HUM 203 • Myers

Sex and the Single Girl

Helen Gurley Brown (born 1922) was editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years. Her book, Sex and the Single Girl, was a best-seller in 1962. It encouraged women to actively pursue a full single life, which included acquiring a career, gaining financial independence, and being satisfied with their looks. In the book, Brown celebrates the pleasures of flirting, of enjoying affairs from beginning to end, throwing brunches and dinner parties, finding men where you might not think to look, dating (and ditching) married men, and being both feminine and powerful. The book was turned into a film in 1964 starring Natalie Wood, which later inspired the book and television series, Sex and the City.

Short list of characters:

  • Bob Weston (Tony Curtis), editor of a tabloid magazine
  • Helen Gurley Brown (Natalie Wood), psychologist, writer, and “single girl”
  • Frank Luther Broderick (Henry Fonda), Bob’s neighbor
  • Sylvia Broderick (Lauren Bacall), Bob’s neighbor’s wife
  • Dr. Rudolph (Rudy) DeMeyer (Mel Ferrer), a colleague of Helen’s
  • Gretchen (Fran Jeffries), Bob’s girlfriend
  • Susan (Leslie Parrish), Bob’s secretary

Assignment: Answer the four questions below. You may carry your comments over to the back of this sheet if necessary. This assignment is worth 20 points.

1. Like Ovid’s The Art of Love, among many possible examples, this film presents rules for how one should deal with relationships, sex, love, etc. Write down at least three that come up during the movie. They can be from any character or situation presented.

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2. Describe what is hypocritical about how any of the characters deals with relationships, sex, love, etc.:

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3. Describe one thing in this film you find either different or similar to relationships, sex, love, etc. today:

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4. Describe one thing in this film you find either different or similar to relationships, sex, love, etc. as described by Ovid (see handout on Ovid’s The Art of Love):

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Questions on the attachments:

  • Excerpt from Helen Gurley Brown's Sex and the Single Girl:

Write a few sentences in reaction to any of these subjects she addresses in the excerpt (15 points):

Marriage: ______

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Gender roles: ______

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Sex: ______

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Extra credit: List at least three things Brown writes about that a single woman needs to live a "rich, full life." Explain how you agree or disagree with her (10 points).

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  • Article from the Toronto Star: "Sex and the Single Girl Online":

Write a few sentences about how this article demonstrates a change from the views expressed in the original Sex and the Single Girl (10 points).

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