Tags
abortion, acceptable behavior, equality, feminism, hilary clinton, media on women's looks, Michelle Obama, women's bodies
It might be a distraction, or maybe a way to trivialize women’s issues, or perhaps even a way to emphasize the importance of women’s beauty, but we talk about women’s bodies, what women wear, what women don’t, women’s weight, and a number of issues around women’s appearance and that changes whether women are able to be themselves.
My question is this: Does all this talk make people feel like they have the right to have and state their opinions on women’s bodies?
Do people feel more comfortable saying women shouldn’t have the right to have an abortion because of this talk about women’s bodies?
Do people feel more readily able to say women who wear certain clothing were asking to be raped?
If we talk about what Hilary Clinton was wearing and how she looked or about Michelle Obama’s butt, do we discount what these women have done, are doing, and their strength in general?
I would say “YES.”
This fuels the idea that we all can talk about women as if women were objects to be criticized or praised for appearance.
To allow everyone to have opinions about women’s bodies is to open up the path for that to be acceptable behavior. It is the gateway to controlling women, to making decisions about women rather than allowing women to make decisions for themselves.
Grrl Code: Work to change the focus from women’s outfits to who women are, what they have done, what things they enjoys. We are more than how we look. We know that, but we keep getting the message that this is all there is and it changes the focus away from us being participating humans within our society- it changes the focus away from equality.
