tripped her all of the time. This is what made it sad to me, but rewatching the clip made me frustrated because God doesn’t kill people to punish others for sex. It doesn’t work that way.
Grace killing her father by having premarital sex in The Secret Life of the American Teenager literally had me on the floor
At the time of its premiere I was still prudish and religious (and YOUNG), AND my mother and I got embarrassingly sucked into the drama of the series, so we genuinely found it sad. Years later, it's one of the unintentionally funniest things in all of television history.
it has the same energy as "SINGING KILLED MY GRANDMA"
"It's about how the bodies of women are policed in such a way that you begin to think the chastity belt wasn't entirely a myth. It just took a different form."
Holy shit, well fucking said.
Omg I love your videos. Didn’t expect to see you here. As a trans woman, I really liked the dignity and respect in your most recent video.
I'll never forget being a young lesbian with my casually intolerant parents, going to see Blockers in cinema without knowing one of the characters was gay. Seeing the way she was treated as a character in the movie, how normal and okay and sympathetic it was in such a regular comedy (as opposed to a Gay Film, capital letters intended) was so special to me. It really changed and uplifted the way I saw myself. So special.
That is amazing
The whole "men have sex and are celebrated" but "Women have sex are shamed" has always been a disturbing thing to me. I was a teenager in the 1970s and I remember how this discussion went. Now don't think I was that progressive about this or anything, the drive for boys to have sex was a serious one - I mean when we were young. You didn't want to admit you didn't have it because it became like a stigma. However the question I constantly asked was, "Well, if women become less when they have sex, who do the guys have sex with? " Because that was the weird part to me. How do you not devalue the women if you want to have sex with them? Why would you want to do something that devalues another person? (I put it way differently when my vocabulary was more. . .teenage boy.) The reaction to that thinking - and let me make this clear, by my male and women peers - was "Are you gay or something." Good topic. Great video. Oh, and the sound was fine throughout, I would not have noticed you used your phone until you mentioned it.
As a heterosexual guy coming up in the 90s/00s, the thing I’ve always wondered since I was a kid is, Why do heterosexual guys seem like they hate women so much? That math doesn’t add up right
@@pleasedonotwatchmychannel it doesn't. There is something homoerotic abt men who are attracted to women but their lives.. are completely homosocial. Women are for sex but not much more. Their intimacies are with men.
The streets ain't ready for that one bruh, lol. I agree with you though is what I mean to say. I never liked the whole screwing someone just to leave them cuz that just objectefies people and that's just too shallow for me.
The "who do guys have sex with if women aren't supposed to have sex?" is such an important point. It kind of implies that some women are sacrificed to eternal sluttiness to feed men's egos and give them practice for their future pure wives. I don't think our culture collectively views female sexuality/promiscuity as negatively as we used to, but it definitely persists in many circles. I watched a video recently about the podcast "fresh and fit", which espouses the above perspective on women and sex, and was horrified at the size of their following because their views belong in the 1800s. We need to make that mindset go extinct
As someone who was socialized as a boy, and who is fem attracted, I always felt the same. A lot of guys want to have sex with girls, they are frustrated that finding a girl to have sex with can be difficult. So from a stand point of pure logical self intrest they should really like girls who have shown themselves as also wanting to have sex with guys. They should want to hang out with them and encourage that behaviour in other girls. But they don't, they shun them and treat them like crap. As a teenage "boy" who wanted to bone I got quite annoyed at that. And now as a fem myself who has come to terms with the fact I like to bone guys too I think its doubly crap
I loved Easy A and the To Do list. Need to check out Blockers and Plan B. I was so happy to learn the young ladies in Blockers weren’t sexualized. So many movies and shows could take note.
@@DendyJungle That's a weird way to blame the director for her husband cheating on her.
Little Darlings is good.
Easy a 👌
I LOVED Blockers!!!
Blockers was real fun
WHO ELSE THINKS THAT YHARA DESERVES WAY MORE SUBS
Agreed!
another creator made a video recently and like 25% of it was ‘yhara deserves more subs’
MEEEEEE
It's me, I'm who else.
