Posts filed under 'sexualization'
Is it just me, or is the term “sex sells” getting as old as the phrase “surf’s up?” CNN, being the intellectual news source that it is (ha!) reported on something quite relevant. Yes, they did a short piece on bikini-clad baristas in Seattle, Washington. Apparently, these baristas are making double and triple the usual tips because they are wearing bikinis while brewing coffee instead of um…clothes. The coffee kiosk is located across from the needle landmark Seattle is best known for.
(Click the photo to watch the video on CNN’s site.)
The first thing I felt while watching this news clip was a distinct chill. The second was an extreme sense of irritation. I thought back to my family vacations as a child and wondered how I would have felt as a little girl seeing two young women in bikinis selling their, ahem “merchandise” (pun intended). How awkward would that be, especially if my parents were around? I would wonder if that is what it meant to be a woman — that in order to double my income, I would need to “flaunt it.”
And can we bring it back to the weather? What happens when it rains? Do they accessorize with Ugg boots to keep warm? Does someone make Ugg pasties for these poor girls? It all looks pretty gloomy in the video clip.
I could go on about the continued sexualization of women. I could also comment on the body types of these women. Would they receive less tips if they were 15 pounds heavier? Does the employer discrminate against applicants based on their sizes?
Instead, I am going to encourage action. If you live in Seattle and you know the coffee stand this news story is referring to, write or call them. Tell them to put clothes on their employees! Write to your local government’s tourism department and file a complaint. What is the real attraction to Seattle? And if you’re traveling to Seattle, please don’t encourage it by going to this stand, unless you’re going to take a stand.
–A.J.
July 14th, 2008
I don’t know about you, but it really annoys me when ’80s cartoon characters are revamped using today’s technology. Take Alvin and the Chipmunks the movie. Modern day technology took the “cuteness” out of Alvin, Simon and Theodore and made them look all real and chipmunk-like. Yah yah, maybe its more “realistic” but I prefer them the 80’s way.
Of course nothing — and I mean nothing — takes the cake (pun intended) after what I saw yesterday. American Greetings has made a new version of Strawberry Shortcake. I’ve got a personal attachment to Ms. Shortcake. After all, I have her old lunchpail and my best friend’s mom called me Strawberry Shortcake for being short. How dare they make this new version of Ms. Shortcake with straight hair, a thinner body, and make-up? She’s more like Strawberry Short Tart! And then we wonder why we see nude pictures of teen idols like Vanessa Hudgens and Miley Cyrus. Ms. Nuevo Shortcake is targeted to a whole new generation of young girls. I can see it now. Little girls playing with their Disney Princess Collection dolls, except the threat is no longer a wicked witch, but Strawberry Short Tart threatening to take away their handsome prince and ruin their fairy-tale romance. You think I am exaggerating, but honestly, girls either have dolls that are frail and fragile waiting to be saved to play with or overly sexualized characters like Strawberry Shortcake (gosh, I never thought I’d say that!) or a Bratz doll. So is it any wonder that by the time they are teenagers they want to be sexy?
And what’s the rumour I hear about getting rid of Custard, her beloved cat? Apparently, Custard is being replaced by a cell phone. What?? That’s like making Theodore get rid of his cupcake pan for a machine gun! Okay maybe that is a bit of an exxageration, but Custard is an intregal part of Strawberry’s life (as the cupcake pan is to Theodore’s).
What’s next? I shudder to think.
– A.J.Per rendere piu avvincente la sfida, il blackjack casino online gratis e collegato ad una classifica online che funziona quando il giocatore inizia la partita con 100 crediti/ punti.
June 16th, 2008
It is appalling — yet not surprising at all — that middle and high school girls are sending nude pictures of themselves to their boyfriends. What I wonder is: Who started this trend? Was it Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical)?
Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana)? Is it simply a product of technological advances and exhibitionism, as a recent CNN article proposes? Or is it a combination of the two? I’m thinking it’s a combination, supplemented by the fact that girls and women are continually sexualized in today’s media culture and feel that their worth is based on how sexy they are or can be.
Though the show Sex and the City is controversial amongst people who fight for gender equity, I keep thinking about the episode “Hot Child In The City,” in which the character Samantha plans a Bat Mitzvah for an uber-wealthy, Upper East Side girl, Jenny Brier. The girl tries to act “grown-up” by buying Samantha and her friends $100 bottles of alcohol, dressing in tight, high-end clothes, and (this is the appalling part) talking about all the boys she’s either been with or pleasured with oral sex. Samantha, who is at first very envious of Jenny’s fortunes, later realizes that the one thing she had that Jenny Brier and her friends don’t have is a childhood.
And that is the end result of the oversexualization frenzy we are in — the loss of childhood and innocence. There isn’t anything wrong with expressing your sexual desires or feeling sexy, but who and what contributes to healthy sexuality is really in question, as well as the extent to which sexiness defines our self-worth. Girls learn from an early age what is desirable and “hot.” They also learn that “sexiness” is a source of power. Therefore, they become defined — and maybe even define themselves — by it. Generations before the past few had less media exposure and a chance to define their sexuality on their own and probably at a later age.
What do you think about the article? About this latest “trend”? What can we do to stop it? Please share your thoughts with us below.
-A.J.
June 11th, 2008
Even the chief executive of Victoria’s Secret thinks the chain may be getting too sexy, according to an article on the Associated Press (AP) web site. This is probably a reaction to the fact that sales have been slipping. I must admit that a sly smile crept across my face as I absorbed that info. Sisters, there’s a major point about capitalism and consumer power here: If we don’t like the message a company is putting out, and we stop buying the product because of it, the company may change its message. Keep that one in mind.
