A Sexy Dilemma

Why are there half-naked women literally everywhere? It’s impossible to go one day without encountering one of these images. What I find especially interesting is that many of these women consider themselves feminists and the exposure of their bodies to be some valiant act of feminism. Sure, these women are wealthy. They work hard and have created lives for themselves. I won’t take that away from them. What I don’t understand is why nakedness is empowering? Isn’t it just self-objectification? These women in magazines and advertisements are being portrayed as sexual objects. Their value is riding on the fact that they are beautiful, fit, and sexually appealing, rather than intelligence, compassion, or humor. It tells us that sexy women who are willing to expose the majority of their skin are the women worth listening to. There are those that would argue publicly embracing one’s sexuality is empowering, but I don’t believe that is true. This promotes the idea that women just bodies to be enjoyed, and not human beings. This idea complicates and halts the progress of the entire societal relationship between men and women.

Additionally, this just continues the unrealistic standard of beauty that is constantly being flashed in the faces of young people. There are so many women that feel inferior or worthless because they do not look like models and actresses. There are girls starving themselves. There are boys and men being taught to see women as playthings and not equals. It affects everybody in a negative manner. It tells us that being sexy is more important than being smart or being a good person. It causes us to aspire the wrong things, which by no means empowering. Girls should be thinking about being educated, doing things they love, and helping others rather than obsessing over how they can become more physically attractive. Boys should be taught to value these qualities in girls as well.