Teeth: Female Empowerment at its Greatest
In case you have not heard of this fantastic film, it is a movie about a young girl who finds out her vagina has teeth. The main character, Dawn O’Keefe, is a High School student who has pledged to wait until marriage to have sex. But once a boy she likes rapes her, she discovers that her vagina is something of mythical proportions; during her rape, her vagina proceeds to bite off his you know what. After his screams of terror, and her own screams of terror, she is left wondering what the hell is happening in between her legs. VAGINA DENTATA (dentata is Latin for teeth) is what Dawn has, and she is afraid of the monster inside of her.
At first she blames herself for the rape, and is upset over her lost chastity. A scene where she drops her promise ring into the water is symbolic of her shame. But in reality it is obviously not her fault that she was raped and therefore had sex before marriage, but her lack of knowledge about sexuality leads to this conclusion.
The movie pertains to our discussion on sex education. Dawn is an abstinence girl, which includes hilarious shirts about waiting until marriage. The awkward situation between Dawn and her boy crush is hilarious. Tension is in the air when they even think about kissing and vagina shapes appear in the trees of the forest around them. Classic. But the scene in the movie where the picture in a textbook is blocked because it is a vagina pertains to our class discussion. The school board had forced the teacher to cover up the picture, while penises are okay. Dawn then proceeds to mention how women are naturally chaste and modest in her best I am saving it to marriage voice. Yuck. Kids in the room laugh. End of scene.
Teeth has to be one of my favorite films because there is a sense of empowerment in Dawn’s character. At first Dawn is ashamed of her sexuality and upset about her rape, but figures out that she should have pride with her own sexuality. When men fuck her over, she uses her power to castrate them. While many men might be cringing at the thought, the reason why Dawn ends up castrating some men is because they are taking advantage of her. And it is not like she does it on purpose. The teeth in her vagina is a defense mechanism. If she is enjoying the sex, they will not hurt the men. But if she is feeling used or coerced into sex, then bad things happen. So moral of the story: treat women with respect and do not use women as mere sexual objects. Should be common sense but apparently it isn’t.
If you have not seen this film, I highly recommend it. It is more funny than scary and the storyline is fantastic. I mean, her vagina has teeth, how much better could it get?
November 30, 2009 at 12:04 am
This story seems great! I have never heard anything about it until now. I think it is a shame that she feels like she has broken the promise she made to herself about being abstinent until marriage. If she were raped, I do not feel that it is her fault at all and I do not think that she has to give up on her promise to herself because she was raped. That’s so sad. But it is so common that women blame themselves after they are raped even though it is never a persons fault for being raped. The rapist is entirely to blame. I understand why there would be an awkward tension between Dawn and her boy crush because if I were her, I would be afraid to tell him what happened too. I wouldn’t want to and I would fear that in the future he could possibly lose his “you know what” also lol. It is absolutely ridiculous for the teachers to cover up the pictures of vaginas but to include a picture of a penis. It all comes back to the double standards in life and it is really unfortunate. The point of health class is to learn about penises, vaginas, and reproduction. This is the problem with abstinence only programs as well as teachers who only show pictures of penises; students are uninformed. But the moral of the story is the women should not be used as sexual objects and when they are taken advantage of, that person pays for it, I just wish this actually happened in real life!
I am definitely going to watch this movie!
November 30, 2009 at 8:05 pm
i agree with jordann- i want to see this movie too! i had never heard of it until i saw this clip. while watching this clip i could not help but continue to make connections between this movie and and valenti’s chapter 5 (“classroom chastity”). abstinence only education is so completely extreme and either doesn’t teach all aspects of sexual education (just as how the vagina was covered up in this film clip yet the penis was exposed) or claims false statements. for example, in valenti’s chapter she writes about how students in a school like auditorium were told that “birth control could kill them and that abortion can lead to anorexia and suicide”. such false statements are stretched to unrealistic concepts that brainwash students. i would like to see this movie to compare it to both chapter 5 by valenti and the waxman report. the film will serve as an actual visual of the effects of abstinence only education. i think that due to her sexual education only promoting sex until marriage, dawn would only naturally blame her rape on herself. this is because it is all she knows…steps in education need to change education to be more comprehensive. teens deserve truth in the facts that they are told in their schools.
