Masters Of Our Sexual Destiny?

While I personally had not seen the movie “American Pie” from start to finish prior to our class discussions about virginity loss, after reading the Kelly article, this movie is what came to my mind immediately. The part I found most relatable was when we discussed the three scripts for virginity loss that Kelly proposes in her research as I feel a few of these scripts, if not all, are portrayed in “American Pie”

Let me start off with some background knowledge about the film before jumping into a full-fledged analysis of the movie’s sexual content. The movie, most often described as a “teen sex comedy” (whatever that means) portrays the life of five teenage guys who are finishing their senior year of high school. The film’s entire plot is generated from one crucial scene in which the five boys make a pact to lose their virginity before high school graduation. I provided a clip of this scene below as it sets the tone for the movie’s plot as well as my analysis of how this film relates really well to Kelly’s virginity scripts. 

"Masters of Our Sexual Destiny" 

Author Maura Kelly discusses her different sexual scripts regarding the loss of virginity in her article “Virginity Loss Narratives in ‘Teen Drama’ Television Programs.” Kelly proposes three major scripts, the abstinence script, the management script, and the urgency script, some of which I feel relate well to the film “American Pie.”

After viewing this initial clip, it can be argued that the Urgency Script is the sexual script that drives the entire plot. Kelly defines the urgency script as viewing virginity loss as, “necessary to affirm gendered identity as a sexually sought-after individual…and to achieve social status”(Kelly, 2010). This is definitely evident as Kevin gives the speech to the boys declaring that they should lose their virginity before they graduate to prove that they are the, “Masters of their sexual destiny." By pitting virginity as some awful curse they need to rid themselves of, they are glorifying the loss of virginity A sense of urgency is figuratively implied but also literally stated as they give themselves a deadline thus the loss of virginity is so urgent that it becomes a race between the four boys. It is important to note, however, that this initial urgency script also generates the use of another sexual script that Kelly discusses: the management script.

In her article, Kelly describes the management script by depicting virginity loss as an inevitable process that one must be prepared for and handle responsibly. She uses three sub categories, which include emphasis on “appropriate” virginity loss, such as a teenager who is in a monogamous relationship, and using contraception (Kelly, 2010). Although the plot of “American Pie” is arguably generated from the urgency script, as all four main characters’ actions are driven by their urgency to lose their virginity, these actions also highlight other characters’ use of the management script. For example, in a scene where Kevin and his girlfriend Vicky are seen making out, Kevin asks Vicky if she wants to have sex. He tries to persuade her to have sex with him. In his urgent attempt to persuade her, he uses language like, “Don’t you think it’s time to take the next step in our relationship?” which alludes to the fact that the two have been in a long standing relationship and contemplated having sex before but are simply waiting for the right moment. This reference to waiting for the right moment makes me think of the management script because it suggests that there is an appropriate time and place to have sex for the first time. This use of the management script is confusing however, because in this context Kevin uses the management manipulatively in order to get Vicky to sleep with him for the first time. The management script derived from Kevin’s urgency to lose his virginity.  This blurred use of scripts definitely raises some questions in my mind about how researchers code their content and what that means for the results that get published.

In class, we had a lengthy discussion about coding specifically regarding latent vs. manifest content. Kelly’s use of these three different virginity scripts definitely indicates an emphasis on latent content, which means that coding the characters’ behavior is somewhat up to the researchers’ interpretations and jurisdiction. I think that the use of latent content is necessary in making more profound observations about media content rather than just surface level observations and numbers and statistics but I also agree that it can lead to overlap and unclear results. The clearest and most evident results that can be gathered from applying the virginity scripts to “American Pie” suggest that a strong urgency for virginity loss exists among the teenage boys and it drives their actions and behaviors throughout the film. It is interesting to consider the effect this strong use of the urgency script can have on young men and women watching this movie. I think that movies that employ such a strong urgency script among young boys can reinforce their gender role as a sexual aggressor and perpetuate this stereotype of women as passive in sexual relationships. Although there is evidence of a management script that encourages virginity loss in an appropriate way, it is only present because it is generated by a male’s use of the urgency script, which ultimately suggests that men have the final say and that their urgency to lose their virginity makes them the aggressor in the sexual relationship.

Citation:

Kelly, M. (2010). Virginity loss narratives in "teen drama" television programs. Journal of Sex Research, 47(5), 479-489.