Sex & the Corporation

I had the misfortune last night of being sucked into the film 'Working Girl' with Melanie Griffith and Harrison Ford. I attempted to change the channel but was transfixed by the abominable haircuts (really, what on earth went on in the 80s to induce such atrocious hair) and the absolute hyperbutch mascufemininity. Women dressing like men, acting like men... attempting to be men rather than affirming their own feminine difference. but I guess that was the age of a skewed notion of equal rights in the yuppie workplace. (I wouldn't know, for me that was the age of clothing aversion and guinness).

If St. Teresa of Avila is religious porn then 'Working Girl' is corporate porn. Sultry looks are passed as the characters discuss the apparently hostile takeover of a family owned company, Melanie Griffith getting wet over closing deals and the constant sexual tension between a man and a becoming-man. (I wonder if Working Girl is a gay cult classic). Sex in the Corporation, sex over photocopiers and desks, flirtatious glances passed in front of the coffee machine, wild hedonism at the inevitable 'Christmas party' that seems to be the symbol for infidelity.

I spoke to a good friend of mine who works for an advertising company a few weeks back. He tells me of his multiple fucks, the pursuit of pleasure for narcissistic pleasure; there seems to be little of love or romance... instant gratification.. fuck fuck fuck. But the tragedy of my friend's situation is that he wants to be in love, to get married. His problem is that he is so entrenched in the corporation that he believes that he will have at least three wives. He told me that at his first wedding he would be thinking "Well, this is my first wife." I think he's being cynical. He's lush and I love him to bits and anyone who marries him will be incredibly lucky.

But anyway, 3 things become apparent about corporate sex: 1) sex for short term gratification for me, not for you, 2) sex to get one step higher on that corporate ladder, 3) marriage as brief encounters rather than lifetime commitments. Maybe I have it wrong, my experience of corporations is fairly narrow but since the corporation is an intrinsic part of capitalism would it be surprising that it must be dynamic, must always change and, exactly like capitalism, works at its best when it breaks down?

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