November 30, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Wow there is so much that can be said for this movie what a great find! After simply reading the description that was given a million thoughts rushed to my head. Then after watching the preview clip for it I just kept thinking how rhetorically well done this was. There was so many symbols and powerful images shown. First of all the music in the back round sounded like one that would be playing in a little girls room, showing the youth and innocence of being pure and what abstince only education is trying to keep our young girls as. Also the last statement every rose has its thorns just cracked me up, girls are so many times seen as “gentle as a rose.” I also very much agree with Connie’s statement and argument about the throwing of the purity ring showing her guilt and how many times this is how rape victims feel because young girls aren’t taught enough about sex, it is kept this hidden dangerous secret, one that if you cross you are looked as dirty and un-pure. And since we lecture and preach and strongly instill this idea of abstience only, once a young girl decided or is forced to have sex, they then have no one to turn to which creates even a bigger problem. I also agree with Jordan obviously the girl is not to blame but you can’t feel like you should be, society tells us that if we are acting promiscuous we are asking for it, which is entirely untrue. I hope to rent the movie it seems like a real catch.
December 1, 2009 at 7:09 pm
I heard about this movie coming out earlier this year. its crazy how women can blame their selves for being raped too. to me, it seems like women are always saying that they could have done something to prevent this from happening but it is never their fault. I def agree with you Jordan about the double standards with the penis and vagina. I feel that if your going to talk about and show one of these two parts in the diagram then you have to show the other. And i also believe that the problem with teens getting sexual transmitted diseases is a result from high schools not teaching are students the proper ways to prevent these diseases from spreading.
December 1, 2009 at 7:39 pm
This seems extremely interesting, but raises questions in my mind. I’m not sure if this is just American culture or universally acknowledged, but why is it that a woman’s virginity is so pure and must be guarded and noone cares whether a young boy loses his at 12 or 22. We are the great great great great grandchildren of the age when it was normal and highly usual for a young girl to marry at the age of 14 and have a full family by 16. When did we become so body conscious and obtain the holy vag? Men are pushed to start intercourse at the youngest age possible, where a woman is supposed to wait until she is married, like the male is in for a surprise, all vagina’s pretty look and act in the same manner. I don’t mean to be rash but I mean wtf?????????????????
December 2, 2009 at 1:25 am
I have to say, this movie was hysterical. Honestly one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. Connie is right that, at first, her vagina dentata attack only those who she is not enjoying sex with, but then towards the end of the movie she does start to go on a dick biting rampage. I’ll admit that this could be a sign of empowerment, and it will send men screaming and crying from the theaters (or i guess couch now that its on dvd). This is a great way to illustrate how foreign women’s reproductive organs are in our society. People are actually sort of scared of this sort of thing, where as a movie about a guy with a monster penis is considered porn. If you have a movie where the guy has the abnormal genitalia, its a porno, but one about a woman is a horror film….
December 3, 2009 at 12:27 am
I have yet to see this movie but after watching the trailer I really want to! Thinking about the plot though reminded me a lot about what we have been discussing about Father-Daughter Purity Balls and abstinence- only sex education. In the reading ” Classroom Chastity” it talks a lot about how girls are supposed to be the ones responsible for mens sexual behavior and how girls are not naturally sexual. The main character in this play who gets raped wouldn’t have the proper information about her situation from the culture she was brought up in. Girls who are raped are typically thought to have provoked the man and are shamed rather than supported. Also, I like how Dawn doesn’t hurt the men she has sex with when she is actually liking it and feels comfortable because that shows how women actually do feel something and it isn’t just the men who do. I think that girls who pledge themselves to their fathers until marriage are made into objects and given so much pressure. If someone wants to wait until marriage that is perfectly fine- but they should not be pressured or shamed into doing so. I definitely want to see this movie! It sounds funny, but a lot of it relates to the reality of so much girls like Dawn who live in a society where being pure is so important and that is a dangerous and oppressive way to be brought up.
