Knickers are an 'important part of women's lives'?

[schroeder]

Link Are they? Are underpants an important part of men's lives? These people are supposed to be feminists, but I think it's so patronising.

[PrettyCandles]

Yes, they are fairly important to me - I don't want to be uncomfortable/have a wedgie/VPL/thrush etc. But OTOH they hardly define my life, and I feel absolutely no need to display them to the world.

A back-handed sort of feminism IMO. Much prefer Dove's advertising.

[BitOfFun]

Jeremy Paxman thinks very highly of his underpants- he complained loudly to M&S when they changed the cut. I still can't see them dangling out of windows to celebrate manly events though.

[sethstarkaddersmackerel]

oh yes, that.
I got a link to that at my local group but couldn't bring myself to get involved....

if women feel they want to express their womanhood through their knickers then that's fine by me but I am not my knickers, personally....

it's one of those things where if they want to make a statement about their own individual experience that's fine as long as they don't try to start generalising it to everyone else.

someone had a banner made out of knickers at Reclaim The Night which worked well in the context - it was nicely in-yer-face.

[Ooid]

Knickers are a functional part of women's lives and like most functional items in times of plenty, they are used as decoration (and status symbols?) too.

Bunting made of pants honestly says nothing about me, my life, or my society. Very empty-headed, that.

[PrettyCandles]

This is one of my favourite advertisements. It does a heck of a lot more to "celebrate the diversity of women's shapes and sizes" than a string of knickers flapping in the breeze, looking like yet more laundry.

[Lio]

That's a beautiful picture, PrettyCandles.

[AliceWorld]

I like a couple of things about it.

I know I wouldn't be brave enough to give a pair of used knickers. There's an element of shame in stains imo. But yet it is a part of being a woman (unless everyone else is 100% on the ball and throws lots of knickers away). And why should that be shameful?

And, it also should show a diversity, and that underwear is not just something sexual. Women wear unsexy pants, cos they like to be comfortable cos they are human, rather than something that is always sexually available.

[thefinerthingsinlife]

There's something about the Dove campaign that makes me uncomfortable but I can't put my finger on it.

[AliceWorld]

Their hypocrisy?

[Ooid]

I know that is the cynical thinking behind the DOve campaign - I mean, ALL advertising is the same - but I do genuinely like seeing women with slightly more diverse body shapes in the media. Obviously they are still unrepresentative, but it's good to see slightly bigger or somewhat older women - given that the alternative is yet another lanky 14 year old, or if we're lucky, more than one, cavorting!

[TheCrackFox]

I hate Doves advertising too - the women still look fabulous - no stretch marks, saggy boobs, varicose veins or cellulite are ever seen.

I don't really understand what knicker bunting is trying to say really.

[AliceWorld]

Dittany - your feminism in the academy views have been rubbing off on me. There's an event at my uni that was about not enough women in high positions, and what to do about it, but all couched in language of gender thus hiding that it's about discriminating against women. Made me mutter.

[AliceWorld]

Dittany - your feminism in the academy views have been rubbing off on me. There's an event at my uni that was about not enough women in high positions, and what to do about it, but all couched in language of gender thus hiding that it's about discriminating against women. Made me mutter.

[schroeder]

See it strikes me as a sort 'we're women so we're special with are pretty ladies things' rather than intelligent, equal members of society who yes wear knickers, but are not defined by them.

[sethstarkaddersmackerel]

one of the women from my local group was going to the event so I will be really interested to know what she says about it.

[thefinerthingsinlife]

okay I've had a think and here is what I have come up with

1. It has quite clearly been photoshopped (sp), so so much for 'real' women.
   
   2)the 'real' women are put on the screen to have their physical attractiveness judged and talked about while promoting Dove products
   
   and
   
   3)Dove is still emphasising being beautiful, the whole champaign is aimed at being beautiful. the goal-posts of beauty may have been moved slightly but we are STILL expected to strive towards it.

[schroeder]

Ugh she is a women's studies lecturer is she? God Women's studies gives me the hump!

So sexist, when I was at poly(showing my age now) I would go around winding up all the women's studies people; telling them how sexist they were. They always struck me as separatist rather than feminists.

[PrettyCandles]

I'm not referring to the Dove ads with beautiful-yet-ordinary women, but specifically to the one showing a wrinkly, sun-aged, elderly lady smilng happily. Yes, of course all Dove ads are commercially-driven by the purpose of getting us to buy products that will enhance our beauty, but (a) at least the women are more realistic than usual, and (b) that particular ad truly does show diversity and makes no pretence that using Dove will make you look like a 16yo photoshopped anorexic model.

How Dove select their models.

[sethstarkaddersmackerel]

thanks for this thread, I was feeling guilty about not having gone to the Carnival of Feminist Cultural Activism thingy on the Thursday but there was nothing that appealed.
academic feminism is just not very inspiring IMO.

[msrisotto]

Well, I know womens' underwear has been sexualised but in this context, it isn't about sex but it is about celebrating women and the pants we come in.