Putting the Blame Where It Belongs: Baby as a Turning Point for Representations of Active Female Sexuality

ABSTRACT Recent studies on female sexuality evidence the ways in which the term ‘slut’ is gendered and used primarily to police sexually active women, by men and, surprisingly, women. The commedia all’italiana Sedotta e abbandonata (Pietro Germi, 1964) and the US-based Netflix series 13 Reasons Why (Brian Yorkey, 2017–2020) depict slut shaming and show how the consequent lack of solidarity between women helps protect unbridled male sexuality. Italy’s second Netflix original series Baby (Andrea De Sica and others, 2017–2020), however, resists this tendency and ultimately holds men accountable for their exploitation of women, specifically through the reinforcement of what I term the gynosocial bond, or the bond between women. In this article, then, I argue that this emphasis on female solidarity helps normalise – rather than penalise – active female sexuality and that by so doing, Baby represents a potential turning point towards more positive depictions of female sexualities.