December 6, 2009 at 8:48 pm
I agree with Jordan and everyone else that is never, never the women’s fault when a woman is raped. The fact that people give excuses for men like the woman was wearing a shirt skirt and was “asking for it” is truly disgusting. I think the fact that woman sometimes believe they are at fault for being raped really demonstrates how sexist our society is and how much progress we need to make.
The plot of this movie is genius. Castration really is man’s ultimate fear. I think the scene in Fight Club where the Edward Norton character is about to be castrated and goes insane nicely sums it up. Back to Teeth, I think the way used it as a lesson for men is very smart and a great way to teach a lesson. Connie articulated this very well in her post: “So moral of the story: treat women with respect and do not use women as mere sexual objects. Should be common sense but apparently it isn’t.” I particularly like her like that it “should be common sense but apparently it isn’t. “ We have a lot of common sense to learn in our society if we are to treat every person humanely.
The discussion here about how teaching abstinence only lifestyle is detrimental is right on. This way students will have no idea about how to be safe when they inevitably do become sexually active. We cannot simply tell students to not have sex. The George Bush line Professor Polak is of course correct, but it is not realistic. Our society is sex filled and to not expect students to have sex simply because we tell them to is naïve. Further, as this movie shows if someone pledges to be abstinent and they get raped, they sometimes feel like it is their fault. This is not morally right.
December 7, 2009 at 1:11 am
The issue that I found most tackled by this movie is the Penetrator vs. Penetrated. Traditionally, men are dominant over their female partners in sex. In actively sexual male on male relationships the penetrator also tends to be the more dominant/”manly” in the relationship. The concept’s entirety revolves around the idea of power offered to the penetrator and the vulnerability/”weakness” of the penetrated. What this movie offers to viewers is a twist from the way things things are in a male dominated society. What makes this movie not only entertaining but scary, especially to male audiences, is seeing a woman ultimately in control in the bedroom at such an extreme example. As if the fear of losing power in the bedroom isn’t troubling enough to men, this movie also makes men worry over losing their penis!!! Many men do not know enough about the sexual parts of their female partners, and tend to use sex as pleasure for themselves eliminating it as a mutual feeling. The term “partners” in this sense is actually ironic because both involved rarely have the same control during sex.
The movie “Teeth” promotes the idea that women should be respected in and out of the bedroom. And it also shows how important it is to for all parties involved to be comfortable during sexual activities. If you don’t get your penis bit off, you might get an infection, std, unwanted pregnancy, etc. Essentially, stick to safe consensual sex!
December 7, 2009 at 3:08 pm
This is definitely an interesting concept for a movie but I don’t think I would want to see it because it’s not really my kind of movie. I do agree, however, that this seems to be a movie of true “girl power”. She is a strong woman whom fights back when she is being attacked and that’s awesome. I have to admit that when we spoke of covering pictures of vaginas in textbooks, I did not think it was commonly practiced ritual. It’s interesting to see it actually being portrayed in a movie. How is any girl supposed to know what’s goin on down there if no one talks about it? I truly believe education to be the cornerstone of fighting STD’s and teen pregnancy. As for the character blaming herself for her own rape, it’s sad but it’s very common in our society for a girl to feel like it’s her fault. After reading Valenti Cp.7, I now see how big of an influence the media has on the mindset of America. Their language alone can turn a rape case around from being solely the rapists fault to the victim being at fault for being out late or dressing a certain way. I found it interesting that one victim said she was raped when she was sober and dressed in sweatpants and an oversize tshirt, not when she was dressed revealingly and with a few drinks in her. It is never the victims fault, that is why they are called the VICTIM.
December 7, 2009 at 5:39 pm
I have not heard of Teeth until now. I must admit I was shocked when I saw the first clip that was put in, where she went to the doctor’s office to get checked out. I was a little scared after that clip, until I read more and you explained how the teeth in her vagina worked. I think the idea that when she was raped she was able to castrate him is amazing. I mean what woman who has gone through that type of horrific event in their life would not want the best revenge of all – taking away what caused the problem in the first place and not allowing them to get any pleasure in the future. Whoever would do that to a person deserves every bit of the punishment that she gave them. Blaming herself after she was raped is a very normal response; most people believe that they somehow forced the person to rape them, or they led the person to believe that they wanted it. I read a book in high school where a girl was raped, but she was too ashamed of herself to tell anyone of what happened to her until it was too late for them to get any evidence of who the person was. She ended up contracting HIV and AIDS from the rape and dying, without ever getting revenge or finding out who actually caused her all of her pain.
