Sex and the Modern Woman

Contributor: Wise Young Mommy Wise Young Mommy
So according to the Venus Pendulum article, we are currently in the upswing of the Venus Pendulum in which we are embracing women's sexuality, but what I want to discuss is where we draw the line between respecting women's sexuality and objectifying them? What is the difference? I am all for being looked at as a sexual being, but I think the constant barrage of naked women plastered on billboards and all over television is sickening.

Thoughts?
03/31/2009
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Contributor: Machina Machina
I'd rather the pendulum be in equilibrium, personally. It'd be nice to live in a world where the pendulum didn't swing in one direction or the other. Where both sexes are viewed and accepted as equally sexual beings.

"where we draw the line between respecting women's sexuality and objectifying them?"

--Tough question. I personally love looking at naked people on TV or in ads. I think the difference in objectification vs. sexuality lies solely in the perception of the viewer.

I look at an image of a sexy woman on TV or on a billboard I think "She's hot! That company is doing a good job with marketing/casting." I think this is a fairly healthy view. I can appreciate a woman's beauty while understanding that her physique is not the norm. She is paid to be beautiful, and it is totally unrealistic to feel like I need to look like her to feel good about my own body.

I straddle the fence when it comes to looking at sexy images of women and thinking "she's hot. I want to fuck her because she's beautiful & I don't care if her personality sucks." I think this is a somewhat unhealthy attitude towards women, but everyone is guilty of a little lust. Tom Ford models make me drool. I think it's ok to view these models as objects of desire (that's what they're paid for), as long as you don't set your standards in real life by them.

I think the objectification part comes into play when a person sees a beautiful woman and thinks "My body doesn't look like that, therefore my body must be ugly" or "All women need to look like that." I don't think any explanation of why this is an unhealthy view is necessary.

My only issue comes along with my experience with anorexia as a teenager. I blame this partly on the fact that I developed earlier than a lot of the other girls. I love my curves now, but as a teen I was bombarded by images of perfectly airbrushed models and actresses. I felt inadequate. Many of my classmates hadn't bloomed yet, and I mistook my widening hips and growing breasts as fat, so I quit eating.

It took a long time for me to change my perception of beauty to include a broad spectrum of traits which encompasses not only external, but internal characteristics as well. I think this mentality needs to be taught at an early age, and other views should be staunchly discouraged. When it comes to naked women in ads or on TV the bottom line is money. They don't give a rat's ass about what kind of effect their marketing strategies have on your impressionable little son or daughter as long as they're making money. This is a difficult concept to explain to children, but the easiest way to do this is by example. We need to give them more examples of internal beauty, and less place less emphasis on external beauty. It is our responsibility as parents, teachers, family, friends, etc. to instill healthy views about sexuality & body concept within the children in our lives.

God, I could talk forever on this subject...
03/31/2009
Contributor: Not Here Anymore f/k/a Happy Lady Not Here Anymore f/k/a Happy Lady
I HATE billboards and television ads of "sexy" women. I LOVE looking at naked or partially nude women, but

Those women aren't real women. Also, I'm already tired of trying to explain to my 4 yr old why a billboard for a restaurant has "pretty ladies with little clothing" on it.

If someone wants to run an ad with a woman who is AT LEAST a size 10 - but that will never happen.
03/31/2009
Contributor: jedent jedent
Quote:
Originally posted by Not Here Anymore f/k/a Happy Lady
I HATE billboards and television ads of "sexy" women. I LOVE looking at naked or partially nude women, but

Those women aren't real women. Also, I'm already tired of trying to explain to my 4 yr old why a billboard for a ... more
Dove has those ads with big girls and old girls and freckly girls.

What drives me nuts is seeing the models in the Lane Bryant catalog who are all thin and pretty and the clothes are hanging off of them. Seriously, a hot chick in a moo-moo dress (however it's spelled) is just stupid. Put the right clothes on the right models! Pandering pretty to people who have to shop in plus sized catalogs is just stupid. I want to know how far my ass is going to stick out of those jeans, not how good SHE looks in them.
03/31/2009
Contributor: Sammi Sammi
Quote:
Originally posted by jedent
Dove has those ads with big girls and old girls and freckly girls.

What drives me nuts is seeing the models in the Lane Bryant catalog who are all thin and pretty and the clothes are hanging off of them. Seriously, a hot chick in a moo-moo ... more
I hate that - their smallest size is, I think, a 14W, and the models look like they are all size 6.

There are some good lingerie sites online that have plus size models, not the size 2s, modeling the plus size lingerie, which is nice to see.
03/31/2009
Contributor: Carrie Ann Carrie Ann
Oh my gods. America's Next Top Model is the WORST. Their plus size girls are like size 8 or 10. And then they get picked on and told they're not "runway" material or "editorial" material or "fashion" material because of their body type.

