#repression

Archie Comics are my go-to example for the Madonna/Whore complex. For those of you who don’t know, it is the idea that society characterizes women as either the “Madonna” (wife) or the “Whore” (mistress). Is Archie going to choose the sexy socialite or the girl next door? He’s crazy for Veronica, but Betty is frequently written to be the smarter option. Again, the safer option. The option that may not be as exciting, but is ultimately more realistic. Both these archetypes are rooted in misogyny (tho I must stress, it’s not always written that way), they express the concept that some women are not meant to be lusted after, and some women are not meant to be loved

When women irl are pushed into these roles, it can understandably cause a lot of issues. For women pushed into the Madonna role, it can lead to sexual repression. Hence why Betty has to become the “Whore” in order to express her sexuality. She even wears a black wig, Veronica’s signature hair color. Veronica, the mysterious new girl who Archie is crazy for. I also like that Veronica’s alter ego, Monica Posh, wears a blonde wig. To me these choices speak to the admiration Betty and Veronica have for one another

Betty’s sexual repression is a consistent part of her character, at least during her teen years in both timelines. It’s more explicit in season 7, seeing as her entire arc centers around repression and purity culture (shoutout to the bathtub masturbation scene). But it’s present in more subtle (or more obvious) ways in the early seasons. She’s the only character who really gets an arc with losing their virginity. Veronica and Archie have both had sex before the series begins, and with Jughead it’s never treated as a big thing. With Betty though, the first time she brings up (almost) sleeping with Jughead, her mother says something along the lines of “I hope you didn’t let that hobo defile you.” This is another form of misogyny irl, using extreme language to describe a woman losing her virginity. Before she’s even done it, she’s hearing sex described with degrading words like “defile” by the person who’s supposed to teach her about those things. Her main role model. It’s said as somewhat of a joke, but given that Alice is extremely critical of Betty, I wouldn’t be surprised if that attitude had a deeper effect on her

Later on, when Alice finds out Betty is in fact having sex with her long-term boyfriend, she freaks out about this. She accuses Betty of distracting herself when she’s supposed to be applying to colleges (despite the fact that Betty is valedictorian), even getting mad at her for using birth control to protect herself. It’s understandable that Alice would react this way, given that she had a teen pregnancy at Betty’s age. I do believe she is trying to look out for Betty, and that she’s having a hard time watching her grow up. But again, that attitude from a parent does have a massive effect on a child. If we can assume that Alice has held this attitude on sex throughout Betty’s upbringing (which is likely given the teen pregnancy backstory), then it’s no wonder Betty grew up feeling repressed. Add that to her perfectionist complex and need to fulfill everyone’s expectations, and you’ve got a severely traumatized young girl! And that’s before we get into all the serial killer stuff!

TW: CSA

I’m not gonna go into the Hal thing because that’s a whole other can of worms, but I do think the interpretation of Betty being a CSA victim adds another layer to her arc with sexuality. I think she knows that she’s sexually repressed, but she may not realize why she can’t express her sexuality in a healthy way (at least to begin with). She needs to be desired so deeply that at one point, she resorts to filming herself online for strangers- while she’s still 16, mind you. So she’s groomed not only by her father, but by her faux-brother who teaches her how to let more people take advantage of her. This could also be why Alice is so wary of Betty having sex, even when it’s in a committed relationship. It could be why, according to Bret, she “can’t go more than two hours without it.” Sexual trauma isn’t the only thing that can lead to hypersexuality, sexual repression can do the same on its own, but given the dynamic between Betty and Hal, I do think it’s very likely that her childhood plays a role in why she behaves this way

End of TW

These issues with sex follow Betty all the way into adulthood, as seen when she’s talking to Polly about all the bad things she’s done in the past. Of course, she can’t think of many, because her darkness is mostly in her head. But when she gets to the part where she kissed Archie, she says “that’s definite whore behavior” (in reference to her being the Whore of Babylon) (she might have said harlot instead here, I’m paraphrasing). It was one kiss, they never even slept together, and yet Betty thinks of herself as a whore for it. After subconsciously characterizing herself as the Madonna for so long, it makes perfect sense that she’d take innocent acts as more extreme than they are. Sexual repression isn’t something that entirely goes away once you start having sex, sometimes it creates trauma that can follow you into adulthood. It’s not easy to stop thinking of sex as dirty and defiling when you’ve had that idea reinforced so strongly, especially at such a young age