I completely understand why she was so confused about what was happening “down there.” I mean if in school they can’t even show a picture of a vagina, but they can show a penis, no wonder why she is so scared. There is always a double standard when it comes to males and females. Even with the whole losing their virginity thing, parents are much more scared about what their daughter is going to do rather than their sons. A woman’s virginity seems to be more sacred to her, while a males virginity doesn’t seem to be as important – at least from what I have seen among people I have talked to. I have noticed this in my family, my mom is so concerned about my sister and I when it comes to sexual relations, but my aunt who has three boys is completely fine with them loosing their virginity at a young age. This just goes to show how society has shaped how we think about sexual experiences as a male or a female. Men who have many sexual partners are seen as cool and admired, while women who have many sexual partners are seen as sluts and whores. The fact is that men who have many sex partners in heterosexual cases have to have sex with women, but these women are looked down upon. Without these women the men who are admired would have nothing to be admired for.
On a lighter note, the movie also does sound a little funny just because of the fact that she can have the ultimate revenge on men who screw her over. I’m sure it is every woman’s dream to get revenge on men who have taken advantage of them or treated them poorly; maybe not to the extent of castrating all of them, but that is what makes it funny. The fact that she doesn’t really have control over this is also comical. It is probably better that she doesn’t have control over it, therefore she can’t take advantage of the teeth and use it just to hurt people. After reading this blog I am very curious about this movie. I am thinking about renting it and watching it for myself to see what I will think of it after seeing the whole movie.
December 7, 2009 at 7:38 pm
First off: VAGINA DENTATA=epic.
Abstinence-only education is ridiculous. It doesn’t work. It doesn’t even make sense. When the vagina had a giant sticker on it, I laughed. Because I thought it was a joke that they would show the penis and not teach the kids about the vagina…and then I learned that schools actually do that. Blows my mind. And her comment about how women are naturally modest was also ridiculous. Abstinence-only textbooks play on these stereotypes, though, to manipulate and scare kids into not having sex. They don’t teach kids to make smart decisions because even have information about sex might encourage them to have sex. So instead, these kids go out and have sex anyway but they have no information about how to protect themselves–because condoms don’t work and abortions can cause impotence, eating disorders, and suicide. Obviously.
Her reaction to her rape–thinking that it is her fault–is the result of her “education” as well. Women are the modest ones who have to keep their boyfriends in check (with the Christian Side-Hug!) and so if anything happens to them, they were asking for it. (Imagine being a child who is the victim of rape/incest/etc being taught this in a school setting)
Anyway, the fact that she castrates men shows how she is taking back control of her body and getting revenge on the men who have taken advantage of her. An interesting way to promote female empowerment, but it definitely gets it message out.
December 7, 2009 at 10:16 pm
While I don’t usually equate castrating a man with female empowerment, there is a moral theme that is key to women’s studies and women’s right s here. For example, for many women, every time they have sex with a man, they feel like they are losing a part of themselves. Women have been conditioned to feel this sense of loss by the bombardment of female characters as weak. The average romance novel is “boy meets girl”, “boy hurts girl”, “other boy comes to save girl”. If these are supposed to be role models for women, our society is raising a group of victims as women. Women can never save a man because in the eyes of popular culture, that would threaten his masculinity. With teeth, Dawn goes from the victim to the victimizer which has its good aspects and bad aspects. The good side is that she feels more confident and happy in her own skin, which because of popular culture, is usually not the case when there is such a narrow definition of beauty. However, the man never learns that what he did is wrong more than he is scared for life and will never be intimate again. Obviously, this is a very rare condition so to try and accurately reflect this situation on mainstream society would be difficult. I just think that retribution can sometimes be a way that people try to externally deal with internal issues(aka not dealing with them directly). I think that there is something great about knowing that a man will never hurt a woman like that again. Also, if castrating a man can get a woman some closure from a sexual assault then it’s understood. I just don’t want woman to feel like if only they could inflict the pain on someone else that someone inflicted on them, they will feel like they did before they were sexually assaulted.
