Objectification: it hurts me, it hurts my child, it's a silent poison to all of us.

I've been spending a lot of time recently wondering what kind of world Italia is going to grow up in.  I can't even begin to imagine what technology is going to be like when she's my age, what state our economy will be in, who will be running the political field, etc.  However, what I find myself dwelling on most, is how she will be effected by her female genitals.

Our country has come so far in the past 100 years.  Women can vote, own property, run multi-million dollar companies, and do so much more in so many ways.  Yet, in the past few years I've become more and more aware of one area where women are suffering greatly: female objectification.  To objectify a person means that they are made to appear as an inanimate object.  When it comes to women, there is almost always a sexual aspect to this.  Marketing, movies, TV shows, they are all full of female sexual objectification in which women appear as nothing more than dehumanized sexual "things" to be acted upon.  If female objectification is a new concept to you, or you simply want to learn more about it, this article is great at explaining how to recognize it.

Our culture is flooded in female objectification, and I'm terrified at the thought of my sweet little girl being one of its victims.  It's so pervasive that few people see the damage it causes, but those that understand the dangers of sexual objectification know that it goes hand in hand with rape culture (read this for an explanation of what rape culture is).  We are so used to seeing this objectification that when I point it out, people rarely understand why it is so disturbing.  One example that comes to mind is the Fast and the Furious movies.  They are wildly entertaining, and yet, it's littered with "sexy" women that add absolutely nothing to the story, never even speaking, they are there purely to provide visual pleasure for the heterosexual male viewers.  After watching the newest of these movies with several men, I mentioned that this movie seemed to objectify women even more than the previous ones, and while they very readily agreed with me, they failed to see why this was an issue I was concerned about.  They didn't understand that the more they see women as sexual objects in the media, the more likely they are to view the women they encounter as sexual objects.  

It's hard for even the best of people not to be effected by near constant exposure to these images.  One example of this that has long been a thorn in my side is how men and women a like feel the need to comment on whether or not an actress is "hot" or "ugly."  Apparently it is unacceptable in our culture for an actress to play a leading role if they are not at least an "8."  Yes, girls like to giggle over the sexy actors as well, I'll admit, I drool over Thor every chance I get, BUT I'm not in the least bit bothered by watching a movie staring an actor such as Jack Black, or Adam Sandler.  They have their own quirky, endearing qualities that make them attractive in their own rights.  So why is it that whenever Drew Barrymore (an actress that I personally love) comes up in conversation, without fail, some boy feels the need to speak negatively of her looks as though that somehow plays a role in determining how good an actress she is?  Female Sexual Objectification is the culprit.  The media has taught us that women are to be viewed first and foremost as sexual objects, therefore an actress MUST be visually sexually gratifying to be a good actress.  This means that if you're not down right "gorgeous" by cultural standards and you dream of being an actress, you better be happy with only ever being cast as the comedic relief.  But I'm not worried about this objectification because I think it will hurt Tali's future acting career, I have much more leering concerns.

This objectification effects every women.  Why do women feel the need to waste hours of their life remaining hair-free every where but their head?  Female Sexual Objectification.  Why do women waste thousands of dollars and countless hours covering up their natural beauty with foundations, bronzers, highlighters and blush?  Female Sexual Objectification.  We have been taught our whole lives that we need to be "pretty."  We try so hard to fit ourselves into this very narrow mold of how we believe we're supposed to look.  Hairy legs are not "sexy," blond eye lashes do not make for "flirty" eyes and if you glow in the dark you better be hitting the tanning bed the first chance you get!  How comfortable you feel in those skinny jeans does not matter so long as they make your butt look perky.  How much it hurts when you get that bikini wax is insignificant so long as it makes your partner happy.  I hope the absurdity of these last statements is wildly obvious.  What women want and feel IS important, far more important than how we will be sexually percieved. Doing something uncomfortable, or down right painful for the soul purpose of "improving" our appearance is wrong, Yet here we are.  You'd be hard pressed to find a girl that had never done something they didn't like for no other reason than wanting to be sexier.  You'd be hard pressed to find a girl that wasn't doing something they didn't like for the soul purpose of being "prettier" every day of her life.  We are so used to it that we've convinced ourselves that we don't mind, that we'er doing it for "us" (not the boy we flirt with in gym class, or the one we call husband).

Yet, even this is not what troubles me most about our objectifying culture. What keeps me up at night is the teenage boys that molest a female peer and come out as the "victims" in the media because they're future football careers are ruined.  Meanwhile the girl who's seeking justice for the horrible violation done to her body is the slut that was asking for it.  When a woman is made in to an object, things are done TO her. Objects are meant to be used and discarded. Objects are not people, they're tools.  Objects have no rights.  Women are NOT objects.  My daughter is a PERSON and she deserves to grow up in a world where that fact is not  undermined in the slightest. That world does not exist.  That world may never exist.

Women will never stop being objects so long as individuals continuely refuse to see it as a problem.  Recognize this poison. Acknowledge it. Demand change from those around you and slowly, women will become people again.