The Fishbowl Effect of Sexual Objectification
“All women live in sexual objectification the way fish live in water” writes Catherine A. MacKinnon in her book, “Toward a Feminist Theory of the State.” Now, this book was published in 1989, but does that make her statement any less true?
It’s not the first fish analogy I’ve heard. “There are so many fish in the sea,” a mother might tell her unlucky-in-love teenager. “I feel like I’m in a fish bowl” an employee might complain when being overly scrutinized by his superiors.
The fish & water analogy is significant here because of the implications: the transparency of water, the natural habitat water provides fish. What would a fish be without water? In that same vein, what would women be without men (or vice-versa)? Where would women be without sexual objectification?
If MacKinnon is right, women cannot walk down the street without being seen, viewed, or objectified by others. As I write this, a billboard-truck hybrid drives past, advertising (in BIG! RED! CAPITAL! LETTERS!) a “Gentleman’s Club”. In broad daylight, mind you, on the main street of a picturesque town in the Northeast. The irony is palpable. Apparently I can’t even sit on a street bench and write about sexual objectification without being reminded of strip clubs (which, let’s be honest, are one of the more brutally honest forms of sexual objectification out there).
It’s not enough that women are objectified. We (and our male counterparts) are constantly & visually assaulted by sexualized imagery. There are vodka advertisements with scantily-clad women, fashion editorials with lip-sticked models, and an exponential amount of music videos highlighting female dancers grinding on male singers. You can’t even flip TV channels without seeing these images.
There are plenty of women and men who have already written extensively on this subject. I’m not here to paraphrase them, or to add much insight to their findings. I only want to ask one thing of you. Become more aware. These images are not going anywhere. However, you do not have to let them be the definition of your beauty standards. If you are female, these images do not have to control your own self-worth. If you are male, these images do not have to be a standard that your girlfriend/sister/mother/daughter must live up to. We have the power to reject what the media tells us is valuable.
Sometimes, it may seem hard to ignore. Even as I write this, thoughts of my own self-doubts (about my body, sexuality, and value to others) come to mind. Yet I take comfort in the fact that if I personally work to reject society’s standards of beauty, and surround myself with others who do the same, there is hope that I can feel less like a fish, and more like a woman.
I think this is a big chunk of the reason that I dislike TV. Not only do I dislike advertising, but I hate the way the majority of it falls into the same old trope of selling things with sex (something that was commented on by Time or Life [can't remember] magazine in the 1920s.) It’s the same reason that as much as I love music, I dislike most music video channels (even the few that only show music videos.) It’s all naked/gorgeous/wispy women, all the time and I’d rather not feel bad about myself and rather not be exposed to that constant sexualization.
This reminds me of the time when I was at the gym and genuinely confused (and slightly mortified) to why they were showing soft-porn on the tv screens in the afternoon, only to realise that it was actually a music-video, surprisingly difficult to tell the difference when you can’t hear the sound!
I do not wish to generalise, but at least in the town where I’m spending the summer, MacKinnon is right. Although it is nice to feel desired, being approached/cat-called/beeped at whilst walking down the street is not the type of flattery that I seek. It is sad at times when one must choose one’s outfit not as an expression of self or even for functionality, but to be as unassuming as possible so to be a deterent for strangers.
ambika — I know what you mean. Thanks for the thoughtful comment. I mean we all know sex sells, but I feel that notion is getting out of hand.
YL — Thanks for the comment! I agree completely. The worst part is that even when I’m bundled up in my most marshmallow-resembling winter jacket, I still get men oogling me & saying inappropriate comments to me in public.
I know this is an old post, but I felt like commenting anyway.
I think it’s pathetic that places dedicated to sexual indulgence at the expense of objectified women always use words like “Gentleman” and “Adult.” It’s an attempt to make the patronage feel respectable while they’re acting like animals. Where real gentlemen are found, they don’t need neon signs to prove it.
Let me also comment that some of us men are also fed up with the over-sexualized advertising of everything. Frankly, the female form is such a lovely image to look at it that we men have trouble remembering that the image is also a human being with thoughts and feelings. The constant bombardment of that image–with little clothing, and no indication of real personality or humanity–it makes it that much more difficult for us to respect women the way we know we should.
I totally agree with your thoughts on the standards of beauty. The more women who reject them and become comfortable with their own uniqueness, the better. Not everybody has to be an airbrushed fantasy twig. In conclusion, here’s an example.
http://benoitpaille.deviantart.com/art/La-realite-est-lente-130489334
freckles are wonderful.
@ Justin — Thanks for commenting…this is actually one my favorite posts that I wrote in the early days of this blog, so I’m glad people still stumble across it.
I love what you said “Where real gentlemen are found, they don’t need neon signs to prove it”.
Thanks for sharing the beautiful picture of a woman with freckles. Freckles rule!