While it is well known that the
generalized “Western Culture” (think of countries with Western
European roots) tends to be a patriarchal society, it is sad to see
the perpetuation of the traditions of sexualization of girls and
women in the twenty-first century. You don't think that messages of
females being eye candy and trophies still exist? I present to you
some issues that have arisen in the past few months in the United
States – a land of the free and equal, where women are allowed to
vote and wear whatever they want.
It starts at a young age:
By this point many of you have probably
heard about the “makeover” of the Disney princess Merida, from
the 2012 film Brave, that was
made just in time for her to be “crowned” a Disney Princess on
May 11th
of this year.
Instead of
maintaining the image of Merida as a teenager who defies princess
tradition by skillfully riding her horse while able to accurately
shoot her handy bow and arrow as her very frizzy red hair flies
behind her, she has been transformed into a bow-less,
bare-shouldered, more buxom young lady whose now thinner waist is
shown off very well as she wears the dress that she detested during
the movie.
As news reports of this event
continue to proliferate, many journalists and psychologists
are rightfully saying that what this change in appearance is teaching
the young girls who look up to Merida as an alternative from a
princess who needs rescuing (think Cinderella or Aurora from Sleeping
Beauty) that in order to be a
princess (and therefore pretty) a girl must be thin, feminine, have
tame hair, and expose some skin.
This is just sad. But then, it gets
worse as the girl grows older..
What we're telling tweens:
In March 2013, there was an
uproar about the launching of Victoria Secret's Pink's “Bright
Young Things” line. Though there is contention
about whether this new lingerie and swim wear is aimed at tweens or
not, the Pink brand, when launched in 2002, was aimed at “15-to-22
year olds.” So of course the younger sisters of the girls that this
line is aimed at (so girls who are 13 or 14) want to wear what their
older sisters are wearing – even if it's a lacy thong or undies
with the words “Call Me” on it.
It is just sad that teenagers and even
young adults are being told by society to wear underwear that will
perpetuate the idea that women must be sexual to be fashionable or be
liked romantically. Even saying that sex is part of romance is sad –
whatever happened to going on walks in parks instead of going to
night clubs? Yes, every girl is different and likes different sorts
of dates, but going on dates does not mean that the two involved in
the date must have sex.
But even when you break out of the
under layer, the world of casual clothing is just as disgusting and
sad.
The teenage years:
Through the years, the CEO of the
clothing line Abercrombie & Fitch has made remarks about why his
clothing line does not have larger sizes for ladies. The highly
spread quote of his that is inciting the most protests is “ ʻ
In every school there
are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool
kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive
all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of
people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are
we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are
trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you
become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t
excite anybody, either. ʼ
”
Though it's true he said this
exact statement seven years ago for an
article by Salon, it is being brought up now, when many teenagers
are coming of age in a land where it's hard to find easy, healthy
food options. He carries larger sizes for guys, because of course the
football-playing quarterbacks need fashionable clothes that will fit
them and their muscular body type. But girls? Nope. Nothing past size
large.
Isn't it hard enough for a young adult
who is trying to find his or her identity and comfort in his or her
own skin as he or she comes of age? Why add in the heartache and
societal confusion of not giving these larger boned individuals the
same options as their friends who may happen to be a few pounds
lighter? It's already hard enough for some of these young adults when
it comes to financial matters – not being able to buy whichever
brand that their more affluent friends can afford. Why add in the
next level of maybe not being able to fit into the clothing? Can you
imagine the disappointment some of these living, breathing, feeling
human beings may have when they finally come into the store at the
end of the summer to do back to school shopping with the money that
they earned by mowing lawns or baby-sitting and saved up only to find
out that the clothes they yearned for can't fit them?
The good news:
Despite some corporations in society
trying to tell our daughters, cousins, and friends that you must be
skinny and never challenge traditional gender roles, there is still
hope for the future.
Many people have signed an electronic
petition for Disney to “Keep our Hero Brave” and change the image
of Merida, the eleventh Disney Princess, back to the one with her bow
and quiver and her favorite dress that offers her mobility and
freedom.
Many of the more provocative underwear
for teenagers and young women made for the “Bright Young Things”
line have been discontinued.
As for A&F, change will be
hard (just read the
article from Salon about how hard headed the CEO, Mike Jeffries,
can be), but hopefully one day there will be clothing options for
teenagers of all shapes and sizes, without exclusionary practices
based on size.
In the meantime, there are
several new developments in the world of Abercrombie & Fitch.
Jeffries posted
an apology which many people do not seem to be buying. Greg
Karber, an avid Youtuber, has made a video that has gotten
much acclaim in which he gives out A&F clothing to the
homeless. Similarly, a blogger/vlogger Jes Baker, also known as the
Militant Baker, wrote a personal letter to Jeffries and added some
pictures of herself modeling in A&F clothing and partially nude
with a male model whose body type A&F would prefer. An article
written about her photo shoot can be found here,
where she publicly thanks Jeffries for bringing to the limelight the
sizeism that is present in our culture.
