uhoh…here it comes. A strongly opinionated blog entry.
As a person, a woman, an artist and an intellectual I am proud to voice my opinion, So here it is….
Everyday I am faced with the battle of how others see me and more importantly, how I see myself.
In this cover of Vanity Fair we see two naked women draped in the arms of a man.
When I first saw this cover, I thought it was nice.
I thought "wow Scarlett is really pale", and "how did Kiara get such nice abs?".
Then I saw the following image….
As a person, a woman, an artist and an intellectual I am proud to voice my opinion, So here it is….
Everyday I am faced with the battle of how others see me and more importantly, how I see myself.
In this cover of Vanity Fair we see two naked women draped in the arms of a man.
When I first saw this cover, I thought it was nice.
I thought "wow Scarlett is really pale", and "how did Kiara get such nice abs?".
Then I saw the following image….
I laughed and laughed and laughed. It is so ridiculous! I mean come one, Jonah Hill, you are hilarious. When I took a second look at these images side by side, I found that the first image I accepted without hesitation, but the second I found absurd!
Why is that?
I am constantly fighting between two parts of myself. The part of me that enjoys being "sexy" and the other part of me that wants to be seen for more than just my body. When I focused on this dichotomy, the problem seems to have stemmed from my society, my profession, and my upbringing.
Why is that?
I am constantly fighting between two parts of myself. The part of me that enjoys being "sexy" and the other part of me that wants to be seen for more than just my body. When I focused on this dichotomy, the problem seems to have stemmed from my society, my profession, and my upbringing.
Women are seen naked on billboards or TV to sell a brand or makeup label. We are encouraged to wear as little clothing as possible from our teenage years, and praised for our "courage" to do so.
What is wrong with this?
Why is it this way?
Why does the photo of Scarlett and Kiara look "normal" and the photo of Jonah, Paul and Seth look ridiculous?
Now don't misunderstand what I am saying, women have beautiful bodies and I have seen many artistic images of women and enjoyed the artist's creation.
But why are we pressured to be seen as objects of sexual desire instead of being seen as people?
The other day I listened to a man try to give me advice on how to get the most out of going to a strip club (even though I did not go and had no intention in going).
He said, " just go in there with the mentality that they aren't people. Just haggle them down like you would in mexico if you were buying a pair of cheap sunglasses".
This comment truly flabbergasted me. This is an exaggerated idea of how many men think of women, and the #1 reason the porn industry is so successful.
Women have become objects. They have lost their identity in society and have been reduced to this.
I don't want to support a world where women are objects instead of artists, intellectuals, mothers, daughters, heroes, or dare I say it ….equals to men.
Many women I talk to say I have the wrong idea. That it is freeing to be naked, or they feel powerful from flaunting their sexuality for all to see.
But is it really freeing or empowering to be looked at as an object instead of a person?
Of course this is just my opinion. But when I have a daughter some day, I don't want her to weigh her self worth solely on her body.
Even though I myself struggle with this, I want to work towards a world where young women feel beautiful and love who they are and men see them for more than boobs, butt, and flat stomach.
I obviously could drag on and on about the subject because I feel so strongly about this topic. I also saw this music video, that nearly made me sick. You don't have to watch more than 30 seconds to get the idea and mind you the explicit version does not say "body wet". Why is this admirable in our society? I don't know, but It is something I hope will start to change starting with us: women.
What is wrong with this?
Why is it this way?
Why does the photo of Scarlett and Kiara look "normal" and the photo of Jonah, Paul and Seth look ridiculous?
Now don't misunderstand what I am saying, women have beautiful bodies and I have seen many artistic images of women and enjoyed the artist's creation.
But why are we pressured to be seen as objects of sexual desire instead of being seen as people?
The other day I listened to a man try to give me advice on how to get the most out of going to a strip club (even though I did not go and had no intention in going).
He said, " just go in there with the mentality that they aren't people. Just haggle them down like you would in mexico if you were buying a pair of cheap sunglasses".
This comment truly flabbergasted me. This is an exaggerated idea of how many men think of women, and the #1 reason the porn industry is so successful.
Women have become objects. They have lost their identity in society and have been reduced to this.
I don't want to support a world where women are objects instead of artists, intellectuals, mothers, daughters, heroes, or dare I say it ….equals to men.
Many women I talk to say I have the wrong idea. That it is freeing to be naked, or they feel powerful from flaunting their sexuality for all to see.
But is it really freeing or empowering to be looked at as an object instead of a person?
Of course this is just my opinion. But when I have a daughter some day, I don't want her to weigh her self worth solely on her body.
Even though I myself struggle with this, I want to work towards a world where young women feel beautiful and love who they are and men see them for more than boobs, butt, and flat stomach.
I obviously could drag on and on about the subject because I feel so strongly about this topic. I also saw this music video, that nearly made me sick. You don't have to watch more than 30 seconds to get the idea and mind you the explicit version does not say "body wet". Why is this admirable in our society? I don't know, but It is something I hope will start to change starting with us: women.
Here are a few links I found interested in support of this idea.