WTF??????
03/31/2009
Contributor: Carrie Ann Carrie Ann
Quote:
Originally posted by Carrie Ann
Oh my gods. America's Next Top Model is the WORST. Their plus size girls are like size 8 or 10. And then they get picked on and told they're not "runway" material or "editorial" material or "fashion" material ... more
I can't figure out why they even bother to have supposed plus size girls on the show!!!
03/31/2009
Contributor: Nashville Nashville
Quote:
Originally posted by jedent
Dove has those ads with big girls and old girls and freckly girls.

What drives me nuts is seeing the models in the Lane Bryant catalog who are all thin and pretty and the clothes are hanging off of them. Seriously, a hot chick in a moo-moo ... more
Lane Bryant has addressed a lot of customer complaints over their choice of models. They used to use "plus size" models that were a size 8 or 10. Now they've branched out and are accepting models who are size 14 and 16 but they still have to be proportionate.

Torrid is a great retailer that uses plus size models and frequently do searches for "real girls", they've included models that range from a size 12 to a 22.

I wrote a huge article for link about the plus size modeling industry and size acceptance. It's a very skewed world and it's very hard to break into. It infuriates a lot of women (me especially) to see what I consider thin women modeling plus size clothing.
03/31/2009
Contributor: Nashville Nashville
Quote:
Originally posted by Carrie Ann
I can't figure out why they even bother to have supposed plus size girls on the show!!!
They're trying to change the industry- they still have to go with the modeling industry standards but the show is slowly chipping away at the way things are being done. Expect a new season soon where all the models are under 5'7", virtually unheard of unless they're doing editorial or catalog modeling.

As far as the size 8 and 10 models, according to the industry, those are some beefy girls though to us they look thin and normal. You have to think, it's a show about runway modeling and sample sizes come in 0's, 2's, and sometimes 4's... they want to increase their ratings and also say, hey- the way things are being done is NOT okay. Tyra has wavered between an 8 and 12 and she had a huge impact on the industry, while the show doesn't portray a truly positive plus size image it does help... a little.
03/31/2009
Contributor: Carrie Ann Carrie Ann
Quote:
Originally posted by Nashville
They're trying to change the industry- they still have to go with the modeling industry standards but the show is slowly chipping away at the way things are being done. Expect a new season soon where all the models are under 5'7", ... more
I know, I know. It's just so aggravating. They're often cruel to the "bigger" girls and it just chafes my ass that those bigger girls are what *I* consider freaking perfect!

Then again, I think anyone over five foot who is a size zero needs to be hooked to a lard IV. Lol
03/31/2009
Contributor: Nashville Nashville
Quote:
Originally posted by Carrie Ann
I know, I know. It's just so aggravating. They're often cruel to the "bigger" girls and it just chafes my ass that those bigger girls are what *I* consider freaking perfect!

Then again, I think anyone over five foot who is ... more
lol, back when she was like 50 lbs or whatever it was, I so wanted to feed Nicole Richie a hamburger.
03/31/2009
Contributor: Nashville Nashville
Quote:
Originally posted by Nashville
lol, back when she was like 50 lbs or whatever it was, I so wanted to feed Nicole Richie a hamburger.
I should really build on this so no one gets offended. I think there are far too many pressures that hellywood and magazines put on women- whether it's to sell more health and beauty products which translates into bigger profit margins for ad sells, etc.. but it worries me how no one has really tried to put a stop to the way things are being done. I mean, no one has really taken up arms about the starving models... some women are just naturally very thin but you know these celebrities who were once healthy at a size 6 or 8 that are now 0's, do not have those genetics to be so thin. I don't know how many horror stories I've read about celebrities passing out or having to be hospitalized.

Also, what I don't like- all the pressure women have to lose weight. You constantly see these stars who drop massive amounts of weight and get so frail looking.. then the magazines glamorize them and try to get you to lose weight just like them whether with these $15/day detox diets or with Jenny Craig, etc. There is so much pressure on dieting, why isn't it okay to be 30 lbs over the "normal" range? If it's not damaging your heart or other organs and you get a clean bill of health, why can't you stay the way you are?

Everyone talks of changing the world but I don't see anyone of influence trying to change the modeling industry and hollywood's ideal of glamor. That's where the majority of our skewed perceptions of body image come from. Little girls are growing up wanting to walk around half naked with their collar bones protruding even if it means not eating for a few days to achieve that great "hollywood glamor"...
03/31/2009
Contributor: Carrie Ann Carrie Ann
Quote:
Originally posted by Nashville
I should really build on this so no one gets offended. I think there are far too many pressures that hellywood and magazines put on women- whether it's to sell more health and beauty products which translates into bigger profit margins for ad ... more
Collar bones have begun to horrify me. They've become the stuff of nightmares.
03/31/2009
Contributor: Carrie Ann Carrie Ann
Of course, we've totally gone off topic from the original post...

EEP!

Sorry, WYM!
03/31/2009