Since so many of us live in this paradoxical nation that is both obviously obsessed with women’s bodies, yet has a morbid fear of wardrobe malfunctions, there is no shortage of fascinating discussions online about the interconnections of women and sex and the media. Increasingly it is becoming harder and harder to distinguish between sexual liberation and sexual objectification. And really one person’s objectification is another person’s liberation.
It is interesting though to compare and contrast how women’s bodies are used strategically by Big Business as well as Big Activists.
From the Monthly Review, an interesting discussion about the resexualisation of women’s bodies in the media. In talking about the FCUK line of t-shirts that state simply enough, “Fit Chick Unbelievable Knockers”, Rosalind Gil sees a trend in recent depictions of feminine sexuality:
“What makes these hyper-sexualised representations of women’s bodies different from earlier representations in the 1960s and 1970s is that they are clearly responses to feminism, and, in that sense, I would suggest, are far less ‘innocent’ than earlier sexualised depictions. Furthermore, this pervasive re-inscription of women as sexual objects is happening at a moment when we are being told that women can ‘have it all’ and are doing better than ever before — in school, University and the workplace…”
Compare this to Bitch Magazine’s recent write-up about PETA’s objectification of women. Discussing PETA’s recent “naked truth” protests featuring none other than naked women, Bitch asserts, “It’s clear when you watch PETA’s videos of the “nude news conferences” that the vast majority of the people paying these naked ladies any mind are men. But it’s not clear if anyone really gives a hoot about anything but their hooters. . .”
Which leads to an interesting, and especially contentious thesis about the connections between meat-eating and mysogyny. “What’s similar between pornography and meat-eating is the objectification of another for one’s own pleasure. . .” -from The Sexual Politics Of Meat author Carol J. Adams.
