Lacking Liberation: On Conflating ‘Sexual Objectification’ with ‘Sexual Empowerment’

[redqueen]

...

And when it comes to the popular notion that powerful female sexuality is found in wielding sexualization and reveling in objectification, I’d argue that it’s being force-fed to us to keep us in our place.

Because the only thing that’s changed in regards to culture’s rules governing how and why women should be sexual is that we’ve been convinced by the powers that be that being objects (of the male gaze, of course) is what we, women, want.

It sounds a lot like an “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” mentality to me.

...

This brand of faux-empowerment, the kind that Cameron Diaz is referring to when she suggests that within objectification can be found autonomy, isn’t revolutionary.

It’s commodified. And in the words of Jessica Valenti in her book, Full-Frontal Feminism, “Selling a commercialized sexuality to women…as a way to be ‘liberated’ is pretty lame.”

http://everydayfeminism.com/2013/01/conflating-sexual-objectification-with-sexual-empowerment/

[DirkGently]

1. Do you think (& this is an actual question) there is a middle ground?

The last thing I'm having an opinion on today is the ideal role of sexuality in empowered womanhood.

But I hope, and this may well be colored by man-tinted glasses, that, should she choose, a self-possessed woman could wield sexuality to the degree, and with the level of ethics and good taste she chose. Without becoming one with the "stripper pole feminist" idea referenced above.

Does freedom from oppression imbued with a ton of baggage regarding female sexuality allow for an individual to choose levels of sexual aggression, or even transgression, in a way that does not surrender to the paternal stereotypes and slanders?

This is not a thesis, and I do not come to argue it.

But what do you think?

[ismnotwasm]

2. It's a difficult question

It's a measure of what passes for desirable 'norms' that it is.

I've always been an attractive woman; now I'm aging. Because I've been a feminist for many years and because I haven't experienced painful 'body' rejection by males (not to my face, people tend not to give me shit, I'm assertive, streetwise, and I used to work out like a mad woman) I'm not finding the aging experience too troubling. I've made my own personal peace with patriartical expectations.

But I don't escape them. When I was younger I felt being desired was usually not a compliment, because it came from a often sick need for acquisition, not genuine admiration. (I followed fashion trends, sexy to a certain degree, but it was punk, or grunge or my version of neo-hippie) In my aging body, this holds true, even though I'm supposed to be--grateful-I suppose for male attention. I'm not. And that's too bad, really for a middle-aged hetero. (excepting my husband of course)

Lately, rather than tell women what they should or shouldn't wear, I've been deploring men's fashion. If the goal is 'sexy' I think part of the problem lies in what passes for masculinity.

A beautiful body is a beautiful body when it's aesthetically pleasing to the observer, this goes for male and female, transgendered, gay, straight. Perhaps the answer lies in a loosening of gendered roles; let a man wear an Edwardian shirt and tight velvet pants. Or a kilt. Or a lauhala. Perhaps a bit of eyeliner and lipstick; and why not?

Let women feel desirable in free flowing fabric that doesn't constrain, or display as she chooses as long as men do the same. So an quick, non-thesis answer is to equalize. Let no one be shamed or objectified, just admired, desired and/or at least, respected--no matter what the body type or presentation is.

[redqueen]

3. I think I'm sick and tired of society training girls and women to accept the patriarchy's definition

of 'sexy'.

Until women are no longer portrayed as sex objects, and no longer grow up seeing themselves through the male gaze, as members of the sex class, there is no way to have any genuine middle ground. It's all tainted by that indoctrination into the patriarchy's values.

In case you're unfamiliar with the male gaze, this 4-part video from just over 40 years ago puts it quite well. Sadly we've done nothing but backslide on understanding these issues since then, to the point that now many if not most people consider such insights to be made-up nonsense. So hopefully you can see why I would consider such attempts to try to maintain some of this sad, pornified idea of female "empowerment" to be entirely... misplaced, to say the least.

[DirkGently]

4. Right. So what does healthy, empowered sexual identification look like?

What troubles me is the lumping of sexist ideals of female sexuality with the entire idea of sexuality or female sexuality. It's a significant part of our humanity, and it is not porn, which as you are using it implies objectification and exploitation. The ability to view other people as human, who possess, contain, and express sexuality, is not part of the destructive paradigm.

I think it's extreme to suggest that patriarchal notions have to first be swept away before a healthy model can emerge. Cultural change doesn't typically occur that way. We did not wait for racism to disappear before celebrating the strength and beauty of different cultures, skin tones, and backgrounds.

I worry when I hear men or women clucking about a breast bared to feed a child, or to make a political statement, as though a nerve-deadening Puritansim was the cure for objectification, when really it's the other side of the same coin.