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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

In being sick of the way women are endlessly objectfied and treated like pieces of meat?

184 replies

Janos · 02/07/2007 20:42

Rant alert!

I'm just so f'ing sick of it (pardon my French).

It's everywhere, on television, when you walk into the newsagents, advertising billboards, shops - AAARGHH!!

I don't remember it being like this when I was younger. Perhaps I was just more innocent then or maybe its got worse. Depressing to think what view of women this encourages, and that my DS will grow up seeing this stuff as a matter of course.

sigh

Am I just a raddled old prude or what?

OP posts:
fireflyfairy2 · 02/07/2007 20:44

Yes

Kathyis6incheshigh · 02/07/2007 20:46

YANBU.

YAN a raddled old prude.

You are quite right.
I get so depressed by how little feminism there seems to be around these days though Mumsnet is quite a good place to find it.

DoubleBluff · 02/07/2007 20:47

I agree sick of seeing cotches every where.
I started a thread about pop videos a while ack as I was sick of seeing women being objectified.
I wrote a letter to Channel 4 complainig and got no reply. Was feeling very angry about it.
I do bbelieve there is a campaign group about the magazines being sold in shops.

DoubleBluff · 02/07/2007 20:47

I mean crotches!

mummypigoink · 02/07/2007 20:48

yup, it's like women didn't chain themselves to buildings or throw themselves in front of horses to get rights!!!

edam · 02/07/2007 20:48

YANBU, I hate it too. Glad I grew up in the 80s when fashion didn't require you to get your bits out for the lads.

nickytwotimes · 02/07/2007 20:48

I get sick of it too.
It has been going that way for years, but seems so much worse now with all the "porn-chic" that seems to be in vogue.

Janos · 02/07/2007 20:55

Oh, thank god I'm not the only one!

It's just the relentless in your face-ness of it that depresses me. And if you make any comment about it then you must be prudish/jealous/humourless etc etc.

OP posts:
mytwopenceworth · 02/07/2007 20:57

Yes. It's horrible.

Of course, the question is WHY do so many women participate in this? Aspire to it even?

If women said

NO. I will not pose in that with my 'come get me I'm yours' look.

NO. I will not strip naked for your entertainment.

NO. I will not thrust my genitals in the camera or allow you to run your credit card between my buttocks in your music video.

Look at female pop stars, actresses.... how often do you see them clothed? Watch a music video and count how many times there is a close up of their bottom (front and back!) or their breasts.

Now while it is easy to say that women in the porn industry may be manipulated/forced/on drugs etc and therefore not able to make proper choices, we cannot say the same for A-list pop stars who prefer to show you their breasts than sing a song in tune.

Also, women make up 50% of the population, so we have some power! Also, we are the primary carers for the next generation, so we shape the opinions of the next lot of men.

And finally, who is it who tears women to shreads over what they look like, what they are wearing, how much they weigh? Yup. Women.

We cannot change how men work and think without first changing how WE work and think. We need to say NO. And we need to stop thinking of ourselves, and presenting ourselves with the emphasis on our boobs and our fanjos.

As with everything. The first change comes from within. Men want to look at women, That is a fact. It is up to women first to lay out the rules and up to men to accept and respect those rules.

notasheep · 02/07/2007 20:57

And the hard core porn that dp enjoys makes me vomit!

Dabbles · 02/07/2007 20:58

I am sick of the fact that i can no longer surf the music channels when dd's are in the room! seems u need soft core porn to sell videos these days!!

(shakira and beyonce.. in fac tmost of the woemn are worse than the male videos, ie, u would expect it in like a 50 cent video, but big sigh at 'Q' now haivng 'fhm hour adn such like...)

aimeesmummy · 02/07/2007 21:01

I have this theory about tennis clothes (woah! topical!) that men have to wear clothes two sizes too big and women too sizes too small. Cue Pete Sampras shifting his Tshirt straight over his shoulders after every rally. Really annoying.
And Radio 1 annoyed me in their news report of Wimbledon this afternoon, saying that some wellknown female player was playing well against a new player with the most amazing legs "...and now over to XXX for the important stuff, like her name and the score.." and then REPEATED it at the next news!!! Unbelievable

rantinghousewife · 02/07/2007 21:02

I'm in total agreement with you, younger women's perception of feminism has been somewhat skewered and this makes some women think that getting your tits out for the lads is a vote for women's lib. It's not. And it's actually quite

mummytosteven · 02/07/2007 21:03

YANBU. I get so depressed by the creeping normalization of plastic surgery, botox etc.

mytwopenceworth · 02/07/2007 21:04

yes. I saw a female tennis player being interviewed. Do you know what she was asked? What will your dress be like.

She giggled and said wait and see.

What she SHOULD have said was what the fuck has that got to do with my tennis skills. Do you think I have invented an outfit that will win Wimbledon.

That gets the message across. I want to slap her for simpering when she should have been OUTRAGED.

hester · 02/07/2007 21:04

YANBU. It's vile.

DoubleBluff · 02/07/2007 21:05

I am not a prude, but i feel sad that a lot of young women feel that the road to fame and succeesss is to wear as little as possible and attach themselves to a rich and famous man.
How many women are well known at this moment in time for their intellect alone?

Janos · 02/07/2007 21:06

Dabbles, that is exactly what provoked my rant - the f'ing music channel.

Depressing, depressing, depressing!

mytwopenceworth, excellent post.

OP posts:
aimeesmummy · 02/07/2007 21:07

Posh Spice?

persephonesnape · 02/07/2007 21:10

as a slight aside, i feel sorry that my sons are bombarded with this - not just that I don't like the objectification - but i try to ensure that my boys don't just think women are there as bits of meat.

thats one of the ways that we start to combat it - not just by getting women to cover up and be ashamed of their sexuality ( although I accept you can express your sexuality in ways other than by shoving your crotch in a random passer-bys face) but by installing respect in our boys.

and by giving our daughters enough self respect to get by on their hidden talents rather than their DDs.

Nightynight · 02/07/2007 21:11

I agree with the sentiments of this thread as well.

rantinghousewife · 02/07/2007 21:11

Dont' get me started on plastic surgery, "I did it for myself" Oh please, give it a rest! Grrrr. Does anybody else think to themselves in a sarky tone of voice, "Of course you did, love"

Janos · 02/07/2007 21:12

i thats one of the ways that we start to combat it - not just by getting women to cover up and be ashamed of their sexuality ( although I accept you can express your sexuality in ways other than by shoving your crotch in a random passer-bys face) but by installing respect in our boys.

Hear hear.

OP posts:
Nightynight · 02/07/2007 21:13

there is an advertisement for some careers fair on the munich underground at the moment, which is a giant photograph of a female bottom wearing a thong, with the logo of the careers fair tatooed on one buttock.

I think its a careers fair anyway, I havent really looked too closely. I find this really bloody annoying.

ELF1981 · 02/07/2007 21:13

Will I get shot down as a anti-woman if I say it doesn't bother me?