@@lethe.archive oh yes love them they didn’t lie once
On the topic of male trauma connected with the loss of virginity - it's always sunny has an episode where Dennis mentions that his first sexual experience was at the age of 15 with a much older woman and he himself, being a very delusional man, sees it as his "conquest" even though it's very disturbing to the audience and it provides context for the way he treats and views sex in his adult life and it partially explains his behaviour. I just think it's interesting because sunny is of course is a sitcom with a very dark sense of humour and I think depending on who's watching it can be viewed through different lenses.
When I heard "Hoes in this House" in classy violins I couldn't help but laugh. Now googling classical WAP
The point how men's flippancy about virginity leading to trauma and is so true and they don't even know it half the time. The amount of times I've shared first time stories with guys and they brag about how they did it at a young age, or how it was with an older woman is crazy. And then I ask if they are okay or how that doesnt seem like it was good and I see them actually examine their experience for the first time, and they slowly realize it wasn't as "cool" as they thought. Kinda sad really
Booksmart is a really good movie (which I did NOT realize was a s*x comedy before watching it with my grandparents 💀) and even as an asexual, I thought it was really funny. I also want to point out Never Have I Ever, which does good on not shaming girls for their sexuality, but also kind of sexualizes the "teenagers" in the show (especially Paxton.)
emphasis on "teenagers" in quotes....
@@asterismos5451
Probably because 20-35 Somethings get cast as Teen Characters than actual teenagers? Just a thought
I thought the sexualisation of Paxton was on purpose as Devi is an unreliable narrator. But I hope the next season touches more on Paxton and his personality and not his body :/
Oh my god I'm so happy you talked about the To-Do List - It's so underrated!
Oh snap, one badass YTer commenting on another's vid... love to see it!
I literally thought Blockers was that dumb version I got from one trailer where I thought they were all stopping their daughters to keep them pure, i may watch that now.
The To-Do List is one of my favorite comedies. Everyone did a great job but Aubrey Plaza’s performance was especially entertaining. Brandy’s methodical attitude towards sexual curiosity and experience was such a breath of fresh air and actually made me feel more confident. And I died at the hand washing bit too 😂
I also can’t wait for part 2!
It’s got one of my favorite lines in all of movie-dom:
“Yeah, I tried to do the right thing but I ended up fucking your sister instead.”
@@rruhland gotta love Bill Hader
@IntrepidTit idk about all that, but his now ex-wife wrote and directed the film and he publicly dated rachel bilson (who played the sister) some time in 2019 i think. a little sus I guess but we'll never really know.
Easy A was my hands down my family's favorite movie when it came out, with three teenaged daughter and my mom. This movie educated all of us tbh and it really opened up a conversation space with our mom (who thankfully is cool as hell). At the time we were all teenagers when it came out and really changed the game on how I came into young adulthood.
Oh, and Burlesque. Can't forget about Burlesque.
if I could elaborate on the point about teen boys not being protected from predatory behavior, there's this film starring River Phoenix called Jimmy Reardon where he plays this casanova type character. 15-year old Phoenix was pretty much sexualized the entire movie, with multiple love scenes and one even featuring a 35+ year old actress. even watching as a teen it made me WILDLY uncomfortable. it was directed by William Richert, who is a good friend of Gus Van Zant and Bruce Weber, and we already got their tea on their sketchy works involving young boys/men.
I love that movie. I forgot about that scene with that lady and him wasn't she also dating his father in the film😬made it more uncomfortable than it already is.
You know. Really thinking about it, it's hilarious that people ask for homosexuality, without wanting homosexuality.
I mean, if a guy's gonna lose it, but you dont want women to until they're ready, who else can a dude lose it to?
I like The Reader because it makes it clear that Michael was taken advantage of. Hannah was a twisted, abusive woman and he learns as he ages how much that affair impacted him.
