Throughout the history of humanity, a woman has been assigned the role of being dependent on a man and, to some extent, subordinate to him. It seems to us that even though a lot has changed in the sexist-patriarchal structure of the world by the XXI century and it would be an exaggeration to talk about the time of real gender equality. In modern society, there are still stereotypes about gender roles. One of the factors indicating the continuing imbalance is the sexual objectification of the female body. Perhaps this is the most obvious and common form of maintaining the sexist status quo.
To give an example of the sexual objectification of the female body in real life, I asked a few questions to my friend Jane. The girl is 22 years old, and she has a job in the financial sector and has long hair and a good figure. Logic suggests that these three characteristics cannot be in the same row without a background. The main question I asked her was “what does it feel like to be a woman working in the financial sector?”
— There was a case when we came to a not very modern enterprise to agree on an issue with a person. And men are sitting there and making comments about a young, pretty lady. One director offered to undress me. It meant “take off your coat,” but the meaning was different. All the others in the room were men, so he made a reservation: “I would not like to undress them…” My colleagues are already adults; I expected one of them to say something: it’s defiant. But in the end, I saw only a mute position: “Well, you understand everything yourself…” Jane says that she does not ignore such remarks in a familiar environment. The girl realized that defending her borders could end badly for her in the same situation. And this is one of the examples of moral defenselessness.
— You will have to work with these people, and you imagine not only yourself but also the place of your work, — the girl explains. — It’s another thing if a person is on the same level as you. Then he needs to answer. Jane gives a recent example: – I come to work. A colleague leans on me and “sniffs” my perfume. The time is 8:35, I’m already wound up, and I don’t want anything, especially a man over me. Of course, I was outraged. He moved away, said: “Jane, I didn’t mean anything; otherwise, all sorts of feminists will write a statement to the police.” What’s the point of it at all if I’m just humanly uncomfortable?
After the previous story, the girl remembers an elderly teacher from the university, who often evaluated the busts and manicures of female students and reminded them about the birth of children.
– Everyone knew that on the first pair, he would say: “Let’s come with a red manicure to pass the test; I love it.” It was repeated from generation to generation; people understood it was something like a joke. But if you allow yourself to let them go, it doesn’t mean that they don’t hurt anyone in the audience. I want to believe that in 20 years, we will find ourselves in the world, where there will be no such nonsense. This behavior is considered normal in people from 40 and older, but young people rarely allow themselves to do this.
Jane explains that objectification is not a conversation about one person’s sexual desires, which he projects onto others. This demonstrates power in any hierarchy: for example, in the relationship of an adult and a young one, a boss and a subordinate.
– Let’s take this situation with perfume. I didn’t know how to explain what he was doing wrong now. Of course, if it were my boyfriend, I wouldn’t have anything against it. But why does a stranger, to whom I did not give consent, think that he can afford such a thing?
The girl believes that objectification does not end with sexual hints. She says that once she put on bright shadows and came to work (Scharrer, Warren, 2021). Some of my colleagues did not like it, expressed an opinion.
— Such behavior from the outside leads to self-restraint of a person. Next time, the girl will think that she is not taken seriously because of her wardrobe or cosmetics and throw away everything that others consider questionable. Once, after similar cases, I went for an interview. I didn’t wear makeup and pulled my hair into a ponytail because I knew the interviewer was a man. It’s just that this stereotype exists in our culture: if you come to work young and beautiful, you automatically become frivolous. And so, while you are a novice specialist, you have to adapt to these rules of the game.
In conclusion, one of the problems of the female gender role is the sexual objectification of the female body. The value of a woman’s body directly depends on her appearance and sexual functions and is considered a product, an instrument for satisfying erotic needs. No matter how sad it may sound, our entire culture is saturated with objectification: somewhere, this phenomenon is expressed more, somewhere less, but its signs can be easily seen in any corner of the world.
Reference
Scharrer, E., & Warren, S. (2021). Adolescents’ Modern Media Use and Beliefs About Masculine Gender Roles and Norms. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 10776990211035453. Web.