On a personal note, in the last few years, walking by the super-sexed-up mannequins in the Victoria’s Secret windows make me so uncomfortable that I can’t walk in a mall with my brother, father, or hohe auszahlungstrip poker vollversion gratispoker pc game freewarepoker regeln downloadonline 7 card stud spielenwww gratis pokeronline poker macwww poker regeln deno limit texas holdem rule,no limit texas holdem,no limit texas holdem tiponline poker reviewvideo poker casinoplay omaha poker online,strip poker free play online,play poker onlineplay poker,fun game home play poker,play online pokerfree video pokervideo poker softwareplaying poker onlinetexas holdem poker,free texas holdem poker site,free texas holdem poker downloadno limit texas holdem rule7 card stud hi lowfree online poker gameonline poker gamepoker sitepoker oddsvirtual pokeronline poker downloadmerchant credit card services,credit card merchant,internet credit card merchantcard consolidation counseling credit debtbad card credit credit discover,bad credit discover cardfirst premier credit card applicationbank one credit card,bank card credit disney one,bank card chase credit oneaccept credit card merchant account0 application card credit interest,0 balance card credit interest rate transfer,0 interest credit cardamerican airline credit cardcredit card debt statistics,teen credit card debt statisticsc card consolidation credit debt program ?,credit card debt consolidation,card consolidate consolidation credit debt debt dissolveyourdebt.cominstant decision credit cardfree credit card debt management,credit card debt management,card credit debt iowa managementcredit card payment,credit card payment system,credit card minimum paymentwashington mutual credit card servicesbank card credit orchard paymentcard credit free onlinecard credit debt free livingchase credit card home pagebank card credit securedcredit card numbers,card credit discover number phone? ?,change credit card numbercard credit debt help judgmentsecured credit card applicationbest card credit studentshell gas credit cardcard comparison consolidate credit debt uncle without my face turning red. Here’s a YouTube video of what those windows look like.
The rich irony here is that Victoria’s Secret was founded in 1977 by a man who, according to the AP article, was “embarrassed trying to buy lingerie for his wife and hoped to provide a comfortable place for men to shop.”
Heck, I was shopping there 15 years ago and loved it’s little “English boutique” feel with a sexy twist. But when Gisele and the crew came around (and the catalogs, OH the catalogs! Don’t even get me started!), I felt the need to get away from it all.
Let these guys know you support their change back to their roots. Here’s how:
1) Call them at (614) 577-7000
2) Fill out this form to e-mail your comments.
– J.B.
March 18th, 2008
Since a fairly young age, I’ve traveled all over San Francisco by myself. And I’ve been lucky enough to be aware of what I should expect from being a girl who consistently uses public transportation. Not everyone will treat you respectfully, and when you’re stuck in an uncomfortable situation, the first thing to do is to simply walk away. I’m now 18 years old, and being harassed on the street has become so common for me that I choose to ignore the catcalling and quickly continue on to my next destination. But recently, I was waiting for the bus and a man chose to expose himself to me. Again, I decided to walk away. At that moment, I’ve never felt more violated or outraged toward a complete stranger. It baffles me that there are people in this world who think that it’s okay to treat someone as a sexual object. When my thoughts cross this topic, a question continues to come to mind: Why should we expect this to happen? How have we become to accustomed to this mistreatment?
Starting with that unfortunate experience, I decided to do a little experiment. I asked 10 close girl friends of mine how often they are sexually harassed, and they all replied with the same answer; multiple times every day. Some of them only experience the typical catcalls, while others have been touched inappropriately or have also had men expose themselves in public areas. From catcalling to groping to indecent exposure, women of all ages are forced to endure these forms of harassment. I find it truly disgusting that this happens so often. I feel myself grow outraged whenever a man chooses to say something sexual toward me or another female, and my first reaction is to tell them how sick and immature they are. But I know in the back of my mind that my feelings would remain unacknowledged and they would most likely mock me for speaking up. It’s a lose-lose situation. If we ignore them, they’ll continue to say inappropriate things until we’re completely out of sight. If we speak up for ourselves, it turns into an argument that we probably won’t resolve.
Sexual harassment doesn’t only occur within metropolitan areas: this is a global issue. In the February 11th New York Times, I read an article addressing the issue of sexual harassment in Mexico City. It has become so common for a woman to be forced to deal with harassment there that the government has decided to have single-sex buses for women. While I think it’s about time action was taken to solve this issue, it’s depressing to think that harassment is such a common occurrence in everyday life. These women rarely report to authorities when they are sexually harassed—they simply deal with it. This past year, only seven women made official complaints of harassment on Mexico City’s buses. Since in San Francisco women experience it multiple times daily, I can’t even imagine how high the rate is in Mexico City.
Why does this happen? Media has such a strong influence on women’s images. From Abercrombie & Fitch ads and Sports Illustrated covers to Calvin Klein billboards, the media has enforced the general image of women to be almost always sexual. It has become way too common to see a woman in an ad exposing herself in a sexual way. No woman should have to feel uncomfortable for simply being a woman. It’s frustrating to know that even if we show the slightest amount of skin, we will be recognized for it in a degrading way. It’s not like we choose to wear outfits that reveal our skin because we like that kind attention or are trying to benefit the male population: We do it mostly for ourselves. Maybe we like how we feel in those clothes, perhaps it helps us feel trendy and comfortable. I want to know that on a hot day, I can wear shorts and be confident that I won’t be harassed. Until that day comes, I’ll have to continue with the simple method of walking away.
Holly Crimmins is eighteen years old and a senior in high school in San Francisco. She is a new intern for About-Face and is greatly anticipating graduating from high school and attending college next fall.
February 28th, 2008
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