I'm not the audience for raunchy comedies, but I'm glad to see that we're moving in a direction where movies can talk openly about sexuality and its complications (especially the double standard placed on women). Thanks for the analysis.
I can't wait to see part 2 and what it has to say as well
I mean for women staying a virgin is seen as a good thing and for men staying a virgin is seen as a negative thing.
This is a very important video and is something that I have commented to some of my friends before. How women have been robbed of the happiness or satisfaction of having and enjoying sex freely, because it "devalues them" but also how men have been pressured into being sexual beings to the point where not being sexually active for a man is seen as a failure. And how both this ideologies contradict eachother, and how they turn sex into a life changing event. I loved this video, I always love your videos Yhara
Wow if blockers had been marketed differently I would have certainly seen it. I’ll have to catch it now
I watched Fosse/Verdon on Hulu and there’s a scene where Bob Fosse is encouraged by his buddies to tell his infamous loss of virginity story. He describes how when he was 13, he danced in brothels to make money for his family and two middle aged sex workers forced themselves on him, taking turns. I was horrified and it was implied that Fosse was uncomfortable recounting the story. But his friends go on to call him “the luckiest boy in the world.” In the next episodes Fosse’s true feelings regarding the incident were explored more deeply and he says he felt humiliated, confused, guilty, and self loathing. I was relieved to see that the show did not perpetuate the harmful trope that sex is an accomplishment for men regardless of age or circumstance. For Fosse, it was traumatizing and they did a good job depicting it as such despite his friend’s accolades. It was very progressive.
I think Bottoms has a chance to enter this pantheon later this summer
I hated the sexual pressure I had on me as a teenager in the late 90s and early 2000s. What made it worse is that there was no adult who wanted to have a real conversation about it, so these movies were all a lot of us had, as bad as they were.
awesome video, the sex negative shit also fucked me up as well(cis-het male) because i didn’t want to mess up any potential partners lives. i still remember when i was older and had an unabashed female friend who told me i was being a dumbass. Excellent analysis, and i can’t wait for part 2 :)
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"Like maybe Monday?" I snorted. and also feel seen.
I love this too much.
A good movie that should be included is Margarita with a Straw (2016) . I haven't watched it in a bit but I thought it took an interesting twist on the sex journey for teens. Especially since the main is a bisexual, disabled woman from India
totally an aside but blockers and plan B both having a south asian main character is lovely--i know it's not the focus of either, but the way that your upbringing and identity affects your perception of sex and purity growing up is intense, and it makes me smile to see it portrayed positively/kindly in mainstream media :)
That's definitely another aspect of sex and sexuality and being a woman that wasn't mentioned. That and religion (in regards to Grace crying in Secret Life of the American Teenager). Good point and I definitely want to check out Plan B. I think it's cool seeing more representation because despite the fact I am white, I've always hated how "white" everything is in Hollywood. I like that our world is made up of people of different colors and backgrounds and such because it's boring for everything to just be one thing.
this needed to be said. can't wait for part 2!
Why is the virgin always a straight A, type A person. I like when movies take that kind of student and make her a person that also likes sex or parties or "dumb" nonsensical things too. I was that kid growing up and for some reason, everyone's pressure just made me wanna act out the more I was told to be perfect
While they weren't the main characters, the "cool and popular" kids in Booksmart were actually intelligent (not Valedictorian boring straight A straight type people like the main characters are) yet were still getting good enough grades and attending the same/similar colleges as the main characters and yet were partying and having sex and enjoying life.
@@NoOneReallySpecial Thats the exact movie i was trying to reference. More characters like that should exist as main characters.
loved the string quartet version of WAP 😂
Ikr I really liked it too
THANK YOU, because I knew couldnt be the only one who remembered the bonkers storyline from The Secret Life of The American Teenager where her dad dying was connected to her having sex. That's sexism, but also because Grace is supposed to be the christian girl, I think there's an aspect to purity culture that exists in American Evangelicism.
There's a channel called Intelexual Media that has a ton of great videos with similar subjects! Great video and looking forward to Part 2!