December 7, 2009 at 10:18 pm
I have heard a lot about this movie, “Teeth.” Students talk about it all the time, and I never really thought to ask what it was about. When I was looking through these blog posts, this movie specifically caught my eye, mostly because I have heard so much about it! When I discovered the plot about this movie, I was severely intrigued by the whole thing. To make a movie, and have this be the story line is a bold, yet extremely imaginative move. When I read the whole post I thought to myself, who thinks to write about this?
I really enjoyed how thorough this post was. It made me feel like I have seen the movie before, and it was very specific about the key points in the movie. I also enjoyed how the author included the trailer of this movie; because it helped me better understand where her points are coming from.
Although I really can’t agree or disagree, because I have not seen the movie, the author feels strongly that this movie is really worth seeing. It seems scary in the trailer, and I am not particularly a fan of scary movies, however I would still enjoy seeing this; it’s something different, that’s for sure!
By reading this blog, it is obvious that the writer is a fan of these types of topics in the media. It is clear that there are not as many movies or television shows regarding topics this “open” and so it becomes clear that she is excited about this movie.
By reading this blog, it makes me want to see this movie as soon as I can. I am interested to see this, mostly because there are not many movies that are this forward, and I have never heard of a movie that has covered this topic. I can’t wait to see this movie!
December 8, 2009 at 3:22 am
I have never heard of this but I think that is so funny/weird. I think that the storyline and purpose of the movie is great but the teeth in a vagina is really weird…obviously needs to be there but it cracks me up. Anyways I agree with everyone that this reminds me a lot of Valenti ch 5. Abstinence only edu is nonsense it doesn’t work. Teens are gonna want to do what they are told not to do. I think if you just explain everything about sex and what not to a teen they are probably still immature and will laugh about it and not really care or be more scared about it but the fact is they are getting the information they need. You need to understand yourself and your body it is very important to know these things as a teen. I think that if schools are going to place a huge ass sticker over the female body parts than we need to seperate boys and girls in the classroom. Have them take seperate classes so the females are still getting the info they need. But I think this movie sounds like a great thing too bad it didnt get more publicity
December 8, 2009 at 4:03 am
Personally when I watched this movie I was completely grossed out, but this blog has brought my attention to the message of the movie. While there is a sense of comedy in the film there is very important message going out to girls and victims of rape, it is not their fault. This movie kind of made me think of the Daly reading about female mutilation, of course the movie is fiction and Daly’s reading has a more serious message, both director and author send out serious messages that need to be addressed and highly ignored. The message that girls and victims need to hear more is that it isn’t there fault, it isn’t their fault they get raped, it isn’t their fault their nations leaders think female mutilation is right.
Another interesting theme this movie touches upon is the teaching of abstinence from sex. Students are left without knowledge therefore leaving a victim of being sexually assaulted to feel ashamed of no longer being “pure”. While some believe preserving children’s innocent is leaving them in the dark about sex and just telling them to abstain from sex because it leaves them pure. This movie shows a women’s empowerment by castrating her attacker but the more important message it shows is that it is NOT the women’s fault when she is sexually abused, she did NOT ask for it.
December 8, 2009 at 4:21 pm
I remember watching this movie last year and being utterly disgusted. It is a funny movie but it can get pretty graphic at certain scenes. I don’t think this is a good way to show “female empowerment” by hurting the other sex with vaginal teeth. I think it’s a little weird to show this through a made up disease or condition. The movie is funny in how it depicts abstinence loving teens and the interactions between dawn and her male friend that she “wrongly” longs to be intimate with. It is a good laugh but I don’t take any serious message away from this movie one bit.
