Is it any wonder women are sexually objectified when so many celebrities volunteer to be?

[Notsosure1]

I’ve posted about this topic before , but after seeing two pop up shortly after scrolling, I am staggered by the number of articles that pop up on yahoo news that have headlines ‘celebrating’ (objectifying) female celebrities, young and old - here’s the first two of many -

‘Sabrina Carpenter is completely naked in new magazine cover, posing in nothing but thigh high socks’ (Cosmopolitan)

‘Stacey Solomon is the ultimate Bond girl in slinky swimsuit as she holidays without Joe Swash’
(Hello)

We’re trying to teach the younger generation of girls not to accept being viewed simply as sexual objects but there’s an abundance of mainstream female celebrities doing just that and are being cheered on for doing it. Talk about mixed messages. Yeah to body confidence and positivity, of course you can be viewed as sexy as well as intelligent, kind, independent etc. but I can’t believe there are still so many of these out there with such sleazy titles. There are a few focussing on men (I presume) but way down in number by comparison.

Am I over-reacting?

It’s actually amazing how strong these type of women were back in the 1940s. I watch the old black and white film of those eras (I can’t deal with modern muffled dialogue, too dark lighting and too much CGI in films). These women were so strong and articulate. I don’t want to see Sabrina’s bits or Dua Lipa’s arse cheeks (yes I know men and even their girl fans do) but I just don’t get how being (very) overtly sexual is empowering, unless these girls think empowering means they have the power to make men of any age (teens to old men in their nineties) salivate and wank off to them?

Sabrina Carpenter in concert vs Ed Sheeran in concert. One sexualised to the nth degree, one in a scruffy t-shirt and jeans.

You've hit the nail on the head ! Unfortunately, trying to undo the brainwashing for some is futile, as proved by the 'FWB' thread. I know I keep saying it : but society really has drank the kool aid...

I don’t think anyone has said this yet but as far as I’m concerned the elephant in the room is that you can’t underestimate how many pedophiles there are out there.

Have you seen Sabrina Carpenter’s cover for her new album, Man’s Best Friend? She’s on all fours with a man grabbing her hair. Revolting. It’s obviously the higher ups at the record company who manage
her image (you’ll never convince me singers like this have any creative control) but young girls are being influenced either way.

Years of teaching young girls that sexualising oneself is actually empowering and nothing to do with men has done so much harm.

Funnily enough I was just going off the news feed on yahoo and they were the first two articles focusing on women’s bodies that came up. If I’d scrolled down further there would have been way more. There always is. I started this thread bc it’s every single day - this deluge of physical scrutiny and admiration. I wanted to see if anyone else had noticed it and what they thought. I know it’s nothing new but it’s 2025 and I thought we’d moved away from page 3 and the lads mag culture. We’ve gone backwards if anything, in this area at least

I agree OP, society sends out so many mixed messages to young people.

Your absolutely right. It's not empowering whatsoever. We've just been led to believe it is and women unfortunately are buying it.

It just screams "yes I am put on this earth to be a sexual object ".

Same with FWB "fuck buddy " 🤮 arrangements. Bingo! For certain men. No need to buy the whole product : just take the good bits and dump the rest. And all the "oh but I just want the sex too" I don't believe it. They view themselves as this powerful irresistible goddess, but the men won't give them a second thought post ejaculation and probably snigger to their mates about it all (if they mention her at all)

God, is anyone else getting Spinal Tap vibes??? That sounds like the ill-conceived and wisely abandoned cover of ‘Smell the Glove”!

I might be missing the point entirely but are you suggesting that Sabrina Carpenter shouldn’t pose nude for cash because it makes the rest of us look bad? Isn’t that a bit misogynistic, I thought the whole point of feminism was woman should be able to do what they want with their bodies aslong as it was there choice and they’re not being exploited. If someone asked me to pose nude for one million pounds I’d do it to.

It’s like awards ceremonies! I know some women enjoy the glamour and wearing the expensive clothes and jewellery lent out to them etc, that’s fair enough - but they nevertheless have an un-spoken pressure to look a certain way, unless they rebel and then that’s viewed as making a statement.

Men can and do scrub up too of course, but it annoys me how many turn up looking like they haven’t bothered at all. And ultimately they’re a lot more comfortable and at ease to enjoy the event. It may also be a statement, but ultimately no one cares about them. Not as much in the fashion stakes anyway

But “selling their erotic capital” doesn’t just affect them, does it? It sends the message to men and women and girls that this is the metric by which women should be judged and that women are on board with this/any that are not are old prudes. Cheers sister!