Agreeing with you that Lex is brilliant!
blockers is one of my favorite comedies, I watched it expecting to hate it but ended up loving it, it's ao funny, so heartwarming and so mature (like it handles the subjects it presents with responsability), it's a total go
I found plan B the other day, it's on my list already, but now this video may be the sign to go for this one as well, thanks Yahra
There are some great anime about female sexuality too: such as B Gata H Kei, O Maidens in Your Savage Season, and Girls High are some good examples I can think of.
What do you think of the Devi in Never Have I Ever. Watching it I found it interesting how even though she's comically thirsty she wasn't sexualized or demonized for it. It also flips the script with social status where she gains a lot of social clout from lying about sleeping with the hottest guy in school.
10:12 I saw this movie when I was a teen too and I’m really grateful for it
Damn, Yhara really can not stop creating thoughtful, insightful, and funny as hell social/filmic commentary. I really love your video essays Yhara, thank you for putting your content out to the world 💖
@8:06 Ok i wanna comment about the substance of the video (which so far is great, love your work as always) but i am OBSESSED w/ this violin cover of WAP
4:14 In most south asian,east asian,west Asian nations even boys,early 20s men r frowned upon if they engage in premarital sex,
there's a unspoken rule to do that after getting married,not talk about the opposite sex,love interest,potential girlfriends while interacting to adults.
patriarchy affects people differently in different places.
I always get personally irked with the overabundance in teenage sex narratives as someone who's 29 and still a virgin, and as someone who feels like their youth has disappeared, just the sad fact that I never experienced young love. I always wanted to have sex and I'm immensely frustrated because nobody I meet wants sex and nobody ever desired me in that way and I feel so utterly lost and hopeless. It's kind of why I think high school sex lives like these are all fabricated and fake, or, if they aren't, then I am deeply resentful I never got to be a part of it.
In any case great video and a great thesis I agree with. Female sexuality is so often demonised that I get the feeling plenty of women in my life have bought into it without giving a good critical thought to it or their own bodies. Personally when I hear that a woman has a libido and a sexual autonomy it just makes me desire them more.
You need to understand that it's a huge myth. Kids really aren't having sex as much as you think in high school. Regardless of whether you did or didn't, it shouldn't be the end all be all and make you regret your life. You need to understand that there's a lot more to life than sex. And if all you do is beg for it and mourn over not having it, your life is of course going to pass you by. There's so much more to life than just that. It will happen. There is no real normal age to have sex. My husband's aunt got married for the first time and had her first relationship 3 years ago at 79. Don't let society and Hollywood trick you.
Easy A is SOO good, going to see a special screening at the Alamo Drafthouse this weekend and can't wait!
I love your videos so much
I watch them religiously!!!
I didn’t see Blockers because, like you mentioned, the trailers made it seem incredibly misogynistic and one of those “dad’s can’t help but want to pRoTeCt their ‘little girls’” movies. I appreciate your review, analysis and now I’m gonna check it out
This channel is so unique in part because of your smarts, fun editing, and comedy. You’ve given me insight into fandoms that I never would’ve encountered, as well as introduced me to my favorite movie to date, Blindspotting (I’m a cyborg, but that’s ok is a runner up). But the best part is the range of black creators whose content I would have never seen, your collabs are amazing. so thank you from the bottom of my heart. Please put higher tiers on your Patreon so I can throw more money at you.
Around 1998 until about, I dunno, 2002ish (or whenever the Paris Hilton craze hit) there was this "fad" of virginity that most of the young pop stars had to pretend to adhere to, like Britney and Justin even though everyone knew they banged. And then Jessica Simpson, the boy groups... Christina Aguilera's first single was genie in a bottle about not giving in to the horrors of bodily temptation lol. It was always a theme in TV shows too. It was pervasive even though everyone knew it was all schtick. Then Paris Hilton happened and the whole thing went out the window lol.
