Unveiling the Female Gaze: Navigating First Sexual Experiences in Rachel Bonds's Jonah

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In the opening scene of Rachel Bonds’s play, Jonah, we find ourselves on the grounds of an undisclosed boarding school, where two students, Jonah and Ana, engage in a meet-cute that defies conventional expectations. This theatrical piece stands as a bold departure from the traditional narrative of intimate experiences, positioning Ana, the female protagonist, at its forefront. Bonds's approach prompts a reconsideration of Laura Mulvey’s groundbreaking male gaze theory, which posits that media often portrays the world from a masculine perspective, objectifying women for male pleasure. As Mulvey stated in her seminal article, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” the male gaze operates by treating women as passive objects to be looked at, thus reinforcing traditional gender roles: 

In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure, which is styled accordingly.

By portraying Jonah from Ana’s perspective, Bonds challenges traditional ideas by giving the female character an active role in the unfolding of the narrative. Ana’s viewpoint allows us to experience the female character’s fantasies projected onto Jonah, fostering a more nuanced understanding of women navigating their initial sexual experiences, fantasies, and relationship to intimacy. The audience is left exploring the question: how do we carry our first sexual experiences with us into our adulthood?

Media and First Sexual Experiences

As individuals embark on their initial forays into intimacy, the pervasive impact of media representations becomes palpable. In the 1990s, the teen drama genre emerged in movies and television as a cultural phenomenon, playing a significant role in shaping societal perceptions of virginity. Author Maura Kelly, in her article, “Virginity Loss Narratives in ‘Teen Drama’ Television Programs" sheds light on this phenomenon by identifying three variations of the scripted narrative within this genre.

1. Abstinence – Placing a high moral value on virginity. The narrative emphasizes delaying first sexual experiences, reflecting broader societal attitudes that stigmatize premarital sex.
2. Urgency – Positioning the loss of virginity as necessary to maintain social status and affirm gendered identity. This perspective suggests that virginity loss is not only a personal choice but a societal expectation with implications for one’s standing among peers.
3. Management – Focusing on managing the physical, social, and emotional risks associated with virginity loss. This perspective acknowledges the inevitability of sexual exploration during adolescence and seeks to provide a pragmatic approach to navigate the complexities that might arise.

In the popular television series Dawson’s Creek, the character Joey Potter, portrayed by Katie Holmes, is cautious in matters of intimacy. The loss of her virginity becomes a major plot point in the series. In comparison, the character of Jen Lindley, portrayed by Michelle Williams, is a character with a more liberal attitude towards sexuality. Her openness about her experiences and willingness to explore her sexuality challenges the traditional and conservative values of the small town. Throughout the series Joey’s character moves from abstinence to urgency, whereas Jen’s character arch dives deeper into the management of her first sexual experiences. In the late 1990s collegiate drama Felicity the title character ends up losing her virginity to a man she doesn’t know and not to her dreamy resident adviser, Noel.

These examples of 1990s teen dramas set the cultural stage for the evolution to contemporary teen drama narratives. Consider the recent HBO series Euphoria which “follows a group of high school students as they navigate love and friendships in a world of drugs, sex, trauma and social media.” When Dawson’s Creek and Felicity were airing the complexity of social media was still a decade away. The teen drama narrative has progressed with the times to include the dangers of digital media in the relationship to first sexual experiences.

Carrying Early Experiences Through Adulthood

The expectations, moral judgments, and societal pressures instilled through all types of media during formative years may continue to shape individuals’ attitudes towards intimacy, fantasy, and desire long after the loss of their virginity.

As individuals transition into adulthood, the lingering influence of these media-informed narratives becomes a critical consideration. Regardless of the media platform that is broadcasting content, the teen drama genre consistently reinforces the narratives of abstinence, urgency, and management in first sexual experiences. Failing to comply with the virtue of abstinence might create a sense of failure in a teenager who is just learning about self-discovery. Shame of breaking a rule that society placed upon them might create confusion as they continue to explore their own sexuality.

The urgency narrative has a potential damaging impact on the psyche of adolescents. In the portrayal of urgency, the media cultivates an environment where the timing of virginity loss becomes a benchmark for social validation. This places immense pressure on teenagers as they grapple with the urgency to conform to societal expectations regarding their sexual experiences. This pressure might propel adolescents into situations where their decisions are guided more by societal pressure than by personal readiness or genuine desire. This rush can inadvertently lead to premature and potentially regrettable experiences.

From a psychological standpoint, the management narrative may have a distinct effect on teenagers as they navigate their sexual experiences. By acknowledging the inevitability of sexual exploration, it attempts to alleviate the stigma or pressure associated with conforming to unrealistic expectations. This narrative may promote open conversations about the physical, social, and emotional aspects of sexuality, fostering a healthier approach to navigating these complexities. Through Kelly’s own research she concludes that:

Feminist scholars have found that many female teenagers construct ideal love narratives in which they are sexual objects for men, rather than exploring their own sexual desires.

As we grapple with the enduring impact of media narratives, especially those centered on the loss of virginity, it is imperative to foster critical discussion that challenges and reshapes these stories. Jonah dismantles traditional ideas and embraces a perspective that empowers individuals to approach their intimate journeys with authenticity and agency, free from the constraints of outdated norms and expectations. By doing so, Bonds is paving a way for a more inclusive, nuanced, and compassionate understanding of the complexities surrounding first sexual experiences, fostering an environment where the female narrative is celebrated, and the diversity of human desire is acknowledged and respected.

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