Media Mindset

"It's through sex and sexual display that women really have the power to get what they want. And because the true path to power comes from being an object of desire, girls and women should now actively choose-even celebrate and embrace- being sexual objects. That's the mark of a truly confident, can-do girl: one whose objectification isn't imposed from without, but comes from within."

     Wow. It's all I can say. This quote above is from Enlightened Sexism by Susan J. Douglas, and I want to spend my blog post focusing on it. Douglas writes this quote as the perspective and stance of the media. I had never thought about this before, but it's completely true. She put into words what I could not. Today in society Feminism and women's right's remain a hot topic. It's important to many that women are equal to men and have just as much power as men. But this...this quote...is not what those people wanted. I think it's amazing that after everything that women have been through, the struggles towards equality, that the media can still contort women's power, strength, and equality into objectification. The truth is, I'm upset.
     I understand and completely support women who make the personal decision to be an object of desire. Perhaps that's what they enjoy sexually, and I believe that all women (and all humans for that matter) should be able to express and enjoy their sexual desires freely. However, the societal pressure for all women to be objects of desire, sex objects, and pretty air heads, I am not okay with. And the fact that our media tries to do just that by masking it with the air of empowerment is shocking. Women should have power from their experiences, their intelligence, and their power, whatever it's source, should be a power equal to men. This way the powers balance and everyone is on an even playing field. To use sex and sexual display to gain power over men doesn't make sense because by becoming a sexual object, women subject themselves to the whims of men. Men have the power over what it means to be a desirable sexual object. Corporations do as well. If a women in an ad is plastered all over billboards wearing a black bra and a black thong, and men see that billboard and are aroused by that women, black bras and black thongs become sexy. Women then, in order to feel sexy and become those sexual objects that are so empowering, must wear black bras and thongs. The cycle continues.
     While I am frustrated at the media, I know that frustration alone will bring no change. However the problem is, what am I supposed to do to reverse this mindset? Do I deny everything that a man declares as sexy? But how will that make me feel...to be honest...not very good. I have been conditioned since childhood to want to look good, too gain the envy of other women and be desired by men. This scares me. The one thing I know I can do is dress and act for myself. I'll wear whatever improves my confidence and makes me feel good. Hopefully that's enough to keep myself, myself.