Sexual Objectification of Women--when will it stop? - Page 2

Originally posted by: maha2us

Hi Arya, You say, 'As a girl I wish I had more grace. I am clumsy in that department.' 

Please don't degrade yourself. You have your own good qualities within you. Just practice being more accepting to yourself and you will get more grace. I guess you are a sincere person and you only want good for others. That way, you can cherish yourself. You are a love able person. But you have to accept this yourself.

Originally posted by: Quixotic5

First of all , I am no woman but as a guy I can say one thing 4 sure, women do like it when they are objectified,most of them do objectify themselves( showing off bras n stuff like that)..but the problem occurs when it is done in a grotesque,demeaning & degrading way.. women have been objectified since ages..and now they are getting bored of the over enthusiasm (indecency) that has been heaped upon them since ages...but the thing is even women wouldnt want the objectification to completely stop coz it is taken as an insult if guys r not into you that way & if they are ,it is shown through objectification..this kind of mentality is hard to get rid off..as far as men are concerned, what needs to be taken care of is that certain lines shouldnt b crossed, for example making a woman uncomfortable by staring/brooding at her ( some like it whereas others dont, u need to be smart to pick on these signals), eve teasing and more extreme things like rapes...however such evil things r born out of criminal/wicked tendencies 😡, objectification is fine, every guy objectifies some or the other girl (who he is attracted to) in his mind..but we cant label all these guys indecent or criminals 4 that..god I hope not..

I hope this "you" includes both men & women ...bcoz women are just as guilty as men in this case..self objectification is rampant nowadays..and this tendency is born out of an insane desire to win physical approval.. a lot of people especially women r too much into their looks now days (which is pretty evident in the thriving beauty & cosmetics industry worldwide) & they do whatever they can to win approval( even botox,silicon implants), or rather lusty approval from men & this is y i wish people would stop using the "behenji" tag bcoz such tags r designed to hurt the self esteem of women folk keeping in mind that most of them value themselves with respect to their ability to attract male attention..however this is a strictly two way street..while women end up doing crazy things to attract male attention which sometimes even turns into unwanted attention, men too do a lot of crazy things to win the approval of females & peers..even that is ok as long as it doesnt create problems 4 u & others around u..anything in excess is counterproductive & destructive..  

Originally posted by: simikr

 

First of all thank you for taking parting in a discussion on this topic. It helps so much to get a view from the other side as well. :)

You are welcome 😊 

There are a couple of things I'd like to comment on what you've stated:

 

I don't agree with you when you say that 'most' women like to be objectified and they also do it themselves. Yes certainly a few do-- but I think that comes from their inherent lack of self esteem and insecurity. Most women want to be treated with respect and as equals. They want their opinions to be heard and given importance. I've come across the kind of women you've mentioned. I and a lot of others I know, certainly don't belong in that category. I think that its important that we stop generalizing such issues.

Yes, I can c y ..hmm..yes, I do agree that lack of self esteem & insecurity can make girls prone to self objectification to win approval..which is y women from the entertainment industry r more prone to such things..but i dont agree to ur statement that "most" women want to be treated with respect & as equals bcoz I believe that ALL women & ALL human beings want to be treated with respect & as equals..😊but the problem is, I believe , most women feel that even respect/admiration can be obtained through self objectification, and I feel that if its done in a non-degrading, healthy way, it does work but when it crosses limits, its downright degrading ..yes, there are women who are fed up with objectification & want to be known for their talents & skills & not just for their sexuality..to be honest even guys do prefer girls who respect themselves when it comes to settling down..

However, I still stand by my comment that a lot of women participate in self objectification..because in a woman's world beauty is of utmost importance &since I am a guy, I do not speak without evidence either.. you & other women/girls that u know might be an exception in the rat race of "who is the fairest of all" , which is a good thing but the ever growing multi billion dollar beauty industry speaks otherwise..and the industry's major target customer are the women folk..this industry thrives on the womenfolk's inherent desire to look more appealing..irony is, now a days even men r prone to such tendencies..the whole meterosexuality thing has taken its toll on men too.. but the thing is, when a man is objectified, its mostly taken as a compliment since men were deprived of this luxury earlier..lol..anyways, i do feel that anything done in a limit isnt bad , however, anything in excess is a poison.. a proper balance is whats required..i find that people who r too much into their looks ( especially men bcoz IMO most women do know how to balance things) are narcissists...

When I said 'YOU' I meant filmmakers such as the likes of Karan Johar etc, who are young, fairly intelligent and appear to know the pulse of the modern youth. I used to have a better opinion of him--but now I'm not so sure.

Why blame Karan Johar & other film makers alone.. the actors/ actresses in their films are equally responsible..the actresses r especially more responsible since they tend to have legions of female fan followings, which mostly comprises of teen girls who look up to them..which raises the question,what do these girls admire so much in their favorite actresses?.. i m sure u wouldnt have to look far too deep 4 that , its usually the looks or dressing sense that captures their attention ..they worship these icons, idolize these icons & want to be more like them.. if majority of girls had a problem with objectification ( healthy objectification), they wouldnt worship these film actresses who r more often than not objectified in films as glam dolls.. 

 

I think they need to move beyond superficialities and promoting stuff that isn't true at all. They need to explore such topics in depth such as show the adverse effects of alcohol on health etc (boys and girls think its cool to drink--but do they know the consequences?) The same goes for casual sex. Being a physician I cannot help but err on the cautious side.

Particularly because movies and TV are very powerful ways to influence young adults who are probably the audience such movies are geared towards.

Yup.. and this perticular scenario includes a lot of things together with objectification of women..

However movies are supposed to b made for entertainment (atleast the commercial ones) , and people need to be able to differentiate between real life & fiction..there is even a disclaimer notice b4 a film begins to remind its audience of this fact..but yeah, even so it does affect the audience's mentality(which is partly the reason y films & film stars r so successful)  & thats the sad part.. the censor board exists to monitor movies to certain extent but thats that.. 

P.S. I absolutely hate the so called reality shows which promotes provocative notions amongst its target audience.. e.g. Splitsvilla..yuck!..🤢

However, coming to the major issue here, yes I do agree that people should stop generalizing it..its such a sensitive topic..and i certainly dont support the horrendous victim-blaming culture.. i tried my best to put forth my points with due consideration to this sentiment, and i hope u have not taken an offence to it..m sure u havnt since its a debate & both sides needs to b heard, and the points put forth will inturn help to arrive at a proper conclusion.. 

 

I'd not like to blame the 'society' ... and this is totally not the question of 'objectification' . Lets not talk about cinemas... it's a basic psychology, women enjoy showing off their bodies, they like showing their bodies... they do get satisfied when some people turn their heads as they walk. Perhaps not ALL, or not at ALL times. It's nothing wrong... according to me. It's just human nature. They want to show off their bodies.. it's because they want to.