Monday, February 2, 2009
Objectify
It is dangerous to depict men and women as sex objects because it allows the opposite sex to take advantage of them, treating them as objects instead of the people they actually are. In the case of women, this allows men to objectify them, leading to more sexualization and even violence, in the form of rape and battery which can in some cases become life threatening. In general it is harmful to everyone because it forces women into a role of submission where they accept their place as sex objects, and men into a role of abusiveness where they are told it is okay or even "manly" to objectify and sexualize women. This forces the genders into unnatural, abusive, damaging roles that they should not ever have to endure, causing instability and the violence we now view as commonplace. The objectification of women is more troubling because they are already in a state of fear, constantly living in fear because of the role of domination men have over them. In a world where women are forced to be afraid of men because of their vulnerability, there is less literal danger in objectifying men, because they are traditionally in the more powerful role. Women, however, are already vulnerable and their objectification only makes this problem worse.
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2 comments:
Yes, I agree with you in your statement that the media tends to degrade women, but the reason that it is like that is because it works. Men are intrigued by the bodies of women, and while women generally like men in return, they do not like them in the same primitive way (a woman stripping will turn more male heads than a man stripping will turn female heads.) In this respect, many things that men do are considered more acceptable than things that women do in regards to the media. While the dehumanization of women is by no means acceptable, asking to change it is by no means easy, because the reason it is there is not through malice, but through improved function.
Hmmm...
"Women, however, are already vulnerable and their objectification only makes things worse."
Are you trying to say that men aren't, as well, vulnerable in the same aspect? I would argue just that. Men, too, are vulnerable to images portrayed in the media. You are correct in that men have decided to have an overbearing presence over women which makes things difficult for women to overcome the already near permanent stereotype that women can be objectified. Men are the ones responsible for the objectification of women. I'm just a little baffled by your statements about women already being in a "state of fear" when the obvious reaction to that action is that men are subject to a "state of fear" as well.
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