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MsMacComb -> Pornography is demeaning to women? Pornography makes women into sex objects”. (5/6/2006 11:53:56 PM)
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How many times have we all heard these comments? From the time we are small children this is pounded into our heads until most adults repeat it through rote memorization, (while contemplating their “stash” of porn under their bed). Do most ever consider these claims and evaluate them for any semblance of logic or reasoning? Not in my experience. Usually they are too concerned with being politically correct to allow even a touch of common sense to infiltrate their alcohol saturated brains.
By saying that the existence of photos of nude women is demeaning to females is in effect saying that a woman’s body is something to be ashamed of. If this were true, why do most women obsess over trying to make their butts and breasts look like those of porn stars, and why do most men think of nothing else? Yes I know, many women will tell you that they do it for themselves, their own admiration and sense of self. Yet at a moments notice they will be wearing a thong or “showing their tits” to a group of guys and loving every minute of it.
It amazes me that a woman who wields her feminine attributes over a man, will get him called pussy whipped by his friends and they all love it. How can she do this? By using his desire to “tap that ass” to get him to do what she wants. Shallow? Sure. Effective? You bet your ass. Yet if this same woman takes it a step further and uses her body to provide for herself and her family, she is a “sleazy slut ho bag”.
If a sexually empowered woman, of her own volition, does any form of adult entertainment, how can this be demeaning? She is essentially self employed. She will make very good money. She is working towards being in control of her own destiny. She has the body, confidence and attitude that most men find attractive, and some women are jealous of. What’s the downside?
The same as how a person can only be bullied if they allow it to happen, one can be “objectified” only if they allow it to happen. I consider a sexual progressive woman to be a “sexual being” and not a sexual object. To imply that a woman who poses nude or performs on film nude is being reduced to an “object” speaks only to the ignorant complainant. If a woman in the corporate world is well known for her great intelligence does that reduce her to a “thought object”? Or perhaps her affinity is in woman’s sports, does that make her a “jockette object? Women (as an individual and as a whole, a group and a species) need to fight to be accepted on any and all levels. If that acceptance is through her career working with the “stuffed shirt crowd” or by being “stuffed in front of a crowd” she should not be dismissed or minimized by her choice.
At this point in time the groups and organizations that are supposed to be defending women and speaking out on their behalf are failing dismally. The main “roadblock” in what’s left of the women’s liberation movement is women ourselves. By continually trying to compare and live up to the “good old boys” standards we are selling our selves short, and selling out. I believe the original intent should have been personal autonomy and choice, not to “clone” ourselves after men and then get into a pissing contest to prove we are equal. We are, and then some. Physical attributes should not be discounted in an effort to “equalize” our selves to men. Many male athletes with minimal true talent make a ridicules amount of money due to their physical size. Women with certain “assets” should not be demeaned by other women due to a confused path of what is progress for all women. Those that wish to pattern their lives to meld with the “white collar geeks” of the world should not get all fucking uppity with those that select a different route.
There often seems to be an associative equation with adult erotica performers that depicts the females with somehow being demeaned. Let me be the first to clarify demeaning to you from a working class standpoint. For example we will use “Tessa” a single (or divorced) mother in her early twenties with a small child. The “sorry ass bastard” she hooked up with has abandoned her. She lives in a one bedroom overpriced and severely dilapidated apartment. She has a car that barely runs, with hefty payments and gouging insurance premiums and is trying to put herself through college by taking night classes. She works a variety of part time menial task jobs, with minimal pay. One is as a waitress at night at the local restaurant/pub. She works till midnight, with obnoxious patrons who demand top dollar service while purchasing their “McFatass Burgers”. She has to deal with kids puking on the table, has to tip out 15% of her earnings to the hostess, bartender and busboys, has customers, cooks and her boss grab and pinch her ass and make suggestive comments, and at the end of the night gets to clean up her filthy station and perhaps the restrooms. The “corporate dickhead board” decided in their infinite wisdom to implement a mandatory dress code wherein she has to dress in a somewhat revealing costume, to ensure “conformity” among the employees.
Across town, “Tiffany” has the same situation and the same desires and goals. However she is surrounded by beefy doorman, has cleaner working conditions and does nothing beyond “entertain” as a topless dancer. The difference between the two is really quite simple but very important. At the end of both of their respective shifts, after spending all night bending over and exposing their bottoms to pick up their tips, one from a nasty table, the other from the dance floor, Tessa goes home with about $90 while Tiffany goes home with $700. Like it or not, with money comes power. The power to control ones own life and to be free from the confines of poverty often go hand in hand. Fast forward a few years for both of our “working girls” and one is still working and taking classes part time, encumbered by student loans and credit card debt with her “silver lining” obscured by varicose veins, carpal tunnel and an ever increasing credit debt. The other is now degreed, making great gains on the mortgage of her first home, and starting her own business. Empowerment, or is it demeaning?
If one looks at the purpose or goal of an education, career or job as a way to be able to sustain oneself, which I do, then often the fastest, easiest and surest route should usually be taken. This ideal of endless toil and menial tasks being a great character builder seems to be the brainchild of those who have never actually broken a sweat a day in their life. Oddly it seems to be a favorite of those attempting to prod their underpaid employees to produce a better product, faster and cheaper for the company. This will not come as any type of new flash to most, but the era of “company loyalty” has long since past. Right now you have a better chance of getting “Enroned” right up the butt, then ever seeing your labor compensated justly and the hopes of “Management” to leave your pension intact. A lady has got to set her own course and control the outcome of her future.There is a difference between working harder and working smarter. The ones that have the drive, the inititive and can direct their unique "look" into an early retirement or their own business are smart in so many ways beyond what most people think. But then what the hell do I know?
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