I actually was grossed out by the trailer for Blockers and avoided it because of that Trojan horse thing. I saw the offered horse and was like "gross, hate horses"
Great work as always. As much as I love musicals I have never been able to get into Hairspray. I watched the 2007 version and enjoyed it but never watched it again. It just made me uneasy for some reason maybe some of this is why. I may revisit.
Honestly, I think Mary Jane’s Not a Virgin Anymore is a great example of a type of raunchy chick-oriented teen comedy (I swear, in some alternate universe this became the low-budget indie documentary-like darling instead of Clerks) that doesn’t punish female sexuality.
Blockers was really clever and funny. I watched it in theaters with my friends and we had such a blast.
The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible also was pretty similar in terms of the ridiculous double standards
Itd be really interesting in part two for you to dissect the trope in these kinds of movies to have a lesbian best friend. In many of the more recent films of this genre (Booksmart, Blockers, Plan B, Unpregrant) all have a side arc of the supporting friend character embracing her queerness. Its great seeing queer arcs in coming of age movies, its just interesting of this pattern in this movie of it always being a side arc and always being exploring lesbianism
Yhara, I always love your videos. They truly are an education for me. You consistently challenge me to confront my biases (often biases that I didn’t even know I had) and that is a gift. Thank you for your work.
Blockers was such a pleasant surprise.
Been meaning to check out Plan B for a while now, it looks like a cute watch. Can't wait for part 2!
It starts out as American Pie, then detours straight into Harold and Kumar.
👏🏾PRETTY 👏🏾RICKY👏🏾 😭 I will forever be grateful that you exist, Yhara. Thank you for always being a real one 🙌🏾✨
The To Do list is so good. I am a fan of the American Pie franchise but it certainly has tons of predatory themes and moments, it's unfortunate cus the root of the main 4 films are strong. I rewatched during quarantine and the cathartic escapism and nostalgia was wild.
American pie fell off after the 3rd movie tbh.
@@GameChanger-xi4iy I liked the reunion film myself haha
@@GameChanger-xi4iy Reunion and Band Camp were good. All the other spin-offs were bad.
I think the only male lead sex comedy where none of the leads get laid and they all get hit with the life lessons that used to go to female protags in this genre was the Japanese drama series, Stand Up!!. I remember watching this in my early 20s and being so disappointed at the subversion. Just sitting there like "All....that.....effort....."
I had the wrong idea about blockers and now... I need to watch that movie.
Juno would have been a good example, but also you need a whole video dedicated to the nuances of that movie. I realize my comments are late, but I just came upon your channel, and I'm loving it, so this rabbit hole goes deep and I'm going to go further I promise.
Love this, love you!!!!!
I haven't watched it in a long time, but I know the tv series Some Girls (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Girls_(TV_series)) had episodes about the girls wanting to lose their virginities or having sex generally. My vague memory is that it was handled quite plainly.
Love it. Thank you!!
Curious on your thoughts of Yes, God yes. As someone who grew up in a religious home it hit home for me, I can only imagine what it was like for women or teenager girls.
Amazing, thank you. Very thankful to have your videos to look forward to.
Lived easy A but definitely wanna see blockers and to-do list now
I remember when Blockers was coming out and I turned up my nose at the trailers because I thought it was one of those double standards movies. I might watch it now!
Plan B is excellent! A friend of mine worked on it-I’ll have to show her this video
Part one of two? 😃 Always an exciting marker to see on one of Yhara's videos!
I didn't know about these movies. Just finished Plan B and it was great. Will totally be watching the others.
I saw this trailer much younger and been meaning to watch it over the years eventually
I love that you made this video. Even I, someone who discovered she was Asexual at an early age, have always been irritated by the double standards of sex in movies and society. I've been sex and contraceptive and female choice positive and have just been irritated by how some things such as this still haven't changed a lot through the years. I try educating people the best I can on sex and help if contraception is an issue and do what I can to educate people. I was lucky and had educational parents who ensured I knew the negatives and positives of growing up and let us make our own decisions but were always there for us to ask questions and learn and such but a lot of people aren't fortunate. Movies are definitely changing and I am glad about that. Blockers was a cute movie. I need to watch the other two you suggested.