As adults most of us will understand the satire and commercial aspect of the deal.
But what about the 12 or 13 year old girls who see that and compare their own bodies and wonder if that is how women should develop. Some will be thinking about what they need to do to become like that.

@Ddakji err have you been in to central London recently?? Yes everyone north of London just dresses like a Jezebel. My god.

I’ve read too many threads from women being jealous of their fwb’s other ‘friends’, how they are falling for friend, how they even feel used by friend (that’s the whole point, isn’t it?). To be FWB makes as much sense to me as wife swapping (never called husband swapping), swinging and open marriages. Not my thing.

I wouldn’t be surprised if in year’s to come when Sabrina is no longer young, she tells of her regret and manipulation by male (or even female) record execs.

And to be a bit brutal, all that overt sexuality couldn’t even keep that odd looking bf of hers faithful. Serve yourself up for everyone’s delectation and you just become an eat as much as you want buffet slop for the masses. (In my opinion, having had a lot of life experience and many regrets).

No, that isn’t the point of feminism. The point of feminism is to get women to a place where stripping off for cash etc is simply never an option to be considered - just as it isn’t for men.

And of course this is exploitation.

Agree to disagree, I don’t think women should have the right to dictate to other women what they can and can’t do with their own bodies. Do you really believe that it would be fair to say to Sabrina Carpenter, We know this photo shoot is your choice but we don’t like it so are taking that choice away from you?

As a woman now in her 40s it took a lot of time to see sexual attention for what it was. I remember being in my late teens and early 20s walking around in short skirts and getting eyed up by men, it felt great and was a huge ego boost for someone who was otherwise quite insecure.
I loved the attention at the time, only now do I look back and see how I was taken advantage of so many times and used and suddenly the attention I got seems so derogatory and dehumanising but as a young person I misread this.
I worked in bars and felt flattered by men’s sexual comments and advances but it wasn’t until later on I realised how I had just played into society.
I think it starts with teaching our daughters their worth and showing them what’s behind these sleazy men’s “compliments”

And why do you think someone would offer money for a woman to ger her kit off and why would it only take money for you to do it (why not for free?). No-one is asking (or offering money) to Ed Sheeran or Chris Martin to take their kit off and they are two of the biggest money earners out there.

I was really pleased to see Rose of BlackPink do her video of the hugely successful Apt in a totally unprovactive way. It has sold way more than Sabrina Carpenter’s overly sexualised offerings (yes Bruno Mars is in it which helps, but he’s not trying to be sexy in a g string either, thank god 😲😁).

God, it feels good to finally be a fully paid up member of the pearl clutching brigade (I say this with irony, obviously). I never fully believed the whole 'stripping off is empowering' nonsense, but I have spent my life doubting myself and feeling confused and wondering if I'm actually subscribing to an old fashioned type of feminism that is too puritanical. But now, at 38... nah. It's just the same old sexist shit and I'm happy to say so. And the women falling for arguments serving capitalist, patriarchal interests are handmaidens I'm afraid. I don't blame them for it, especially if they're young, but this is what they are.

This a hundred times. I think it’s why I get so frustrated now seeing young women fall for the stuff I fell for and it took me a very, very long time for the penny to drop.

I’m an out and proud pearl clutcher and I say that as someone who once ‘lived’ for the male gaze.

Did it feel 100% great though? I found it confusing - on the one hand I wanted validation, but something about it really didn't feel good

This is nothing to do with FWB thread.

Sabrina Carpenter posing on all fours being led by a man by her hair for her album cover.

Sabrina Carpenter posing naked for a famous magazine to promote said album.

Charli XCX accepting a Brit award and talking about her nipples and breasts.

Countless female celebrities appearing on red carpets wearing tiny thongs and sheer clothing all in the spirit of “free the nipple”

All of them have fallen for the “my body, my rules” argument to nudity or near nudity. No one of them have clocked on to the fact that it is men who benefit. The male execs who make the money.

When Bianca Censori started walking around with Kanye West in sheer clothing, no bra and tiny knickers, many were shocked. Now, a couple of years later, it’s a celebrity staple which is now filtering through into fashion for teenage girls and women. FFS.