Documentary film directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Quick! Who is Nikki Haley?
No clue? Okay. How about Lene Vestergaard Hau?
Still no? Well, then who is Marta Vieira Da Silva?
Drew a blank, right? That’s okay–you’re not alone. Probably very few people would know who any of these women are.
So let’s try a different set of names.
Who is Angelina Jolie?
Who is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley?
Who is Jennifer Lopez?
My guess is that you drew a blank on the first three women. They are as follows:
- Nikki Haley: the current, and first woman, Governor of South Carolina
- Lene Hau: a current woman physicist who was able to slow light…then stop it altogether
- Marta Vieira Da Silva: one of the greatest soccer players of all time…and she happens to be a woman.
The second three were probably easier–I’m sure you knew at least two of these women:
- Angelina Jolie: actress, “sexiest woman in the world” in 2005
- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley: Victoria’s Secret Supermodel and actress, “sexiest woman in the world” in 2011
- Jennifer Lopez: singer, another “sexiest woman in the world” in 2011
Sure, I can see why you might say I’m a bit of a cheat. I named three of the most famous women in the entertainment field. Who wouldn’t know their names? But ask yourself this: why is it that they are so famous? What makes these three stand out? Aside from some films and music, what are these three–Angelina, Rosie, and JLo–known for?
They’re known, they’re incredibly famous, for their looks. Each one has won the title “Sexiest woman in the world” from various publications. It’s not all about their accomplishments. It’s about their bodies.
That’s what objectification is all about.
So what can we do about it? How do we change things so that “sexy” and “hot” are no longer the most desirable traits women can have, and instead move to “smart” and “capable”?
It has to start now, and it has to start with each one of us. We have to be the ones to guide our kids–yes, both girls and boys–into a new understanding of how to relate to, and think about, girls and women. We want girls to stop buying into the body trap, to stop thinking it’s all about their looks, and to stop handing their power and their self-confidence over to those who would exploit them.
We also need to help other women, and men, understand that judging someone on their appearance, on their body, is wrong. Reducing a person to a face or a body turns them into an object, a piece of meat for the consumption of a select group of people who lack basic respect for the dignity and personhood of women.
So how do we do it?
There are a number of things we can each do within our own families, schools, and communities to build up the self-respect and power of our girls and, by extension, our women.
The first and most easy is to start having #TheConversation with our girls and boys, which I discussed in the Monday Challenge. Start talking about the roles girls play, and how they are treated by boys and each other. Talk about the sex-centric ads in the magazines, and discuss how women are portrayed in the media. Talk about body image, and really listen to the girls (and the boys, too) in your life as they tell you what it’s like for them out there now.
If you have been following the Twitter feed for #TheConversation, spearheaded by Ashley Judd, you probably know where to start; if not, take a look there. It is enlightening.
The second thing to do is to watch the video, below, from “Miss Representation“. From the Miss Representation “About Us” page:
It’s Time To Represent the Real Me
The film Miss Representation exposes how American youth are being sold the concept that women and girls’ value lies in their youth, beauty and sexuality. It’s time to break that cycle of mistruths.
In response we created MissRepresentation.org, a call-to-action campaign that seeks to empower women and girls to challenge limiting media labels in order to realize their potential.
We are uniting individuals around a common, meaningful goal to spark millions of small actions that ultimately lead to a cross-generational movement to eradicate gender stereotypes and create lasting cultural and sociological change.
The trailer for the film is below, and it is an eye-opener. Give it the 2 minutes and 48 seconds it will take for you to watch the clip. Then explore the website. You can even find a screening of the full film near you.
It’s time we change the mindset; don’t we want our girls to be strong, smart, capable, and self-assured? Don’t we want our boys to be kind, compassionate men who don’t look at women and judge them solely by their looks?
We can change societal expectations–but it takes each of us to stand up and make that happen.
Enjoy the video. Share it with your kids, your friends, your nieces and nephews, your grandchildren, your school. You won’t be sorry you did!
Aloha!
If you had just said “Marta”, I would have known her right away!! I think I can be forgiven for not knowing the Governor of S. Carolina, though, just as I wouldn’t expect you to know who Kathy Dunderdale is (premier of Newfoundland).
I blanked on the models. They never enter my sphere of influence and I have no idea who they are. So maybe I’m doing something right….?
I think it’s human nature to react to appearances. Where does the boundary get drawn, though? I used to think men objectified women, but in the past several years I have come to realize that women are far crueler to other women than are men. In fact, I suspect that the standard of appearances that men look for in women is far more reasonable and fluid than what women expect of themselves and each other.
Women are really, really mean about each others’ bodies. Really mean. I hear it every day. It’s one of the things that has started to drive me away from social media like Facebook. Women judging other women is incredibly hard to listen to, especially since no one’s opinion of your looks or body matters but yours.
A quick note of a possible typo: Adriana Lima is in your first set of lists and JoLo is in your second. Are the lists supposed to correspond? If not, my mistake!
Posted by VickyTH | April 25, 2012, 9:08 pmThank you for the note on the typo, I had a middle schooler demanding my attention as I was reviewing it and I didn’t catch that. Yes, the lists were supposed to correspond. I decided JLo was a better choice but forgot to delete Adriana!
I agree–women are way more harsh. But the ads are targeted to men specifically, so both are a concern. I know that women are far more judgmental–I often say women put on makeup not for men, but for other women. It’s all about pressure. And that’s part of what really needs to change.
Posted by AlohaKarina | April 25, 2012, 10:43 pmThis is a very very worthwhile posting! I clicked the “email to” button at the top, to send it to my daughter. She’s studying to be a social worker and does a lot of volunteer work with an anti-human trafficking coalition in orlando. I know she’ll be highly interested in spreading the Miss Representation message among her peers.
Posted by SmallHouseBigGarden | April 25, 2012, 10:46 pmThanks for sharing it. I have been reading a lot about human trafficking and it is incredible and unacceptable that this is going on. It seems to be getting worse, too–tonight I was reading an article online about a 17 year old, trafficked through an online site by a man she was hoping would be her boyfriend. She made him $30,000…and got nothing but a pair of heels. She’s out of it, thankfully, but others aren’t.
I’m so impressed with what your daughter is doing. Good for her!
Thanks again!
Posted by AlohaKarina | April 25, 2012, 10:52 pm