Rebranded sexism

[Second Summer]

The conference heard claims that old-fashioned sexism has not gone away, but has been re-invented into something that appears to be “ironic or empowering”.

Teachers warned that pole dancing clubs and beauty pageants are turning back the clock on decades of campaigning for sexual equality.

There are concerns that pupils are growing up in a culture where pornographic images are widely available, cosmetic surgery is advertised and there is a “fixation” with staying slim.

Teachers attack ‘rebranded’ sexism (BBC News, 2 April 2013)

Let's face it, our culture has major issues in the area of body and sexuality. TV and newspapers are filled with content that surely must mess with the minds of young and impressionable souls on a massive scale. Things weren't quite right when I grew up in the 70s and 80s, but today unfortunately it seems much worse.

So is censorship and criminalisation the answer? Is censorship feasible in the digital age? I'd argue that the technical side of the problem is not so difficult as we already block certain kinds of images and video. The more difficult part would be getting the population on board with such legislation. We live in an age of libertarian attitudes to many social phenomena (religion, ethics, relationships to name a few), so people would probably instinctively be opposed to any kind of new censorship.

 

[yakherder]

When I lived in China, pretty much every student I knew easily bypassed what they called the great firewall of China. The only ones the censorship truly affected were the less computer savvy (less educated) portion of the population. In other words, the end result of the censorship in China is that it widens the generation gap. Whether one approves of the censorship in and of itself or not, actually implementing it creates its own set of problems.

I'm not gonna get into my opinion on beauty contests and porn and that kind of thing, but I will say that if change is to be made (and I have similar feelings on many other issues as well, from guns to drugs), it has to be made slowly through cultural change, not quickly with the implementation of laws that are impossible to enforce and create resentment from those who don't agree with them.

 

[beancounter]

Parents should be able to control what young children see. It's not practical to do that for older children though. So hopefully, the parent has conveyed their value system into their children by then, so by the time they encounter pole dancers, it won't be an issue.

Yea, I say we censor beauty contest. But dirty dancing? ..You'll have to pull that poll from my cold dead fingers..

 

[Second Summer]

When I lived in China, pretty much every student I knew easily bypassed what they called the great firewall of China. The only ones the censorship truly affected were the less computer savvy (less educated) portion of the population. In other words, the end result of the censorship in China is that it widens the generation gap. Whether one approves of the censorship in and of itself or not, actually implementing it creates its own set of problems.

I suppose that is a valid point. I assume the censorship of politically "hot topics" and such in China is difficult to implement effectively because the outside world doesn't censor these topics. But if there was more international agreement on censoring something, as is the case with child pornography for instance, then presumably censorship would be easier to implement.

I'm not gonna get into my opinion on beauty contests and porn and that kind of thing, but I will say that if change is to be made (and I have similar feelings on many other issues as well, from guns to drugs), it has to be made slowly through cultural change, not quickly with the implementation of laws that are impossible to enforce and create resentment from those who don't agree with them.

Well yes. How do one go about creating cultural change though? And how did we get to where we are today? I do suspect large portions of the world population have never been keen on the near "no censorship" situation on the Internet today. Of course, they not only want censorship of pornography, they would want censorship of "blasphemy" and such as well...

 

[AeryFairy]

This article has been all over my facebook today. All my friends are pretty annoyed. Pole dance gets so much stick, and every last bit of it is from those who have never taken a single class. It is empowering, and usually, not in the least bit sexually attractive. There is nothing sexy about calluses, bruises, sweat-stains, falling over, and the sound of skin scraping down metal. I do not do it for attention. I do it because pushing my limits in a way that is so physically demanding and fun all at once is a massive rush. Nailing a new hold after months of hard work is an incredible sense of achievement. I'm stronger, more confident, more open to new things, and I've made friends for life - and every last one of them has feminist ideals, the men included.

You know what is setting feminism back? The ridiculous notion that girls who pole dance or participate in beauty pageants or wear short skirts and make up are doing feminism harm. We should be able to do what we want to do, without being judged for it. That is the whole motherflippin' POINT. Yes, there are still issues with internalised misogyny and media portrayal, but the solution is not randomly attacking things that are deemed 'anti-feminist' because they play up to a traditional female stereotype.

 

[mlp]

I agree with some of what AeryFairy just said, and I disagree with a lot of it.

There's a difference between pole dancing to build one's athleticism, and pole dancing in thongs and topless in front of a bunch of slavering men for tips.

And sorry - beauty pageants have no redeeming value - all they do is perpetuate females as objects.

And yes, girls/women who do either of these things are setting feminism back, because they are perpetuating the idea that what women are for is be judged by how much their appearance can sexually stimulate men.

A lot of women continue to buy into that type of valuation of girls and women. And others think that feminism means that anything a female does is feminist by virtue of it being done by a female. It's not - it sets women back the same way black people would be set back if a significant percentage of them were bowing and scraping and saying, "Yes master, whatever pleases you." Because that's what these girls/women are doing.

 

[Freesia]

I dont think there is anything wrong with pole dancing but I follow a lot of young teenage girls and young women's blogs on Tumblr and I get to see how badly a lot of them want the flat stomach, the thigh gap etc, and many of them have been led to believe by the media that their value as a woman is dependent on how "hot" they are perceived by men and by the world at large.

I feel the media and societal attitudes are responsible for this. It bothers me a lot and so I cant really get excited when I see the overt sexualisation of women in ads etc, it is not that there is anything morally wrong with it, but it is being used to brainwash girls and women and tell them that the way they look is not as good and that they need to be "sexy" or a certain shape and have a certain facial structure and look. Also it gives out the message that women's primary contribution to the world is as an ornament. So I cant support it.

 

[thefadedone]

And sorry - beauty pageants have no redeeming value - all they do is perpetuate females as objects.

Agreed. Beauty competitions are awful.

 

[das_nut]

Anyone else thinking of the Portlandia episode with the feminist bookstore and the customer who mentions pole dancing classes?

 

[yally]

I LIKE SO MANY POSTS IN THIS THREAD

Hahahaha

Coffee.

 

[Blobbenstein]

I wonder if porn was banned, I would have to draw my own....

 

[yally]

Don't ban porn, just make better porn!

 

[Ansciess]

We should be able to do what we want to do, without being judged for it. That is the whole motherflippin' POINT.

I don't think that's the point of feminism, or if it is now, it has pretty much become devoid of political analysis. It's hard to even come up with an analogy for this for other liberation movements, because only the women's movement has become so depoliticized that a statement like that can be made.

"I want to be a slave - it's my choice - that's the whole point of the black liberation movement! The freedom to be a slave if I choose! And I shouldn't be judged for it!"

Black liberationists don't talk this way about their movement because they understand it as a liberation movement requiring a political analysis of power - it doesn't reinforce the group's position on the bottom, even if there are individuals who don't mind being there. The idea that it's about doing whatever we want to do and never being judged for it sounds like a child's desire to me, not the basis of a political (not individual) liberation movement.

I don't care what any individual woman chooses. Her choice doesn't make it a feminist choice by definition. Women can make unfeminist choices that do no favors to the cause of equality for women. And every person alive is going to be judged for something or other so people may as well get used to it. Everyone judges and everyone is judged.