Two recent events encouraged me to write this post
today and voice my outrage at the continued systematic disrespect toward young
girls and women, even in countries in which gender equality is believed to have
long been achieved. Or perhaps the reason the two events are so enraging is
because they are happening in a country in which women enjoy far more rights
than in many other nations.
The first is the recently launched by Elizabeth
Hurley Bikini Line for Young Girls. I heard about this case through the
weekly MissRepresentation newsletter and I am just not sure how to
react. At a first glance, the initiative seems as a fun idea and that is what
is truly troubling. In a popular culture in which sexualizing and objectifying
women is the norm, this line is just one more symptom of a condition, which if
not treated will simply become even more widespread and persistent.
The second event came in the form of a debate, or something
like it, between a female acquaintance and me on the topic of PETA’s use of women
who appear abused and beaten in some of their ads targeting men. What was even
more disturbing that the ad itself is my friend’s reaction to the ads. As a
fervent supporter of animal rights, she firmly believes that first, any means
necessary should be used to convince people to become vegans, and second, the
ad does not really promote violence against women and definitely does not
encourage men to rape women. Well now that’s just dandy! Since when did fighting for animal rights turn into a crusade against meat-eaters?
Unfortunately, she is not alone in holding such
views. The truth is, the problem with PETA’s ad is not that it encourages men
to go out and rape women; the problem is that the ad itself objectifies and
sexualizes women. As I told my acquaintance, pornography is not the only way to
objectify women; PETA’s ads do just that. If we truly care about the rights of all living organisms, then we should not ever agree to the idea of "any means" necessary to stress a point.
-
Krasi
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