even when men are trying to be supportive of liberal causes, women are othered

[UnDeuxTroisCatsSank]

This sentimental meme is all over my FB feed today. Could be worse, I suppose. Could have Britain First memes. But still. Am I the only one who is struck by - yet again -
To be male is normal, the male gaze is normal and women are STILL objectified in a liberal thought piece like this?

"France embodies everything religious zealots everywhere hate: enjoyment of life here on earth in a myriad little ways: a fragrant cup of coffee and buttery croissant in the morning, beautiful women in short dresses smiling freely on the street, the smell of warm bread, a bottle of wine shared with friends, a dab of perfume, children paying in the Luxembourg Gardens, the right not to believe in any god, not to worry about calories, to flirt and smoke and enjoy sex outside of marriage, to take vacations, to read any book you want, to go to school for free, to play, to laugh, to argue, to make fun of prelates and politicians alike, to leave worrying about the afterlife to the dead."

Haaa and I read "to enjoy sex outside of marriage" in completely the wrong way! I now realise it's probably "sex while unmarried".

I actually sort of think it's a harmless meme, and the women in short skirts bit is directly referencing the (absence of) hijab. It is relevant that women in france can wear short skirts if they want because the can't in Sharia law.

It's mirroring the sexist nature of religious extremism.

"To go to school for free" is maybe meant to differentiate France from countries where one has to pay for education?

Germany has free universities, (as in, you don't have to pay to go there) which is a really good thing and I would mention as one of the good things about the country.

I actually sort of think it's a harmless meme, and the women in short skirts bit is directly referencing the (absence of) hijab. It is relevant that women in france can wear short skirts if they want because the can't in Sharia law.

But that's not at all what the writer says. He talks of the rights that "beautiful women" have in France, not women. It is through the lens of men's priorities. Thank goodness beautiful women have the right to wear short skirts and laugh. Not for them, their rights are not priority. Otherwise it would say "women in short skirts smiling or scowling". It is about pretty women only. That's why I don't like it.

But the meme is celebrating joy and freedom which are things religious extremism is determined to take away. There is nothing joyous to celebrate about a scowling face.

True, it would be more poignant and realistic to have written "the freedom to see a woman in a short skirt crying tears ftom her eyes because her son has just been murdered by a Jihadi". But that is no cause for celebration.

You can't see the face of a woman smiling in public, in Sharia law. a woman's face is covered. A woman's joy is hidden. We have the freedom to share joy.

A coffee, a croissant, a pretty lady.

Awwwww

Bleurgh.

Yes. It's very clear that the writer thinks beautiful women in few clothes are there for his enjoyment, like buttered croissants. It's not the women's freedom to wear what they like that is highlighted, but his freedom to look at them. Yuck.

Women have the right to wear short dresses in France (If they're beautiful) but burqas, not so much.

This is from years ago, but there was a French politician named Edith Cresson, who was quoted as saying something like "When I go to England or America, I can walk down the street and the men all ignore me. It must be because they're all gay there." Sometimes one despairs.