Objectify me NOT!
Newsflash, women are in control of their lives… especially their bodies.
As today marks the ending of Women’s History Month for 2020, we look back and reflect on woman of not only past but of our current world and our future to come.
Although we have come a long way from fighting for the right to vote or job equality, in today’s society there are still some issues that persist with treating women as an individual. One of these issues being the objectification of women.
Throughout history we’ve seen the trials and tribulations women had to overcome to be treated as an equal and gain respect and even up until this day, it is still an up hill battle.
In this HuffPost article, the study of both men and women in the are analyzed but they differentiate how both are viewed. Starting with the title of the article being “Brain sees Men as a Whole, Women in Parts”, the tone of the entire article is briefly summarized. It sums up that basically men are judged as a whole whereas women are picked apart and judged based on individual features. They are being sexually objectified and people are judging them based off of individual body parts, not for them as a whole. This article brings light to how the difference of how women are viewed using both data and experiments. Without the use of aggressive language, Huff brings to light the break down of judgement on both men and women but that women are more critically analyzed due to their features.
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Weighing in on picking women apart and viewing them in parts, taking a look back at Nicki Minaj’s 2015 wax figure, that is exactly what happened.
After the unveiling of Nicki Minaj’s new wax figure at Madame Tussauds in Las Vegas, Nevada back in 2015, the figure quickly sparked controversy and quickly went viral on the internet. She was pictured on all fours and although she approved of the figure and was proud to have it to share with the world, some took the opportunity to turn it into a negative setting.
The video explains how people have been spotted posing inappropriately with the wax figure and this is a form of humiliation and degrading to the female body. The female host in the video explains the connection to the past and how Nicki’s body was “taken out of context”. She recognizes Nicki’s satisfaction with her wax figure, however, the female host believes that the display compared to the history of Sarah Baartman.
What the video highlights is how women’s bodies are objectified and disrespected. Rather than being celebrated properly, they are viewed almost as entertainment which degrades them as an individual.
In light of disrespect to the female body and degrading, this evokes the major controversy in Pop Culture pertaining to the rapper T.I and his daughter Deyjah Harris.
Around the ending of 2019, the rapper T.I as he went on the “Ladies Like Us” podcast and revealed that he along with his 18 year old daughter Deyjah Harris takes yearly trips to the gynecologist to ensure that her hymen is “still in tact”.
Not only were fans shocked but they were also disgusted with the invasive treatment his daughter has to go through.
Analyzing an articles written on the New York Post, we see that there is a shift in the tone. They’ve clearly showed which side of the argument they are more likely to defend. With their opening statement being “You can do whatever you like but not if you’re T.I’s daughter”, they not only reference one of his famous songs but they flip the mood of it into a negative. What the article is showing is that he is in control of what his daughter does with her body. This article focuses on what negative feedback people think about his action and how it can be a form of sex shaming. Coming from a sense of objectivism, in a way she most definitely was objectified. She is not in charge of her body as a woman and a man (her father) has that control. In a sense, the article shines light on objectified young ladies with strict fathers. But in this case, T.I has definitely taken things to a different level.
As life goes on and the world continues to change, we can have faith in women one day not being viewed as sexual beings but rather the individual that they, themselves stand for. Not only is it degrading but it takes a way from the history and achievements that women have come from. As objectifying women is still a big controversy, it is still a work in progress that one day equality will come is ALL forms for both men and women around the world.
