The Sexualization of Women

The sexualization of women is not a newly developed concept. Our society has faced these idealizations of how and when and in what way a woman should be seen or portrayed and these standards are not just an idea, they are real and I have witnessed and been victim to it myself. The issue can be seen by the fact that my little sister, only 13 years old, comes into my room asking me if she looks fat because she is not as skinny or tall as the women she sees in the on the billboards. These women define for many young girls the image they wish to have, yet the women’s bodies are photo shopped and painted into something unrealistic and unachievable.

The issue is that in sixth grade I was not allowed to walk along Rochester road alone with my friends since one time we had been walking home from Dairy Queen and were honked at by four passing cars, I counted. One group of high school or college boys even had the courage to stick their heads out the window and holler at us. Keep in mind that it is less than a ten minute walk to my house.

The problem with our society can be seen by the fact that my mother, at the age of 16, was sitting on the school bus on the way home from a basketball game next to the team’s captain and he tried to slip his hand up her skirt. Did he think he was allowed to do this without her permission since they were in the dark? Or was it because he had just won the game?  No matter the situation. No one ever seems to notice the pink elephant in the room; that “Yes” should never be assumed.

Once upon a time it was the women’s role to do the house work, raise the children, and stay at home in her husband’s nice and cozy home. Today the role of women has evolved to where their role in society is not viewed as it used to be, but they are still objectified to certain standards. Women’s vulnerabilities such as body image are used against them by the impossibility of a “thirty-nine-inch bust and a twenty-three-inch waist”. We are defined by unattainable means and they are embedded in us from a young age. The worst part of it all is that it is OK with society. Jesus did not die on the cross so that everyone could be ruled by their appearance: height, waist size, the color of skin, eye color, clothing choices.

The color of skin

Imagine that you are a little seven year old kid. You attend an elementary school with lots of other kids, majority of which are caucasian; a stark contrast to your dark colored skin. Although you notice the difference, it doesn't mean anything to you and everyday you try not to let the exclusions effect you whether it be at the lunch table or recess. Besides, you have your best friend and that is enough.  Now, imagine being the white girl that is best friends with the little black girl. You, not knowing the stereotypical significance of her skin, try everyday to invite her home to play only to receive a constant "no" from your mom. She tells you that "people like us aren't suppose to affiliate with people that look like them". Now, I'm asking you, try to imagine being the mother of a daughter being told by another mother that she is no longer going to allow her daughter to be best friends with the little black girl because as she says "people like her aren't suppose to affiliate with people like that". This is a true story and more stories like this are occurring everyday. Children are being taught to hate, taught to discriminate, and as they grow up these become their own customs that they teach to their children. The repetitive cycle of oppression and discrimination has been in constant replay throughout history for so many occasions: the Holocaust, the slavery of African Americans, the Apartheid in South Africa, the oppression of women, the genocide of Native Americans, the enslavement of the Mayans or the Incas, and so many more. There is no easier statement to prove than "Discrimination brings destruction". When will we learn that one person is no better than any other when based upon the color of their skin?

In Black and White

In black and white, Art Spiegelman clearly depicts the gruesome horrors of the Holocaust and Nazi territory in the comic Maus. Art, struggling to figure out how to write about his father's story as a Jew during World War II, draws himself into the story. Sitting upon a pile of dead bodies, Art's struggle with his own comic can be seen and felt. The mice he sits upon symbolize how he cannot summarize within the book all that had occurred during the war and that neither words nor images could either. It makes the book seem as if it is not and could never be enough to truly represent all that the Jewish people had faced throughout the war and all the death that it had brought. Also within the same image, the speech bubble saying "alright Mr. Spiegelman... We're ready to shoot!.." characterizes those who attempted to publicize the war and create light from such horrific times. As we discussed earlier this week in class, to beautify Auschwitz would be barbaric; It would create an ethical dilemma. How could a person try to shoot a movie filled with cheesy lines and non realistic love scenes during a time period such as the Holocaust? That, I would consider, is the equivalent of stepping all over the bodies in the image below. However, Art does not make less of the gruesomeness and instead brings the pain into the light through his not so comical comic.  

My McDonald's Lollipop

Once upon a time there was a little, blonde, curly haired girl waiting in line at McDonald's to buy herself some chicken nuggets. This little girl was me and it just so turned out that my grandma had not given me enough money to pay for the order. So, nervous and embarrassed, I skedaddled my way back to Grandma, tripping over the foot of the soldier standing in line behind me, rushing for the few extra dollars. As I casually ran back to the cashier to hand over the rest of the money, I was told that the man next in line had paid for me. Being young and uncertain, I turned towards the soldier dressed up in his camo and attempted to hand him the cash, which he refused. After thanking him, I returned to Grandma and forgot of this moment from my childhood until approximately a year ago when Mrs. Kozuchowski asked us to describe one of our lollipop moments. She defined this as something someone does for a person out of kindness which leaves a positive and lasting impact. This soldier created one of mine. He is my earliest memory in life of a random act of generosity towards me. However, it wasn’t just the soldier who acted in favor of the young girl, but all the people waiting in line. They did not have to be patient, but they were, and maybe some of them had to make a conscious effort not to go find the kid’s parent and complain, but they didn’t and “petty, frustrating crap like this is exactly where the work of choosing comes in”. Similarly, the soldier who had been behind me in line did not have to pay for the little girl who tripped over him and ran way, but he did, and this choice of his created my very first lollipop moment.

On the Love of Eloquence

         Henry David Thoreau writes, “We love eloquence for its own sake, and not for any truth which it may utter, or any heroism it may inspire”.  For those who do not know, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, eloquence is “the quality of forceful or persuasive expressiveness”. Thoreau believed that people did not fully absorb the meaning behind what was written or spoken to inspire them and simply took no action towards their standing beliefs.

          However, I cannot deem this philosophy to be true when in consideration of the protests occurring around events such as Black Lives Matter. Although we may love eloquence because it sounds nice, we also see it as the call to action or attention it can be.  Contrary to Thoreau’s belief, eloquence is used in many speeches towards inspiring action for Black Lives Matter and brings it into the light causing action to occur. Senator Elizabeth Warren spoke of how black’s “pervasive” and “persistent” distrust is not based upon “myths”. Government officials speaking out on the topic has created heroism among citizens and riled the people to protest and fight for what they believe is right. They are not merely sitting around and waiting for someone to prove that we, the people of the United States, are all equal. Protests have broken out in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Phoenix, New York City, San Francisco, and many more. How could it be denied that words create change? They are used as the matches to a person's passion and are the cause of our actions.