Reading about the various complaints levelled at the Vanbrugh event P.O.R.N.O, I was surprised and horrified to see how backward the common definition of feminism seems to have become.
In Nouse last month Victoria Lee pointed out that, “the original feminists did not campaign so we could dress like whores and give men a free sex show.” Quite. Surely the original feminists campaigned so that women could have equal rights with men, and control over their own lives?
The suggestion that a woman shouldn’t dress in certain clothes, simply because that goes against the way some people think women should behave, is something I would associate with the worst kinds of oppression.
Presumably those who considered P.O.R.N.O to be a failure for feminism also object to high heels and short skirts in the Gallery queue – we should be taking full advantage of our right to vote and brushing up on political theory in the library instead right?
The privilege of being able to make our own decisions is something we should appreciate, not put restrictions on. It offers the freedom to work in the busiest jobs in the world, to marry the person you love, to fight for your country, to be an intelligent, hard working, successful university student by day; a sexy, crime-fighting boy magnet by night: the right to be able to do whatever you want, without somehow feeling you’ve let ol’ Emmeline down.
This is why the suggestion that the girls who dress a certain way deserve to be treated like sex objects so disgusts me. It’s similar to girls in short skirts being seen as “asking for it”, or women who were raped while they were drunk to be viewed as “lesser” victims than those who were sober. Ultimately, it places the blame of sexual assault on the woman, and how can that be feminism?
Plenty of times I’ve heard women being criticised for “letting feminism down”. Yet why is it that if a man were to be in the same situation his actions wouldn’t become a negative reflection on his gender on anywhere near the same scale? If the guys who attend P.O.R.N.O aren’t being criticised for choosing to have a good time, then the fact that the girls are being criticised, only shows how far we still have to go.
Ultimately, equality is about everyone having the freedom to make their own decisions, without judgement from others about the state of our moral wellbeing. The people who really let feminism down are the ones who continually pressurize us into being worth this privilege, into justifying our equality, rather than relishing in it. To achieve true equality, women need to stop worrying about what they should be doing, and just have fun! As Cyndi said, that is all we really wanna do anyway.
Reading about the various complaints levelled at the Vanbrugh event P.O.R.N.O, I was surprised and horrified to see how backward the common definition of feminism seems to have become.
In Nouse last month Victoria Lee pointed out that, “the original feminists did not campaign so we could dress like whores and give men a free sex show.” Quite. Surely the original feminists campaigned so that women could have equal rights with men, and control over their own lives?
The suggestion that a woman shouldn’t dress in certain clothes, simply because that goes against the way some people think women should behave, is something I would associate with the worst kinds of oppression.
Presumably those who considered P.O.R.N.O to be a failure for feminism also object to high heels and short skirts in the Gallery queue – we should be taking full advantage of our right to vote and brushing up on political theory in the library instead right?
The privilege of being able to make our own decisions is something we should appreciate, not put restrictions on. It offers the freedom to work in the busiest jobs in the world, to marry the person you love, to fight for your country, to be an intelligent, hard working, successful university student by day; a sexy, crime-fighting boy magnet by night: the right to be able to do whatever you want, without somehow feeling you’ve let ol’ Emmeline down.
This is why the suggestion that the girls who dress a certain way deserve to be treated like sex objects so disgusts me. It’s similar to girls in short skirts being seen as “asking for it”, or women who were raped while they were drunk to be viewed as “lesser” victims than those who were sober. Ultimately, it places the blame of sexual assault on the woman, and how can that be feminism?
Plenty of times I’ve heard women being criticised for “letting feminism down”. Yet why is it that if a man were to be in the same situation his actions wouldn’t become a negative reflection on his gender on anywhere near the same scale? If the guys who attend P.O.R.N.O aren’t being criticised for choosing to have a good time, then the fact that the girls are being criticised, only shows how far we still have to go.
Ultimately, equality is about everyone having the freedom to make their own decisions, without judgement from others about the state of our moral wellbeing. The people who really let feminism down are the ones who continually pressurize us into being worth this privilege, into justifying our equality, rather than relishing in it. To achieve true equality, women need to stop worrying about what they should be doing, and just have fun! As Cyndi said, that is all we really wanna do anyway.
I congratulate you on your ability to be “a sexy, crime-fighting boy magnet by night”. That’s great. It also implies that your ideas concerning the goals of feminism come from Charlie’s Angels. I imagine you think you can take on the world with just your cleavge and a pair of “killer heels”. Sadly, the rest of your article seems to back this impression up.
I don’t “object to high heels and short skirts in the Gallery queue”. I object to the fact that, as a woman, in order to go to a nightclub, I am expected to dress this way. While boys can simply put on a smart shirt over the jeans they’ve been wearing all day, girls must go through hours of make-up application, hair-straightening, shaving, waxing and plucking before staggering out into the not exactly tropical climate of York wearing something tiny that has properly cost a fortune and been deliberated over for hours. The fact that you critize those who believe “the girls who dress a certain way deserve to be treated like sex objects” is so incredibly naive. You, as you’re so keen to point out, have made a choice. You have chosen to present yourself in a highly sexualised way. (Besides, as you’ve described the aim as being “a boy magnet”, you’ve massively contradicted yourself.)
You think you are making a decision, but you are not. When women present themselves as so highly sexualised as a matter of course, they are reaffirming an image drummed in by endless advertising, music videos, TV programmes. It is an endless cycle.
You ask “why is it that if a man were to be in the same situation his actions wouldn’t become a negative reflection on his gender on anywhere near the same scale?” The answer is, it doesn’t happen. When was the last time you saw a guy, in Gallery in hot pants, getting groped by sweaty, leering girls?
If we were free to choose, we could go to nightclubs in whatever we wanted to wear. Have you ever tried going to a club, because you wanted to drink and dance and see your friends, wearing a long loose skirt, flat shoes, tights? The number of filthy looks you get, from girls as well as boys is incredible.
If we were equal, PORNO would have been advertised with posters not just of pert, naked women, but of pert naked men.
However, I am please that you’ve discovered that “to achieve true equality, women need to stop worrying about what they should be doing, and just have fun!” Who knew the answer to the pay gap was so simple!
I consider myself a feminist, because I see the vast majority as “feminine attributes” as utterly arbitrary and damaging to women, asserting that they are physically weak, vain, sexually available, emotionally insecure and frivolous. I am a feminist because I want to be seen as first and foremost a human being, rather than being defined by my bilogical sex. I am not trying to “continually pressurize” anyone into being worth their equlaity. I just wish that more women would question the expectations that are placed on them as a result of their sex.
Very well said Kathleen.
Kathleen,although I agree with many of your points, there is a difference between saying, light heartedly, that you want to be a ‘boy magnet’ and being a ‘sex object.’
To be a ‘boy magnet’ is an active choice, it is not simply wanting to be a ‘sex object’ it is about wanting to feel attractive, and embracing your sexuality. There is a difference between embracing sexuality and having it imposed upon you. Of course this image of ‘sexuality’ is in some way society driven, but I would argue that this is just as much an issue for men as for women.
I disagree that you can’t dress down to gallery. I have been out plenty of times in flats and the same clothes I would wear during the day and never noticed one disgusted look. In fact I find that if girls do dress to provocatively then they’re the ones getting those sort of looks.