Today, I was flipping through a magazine with a cousin of mine. He's your typical teenager, independent and stubborn. We turned to a page with a lingerie advertisement. There was a skinny, tan woman eating a large piece of chocolate. Chocolate was also all over her body. She was only wearing, non-surprisingly-lingerie.
Seeing this woman, covered in chocolate, probably to show men how 'delicious' she was in her new panties, disgusted me. How was this woman in an AD for other woman, dressed in a way to please men? More than that, why was she aberrantly skinny? Did anybody know what kind of message she was showing the readers-most teenagers like myself?
Anyway, I made a comment about how women are objectified on a daily basis. He sneered. He said, 'She looks hot.' I replied, 'that's probably not what she looks like in real life.' He said, 'if she wants to model for lingerie and she gets a lot of money for it, let it be. Let her do what she wants with her life.'
I had nothing to say. I got up, made a silly excuse, and left.
I was suddenly angry, and I couldn't pinpoint why.
Was I wrong?
Lately, I've been noticing a couple of things about our patriarchal society. Things that I've come to immensely dislike. Last night, at dinner, I was going on about how women get paid less then men just because of women. Someone was saying that how in today's world men are the one's that are being disregarded. I disagreed. I mean, is anybody aware of the fact there are more men alive in this planet because in many countries, once the parents find out that the zygote is a female they abort her? Or how about the fact that women are treated like objects, especially in the sex trade everyday? Or why is it that I can't walk down the street alone without some creep whistling or cat-calling? The other day, I was arguing about this, when somebody said I must be PMSing. I asked why they thought that. They said, 'Well, you're being such a feminist.' I laughed.
Why is being a feminist such a bad thing?
Doesn't anybody see that the photo-shopped models make everybody, especially girls feel like they're never physically good enough? Society has raised us to believe that looks are what matter anyway.
Is it so wrong that I want to fight for women, since even today they're thought less of by society? Yes, there are a growing number of feminist, but is anything really happening? Are boys reducing the cat-calling? Can a women walk out the door at night, confident that she won't get raped? And if she does, will society accuse the men and not her dress? No.
That's why feminists are needed. That's why there aren't enough.
Am I crazy for being so passionate about this?
Seeing this woman, covered in chocolate, probably to show men how 'delicious' she was in her new panties, disgusted me. How was this woman in an AD for other woman, dressed in a way to please men? More than that, why was she aberrantly skinny? Did anybody know what kind of message she was showing the readers-most teenagers like myself?
Anyway, I made a comment about how women are objectified on a daily basis. He sneered. He said, 'She looks hot.' I replied, 'that's probably not what she looks like in real life.' He said, 'if she wants to model for lingerie and she gets a lot of money for it, let it be. Let her do what she wants with her life.'
I had nothing to say. I got up, made a silly excuse, and left.
I was suddenly angry, and I couldn't pinpoint why.
Was I wrong?
Lately, I've been noticing a couple of things about our patriarchal society. Things that I've come to immensely dislike. Last night, at dinner, I was going on about how women get paid less then men just because of women. Someone was saying that how in today's world men are the one's that are being disregarded. I disagreed. I mean, is anybody aware of the fact there are more men alive in this planet because in many countries, once the parents find out that the zygote is a female they abort her? Or how about the fact that women are treated like objects, especially in the sex trade everyday? Or why is it that I can't walk down the street alone without some creep whistling or cat-calling? The other day, I was arguing about this, when somebody said I must be PMSing. I asked why they thought that. They said, 'Well, you're being such a feminist.' I laughed.
Why is being a feminist such a bad thing?
Doesn't anybody see that the photo-shopped models make everybody, especially girls feel like they're never physically good enough? Society has raised us to believe that looks are what matter anyway.
Is it so wrong that I want to fight for women, since even today they're thought less of by society? Yes, there are a growing number of feminist, but is anything really happening? Are boys reducing the cat-calling? Can a women walk out the door at night, confident that she won't get raped? And if she does, will society accuse the men and not her dress? No.
That's why feminists are needed. That's why there aren't enough.
Am I crazy for being so passionate about this?