December 8, 2009 at 6:04 pm
I actually had seen the trailer to this movie before it was put in the blog and I thought that the movie was about a girl with some type of disease in her vagina. I agree with Connie that its very empowering that she’s able to castrate men when they’re taking advantage of her. I, too now want to watch this movie after reading what the plot is really about. And I think Tom makes a point with men with abnormal genitalia seen as porn and women with abnormal genitalia seen as a horror film, another double standard faced by society. I also believe that women who have been raped blame themselves for what happened even though it isn’t her fault. I also think that the sex education portrayed in the movie might have been the sex education that people in our generation have received because of the only abstinent sex education policy at the time. Even though my high school did not teach abstinent only education.
December 8, 2009 at 6:16 pm
I can honestly say I would never watch this movie. For the simple fact that I wouldnt want to see someone lose their penis. The penis is the “key of life.” If there were no penis we wouldnt be here at all. I understand this movie is supposed to show female empowerment, but why would any one want to take away the instrument which is used to produce?
I understand that women feel that most men are “assholes,” but I must remind females that not EVERY male is an asshole. This movie only shows and promotes how men can be hurt in the worst way. again, I wouldn’t waste my time watching this movie
December 8, 2009 at 7:00 pm
My friends tried to make me watch the movie “Teeth” last year by saying it was a really funny movie about a woman with weird teeth. So I believed them and decided to see what the movie was really about. I watched the first half of the movie and was completely disgusted by the graphic parts and was horrified by the whole idea of having teeth in one’s vagina. But now that I saw the trailer and clip about the movie I realize that this movie is really about the power and self confidence women need in relationships with men, especially sexually active ones. There are so many instances where the men tend to control the relationship and force sex on women before they are ready. However in this movie, Dawn O’Keefe is able to get back at those who wrong her or take advantage of her body. This movie may be a little too graphic for the media, but it really gets the point across that women need to take more action in their relationships and know how to stand up for themselves in sexual situations. I also really liked the quote “every flower has its thorns,” because I thought it was a very clever metaphor for a woman’s body and how you never know what you are getting yourself into in any relationship.
December 8, 2009 at 7:02 pm
I don’t know- I guess I’m torn on this matter. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but have been secretly wanting to see it for a while…I’ve been trying to build up the courage because it seems like a pretty graphic movie.
I think we can even base the two points of view about the movie on the two posters. The first one is meant to be comical, with the main character in an upright pose making a goofy face, a sticker covering her vagina. Not gunna lie, I really liked the layout of this first poster. It makes it seem like it’s a flick like “Juno” or another angst-driven yet witty teen movie. But after reading the description of the flick, I can tell it is nothing like that.
Then, take a look at the second poster. How terrifying! This makes the movie look like a “Saw”, a thriller full of graphic violence. “Every Rose has it’s Thorns” adorns the bottom of the poster, referring to a vagina as something as beautiful and delicate as a rose, yet still evil with it’s thorns. I really enjoy the second poster because I think that quote is a perfect way to describe this movie. A girl has teeth in her vagina, a horrific thing to think about, yet still incredibly intriguing. Her teeth are her form of protection, a way for her to seek revenge on men who sexually abuse her.
December 8, 2009 at 7:33 pm
I think the fact that the main character has decided to wait until she is married to have sex… and is then the one who has a set of teeth inside her vagina is hilarious. I have never heard of this movie before, but I would like to find out how it ends! In the clip that I watched I was surprised at how the students were so outraged at the fact that the sticker was covering up the female reproductive organs. From what I’ve experienced by being in sexual education classes, students are just so uncomfortable with the topics being discussed that they do not question anything they’re told. These kids seemed to have a real problem with the fact that it’s ok to show a penis in their textbook but not a vagina. I think this is a very modern film, in that sense. Also, the teacher’s discomfort is apparent in this scene as he will not even use the correct terms when discussing the various parts of the female and male bodies. He clearly wishes he was about anywhere else in the world at that moment, except for in the classroom. I truly applaud the students at questioning what they’re being taught and pursuing these interests. Even though the main character offers her opinions and is laughed at, she is still able to discuss her own points of view on the subject. I would like to see more of this movie to observe the teenagers in this high school and how they deal with other types of information being thrown at them.