Plan B and UnPregnant have a lot of the same plot points, with UnPregnant being somewhat older girls (HS seniors) with higher stakes (Needing to travel for an abortion in a "heartbeat law state" rather than needing Plan B. Both are very worth watching for the skewering of double standards, religious ridiculousness about sexuality, and realistic depictions of young female friendships.
TIL that chastity belts are a myth lol. "Blockers" and "Booksmart" are two of my favorite movies of the last decade. So glad you featured them! I'll have to check out "The To Do List"; never heard of it.
It truly is impossible to watch one of your videos without adding a bunch more movies to my "must watch" list...it's so long now
another fun and insightful take, to do list was aubreylicious in the right ways
thank for the movie recs :D!
i remember wanting to watch the to do list so badly when i was in high school, thank you for reminding me that it exists! i'm very very excited for part two, literally love your videos so much!!
Maggie Carey used to be Bill Hader's wife, then they got divorced and he got into a relationship with Rachel Bilson his co-star from The Todo List. Really funny in a weird way tbh. Also I still love American Pie and always will especially Jim and Michelle, it was refreshing to see a girl who isn't the hot one nessicarily but she leads him in sexual experience and knows what she wants.
I hadn't heard about most of these. Thanks for covering them. I really enjoyed your take.
I’m so excited for part two because I love your channel and stan for those shows!!
Shout out to Ike Barinholtz! Love seein those MadTV alums gettin some good work, cause, damn, that really was a good ass movie!
Love Yhara always expanding my movie recommends. Can't wait for part 2!
Also glad Ike Barinholtz keeps getting work, wish more of that happened for the MADtv cast tho as it does for the SNL cast as most seasons had really talented actors.
I've always hated teenage sex tropes, all of them.
Not only are women shamed for having sex, being called "sluts", but men are also shamed for _not_ having sex. Either they're called "gay" which is incredibly homophobic, or the word "incel" is misused as an insult for any man that hasn't had sex in high school, when in reality an "incel" is something VERY different. ContraPoints has a great video on the term Incel.
listening to your videos on my lunch break really brings me joy. i love your insight and words! excited for part two!
Come on man!! I gotta wait for part 2 for the GOOD GOOD?
Watching the To Do List tonight! Thank you Yhara!
I loved Easy A and Blockers but i've never heard of Plan B or the To Do List! Now i want to watch those too.
As always excellent and thoughtful video, excited to see part 2 as well!
Great video, have added several movies on my to watch list as a result - looking forward to part 2!
A fabulous video (as always) and a guaranteed part 2? What a treat!
Loved this video, there is so much truth in your words, and now I have some movies to watch!
Love your videos Yhara! Your analysis is always so good and spot on. Also, you have a very soothing voice!
So excited to hear you discuss chewing gum. Absolutely brilliant show.
Fun fact, Plan B was filmed in and around my hometown.
3:47 even the fanfiction used this running gag (because well, it was part of the show).
6:54 oh yeah, I remember this. God I hated it.
16:57 can we please put him in the Single Dad Who Tries club?
Thank you for giving me a new list of movies to watch 😆
i was too young or rather not ready to watch the to do list, but i' mglad i did because it made me understand very young the balanced opinion of sex, so i am thankful for it
19:22 *The Trogen Horse*
Yeah, that's why I never bothered with it.
Thank you for giving me this list of movies to watch. I worked in a theater when one of the american pie sequels came out and it completely turned me off to the genre, even though I was supposedly the target demo. I have heard of all of these movies but never seen them, but I'm going to give them a go! Maybe this genre can be redeemed for me....
edit: love u for including the interview of the kids in Blockers talking about how they didn't feel uncomfortable or sexualized - I really need to hear this kind of stuff
I was surprised how much I loved blockers ! I related to Sam sooooo much ! Ugh such a good movie