Molly and Lori subvert the restrictions of sexist languge by making it an object of humor. Molly and Lori thus use a technique common to traditionally oppressed groups: re-appropriating the language of the oppressor to undermine its power. As the opeing scene progresses, and Molly's comments grow increasingly lewd, car mechanic Lori joins in, adding her own sexual double entendres to the mix. For if you read past that offensive opening line, you discover that the sexist language comes not from the mouth of an overbearing male, but from the raunchy lips of Molly, the best friend of the novel's protagonist, Lori. But Dahl, sneaky writer that she is, has baited her readers only to switch the linguistic rug out from underneath them. Hardly an auspicious beginning for a reader in search of feminism in her romance reading, a reader might be forgiven for assuming. So opens Victoria Dahl's provocative contemporary romance, Start Me Up.
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