In one scene of Maria Finitzo’s The Dilemma of Desire, Dr. Stacey Dutton examines three contemporary biology textbooks. Two of them make no visual reference to female genitalia, whereas the outlier provides a single, external diagram. Dutton finds it difficult to find any detailed description of the clitoris, even in passing. In contrast, each text spends several pages across dozens of illustrations outlining the function of male reproductive organs, painstakingly identifying every blood vessel, nerve, and vein along the way. Reproduction, the most relevant aspect of women as far as the patriarchy is concerned, is detailed just enough, whereas female pleasure is omitted entirely.
Though the root of the dilemma may lie in education, the weeds that grew infest nearly every facet of society. Finitzo profiles women across art, academia, and industry, examining their challenges and breakthroughs in destigmatizing and liberating female pleasure. The work of Sophia Wallace is woven throughout the documentary, specifically her “100 Natural Laws of Cliteracy,” which shed light on the common failure to understand the value and necessity of the clitoris. No conversation Finitzo captures is static, as each subject flows effortlessly back and forth to one another, taking only the necessary tangent to outline the fallacy of taboo.
Through Dr. Lisa Diamond, the film establishes the difference between pleasure and control. Diamond elaborates that an “institutional power” works to “shutdown sexual understanding.” For example, less than half of the U.S. is required to teach sexual education, and an even smaller fraction of those states are vetted for accuracy. Finitzo is quick to latch onto this, as it parallels the struggle of designer Ti Chang, co-founder of Crave, faces in trying to market vibrators. Whereas social media (and even subways) are blasted with ads concerning erectile dysfunction, Crave can’t make it past Facebook’s terms of use.
While the injustice is apparent, Finitzo doesn’t allow this to bog the documentary in any way, drawing focus to the positive momentum of Cliteracy. Dilemma is more about a burgeoning force. For instance, exhibitionist Jasmine speaks at length about how she had to unlearn the restraint of her childhood in order to understand her own identity, while at the same time still maintaining a relationship with her mother. Umnia, on the other hand, discusses her marriage and subsequent divorce in Saudi Arabia, wrestling with both the liberation she felt and the hurdles she still encounters in reconciling her own sexuality. The parallels between these women are clear as Finitzo stresses regardless of culture, the systems can be shifted.
Finitzo closes with a brief comment on the 2016 presidential election. Rather than dwell on defeat, the film focuses on the women’s marches that followed. As the film’s women read excerpts from Audre Lorde’s “Uses of the Erotic,” there lies a sense that though there is much more work to be done, progress is still evident.
The Dilemma of Desire is as much of a rallying cry as it is a powerful documentary. Every moment of it is engaging and eye-opening. Watch it and get stimulated.
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