Adam King's blog : Today's Sexual Liberation: Empowerment or a Desperate Cry for Attention?

Is the modern sexual liberation movement about women's empowerment or attention-seeking? I have written on this subject a couple of times, but the inspiration came to me to write about it once more, to drive this point home. After this post, I'm moving on. For the past three or four years I'd say, a number of young—mostly college age—feminists have put out the online rally cry for sexual liberation as a way to achieve equality and empowerment. They look to popular celebrities like Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Kim Kardashian and Amber Rose as proof that it works. They find it empowering to see their favorite celebrities use their sexuality as a calling card. But I wonder, when will these voices that advocate new-school sexual liberation finally just admit that it's more about getting ATTENTION from men, fans and social media followers then it's about seeking liberation or empowerment for women?

The Uncomfortable Truth: When Attention Becomes The Real Goal

I advocate a woman exploring her sexuality in every way, in the comfort of her home with someone she cares about and who cares for her. I also see the art in our sexuality. But there's a line — why is it that sex-positive advocates feel the need to continually make public displays of their sexuality in order to feel empowered? Because it's not actually about empowerment for women — it's about getting attention for themselves. Let's take the celebrity examples I mentioned earlier as an example. They all use the new feminist idea of sexual liberation as a crutch, but in all cases they are only trying to get more attention, money and fans for themselves. They know that sex sells — and they are products. It's all very simplistic. If these celebrities really had concerns for women's empowerment, they would take up additional causes that affect women as a whole besides telling them to use their sexuality as a way to get power. They would use their platform to tell young girls to get an education and help them avoid domestic abuse.

Do you know how far even 1 million would go toward cloning programs like Black Girls Rock? These woman celebrities spend that every month on shoes. Understanding what moving from hookup to girlfriend truly means is recognizing that real empowerment comes from building genuine connections based on mutual respect, not public displays designed to attract attention.

True Empowerment Lives In Private Choices And Personal Growth

Sexual liberation is mostly about garnering attention, not about empowering women, which is why I've always given this mostly online feminist movement the side eye. You are already sexually empowered without having to broadcast it on social media and from every rooftop. You are a grown woman with choices, and no one has the right to tell you how to make those choices. But when you choose to publicize those choices on social media and in public venues you take on a social responsibility, whether you like it or not. You have to ask yourself what is REALLY behind why you feel the need to make public displays of your sexuality. Attention. DMs from men. Likes. Retweets. Kudos. Social acceptance by peers. Money maybe. Not the empowerment of women.

If you don't care about anyone but yourself and your own need for that attention—which all of us crave if we're honest with ourselves—then you're not going to understand or hear this message. But if you're truly concerned about the empowerment and liberation of women, you'll see the hypocrisy of the modern sex lib movement and how it can actually be a detriment to our progress. Learning from conversations around feminine submission and traditional language reminds us that true empowerment isn't about adopting any single ideology wholesale, but about making informed choices that honor your authentic self. Recognizing that you don't have to follow traditional gender roles means understanding that real liberation comes from the freedom to choose your path without needing external validation or attention to feel empowered.

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