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Squinch

(53,693 posts)
1. Is this a fundamental pitfall of our lifecycle? Just an unformed thought as I read that.
Sun Feb 16, 2014, 09:05 AM
Feb 2014

When I was younger, in the full power of my sexual appearance, I used that power. I had a corporate job, and I knew that if I could combine competence with "showing leg," I would have entry to more places that I would with just the competence alone. Nothing sleazy by any means, but I wore the heels, and showed the leg. And it worked.

When I got older, the career changed and that attention was no longer part of the equation. I was delighted that I could be seen as a full person and not the person attached to that leg. But it was only when the attention went away that I realized how very high the cost of that attention was.

I don't know if you could have convinced me in my younger years that what I was doing was actually destructive to me, and there was no way for me then to understand the joy of - for lack of a better word - "personhood" that you experience when your appearance is not the primary reason for the attention you get.

Today we have Femen. I truly wonder if there is any way to convince young women that exploiting the primitive power that comes from the objectification of their bodies, and therefore themselves, has too high a cost for the benefits it brings?

Walter seems to have gone through the same attitude change.

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Is this a fundamental pitfall of our lifecycle? Just an unformed thought as I read that. Squinch Feb 2014 #1
i know i recognized the usage of body to get my way as inherently wrong. for whatever reason. seabeyond Feb 2014 #3
This is interesting to think about. We thought we were Squinch Feb 2014 #14
I don't know, sea - Tuesday Afternoon Feb 2014 #2
the fail is in the let down of the feminist movement. hence, speak up, loudly, hard and fast, every. seabeyond Feb 2014 #5
at some point, I think Feminists will need to aline with and, redefine as a Humanist Movement - Tuesday Afternoon Feb 2014 #8
move on. but... that very thing is what helped create the backlash today. raise our children as seabeyond Feb 2014 #9
I don't know. I try not to let DU3 cloud my vision of the world. Tuesday Afternoon Feb 2014 #11
I'd observe that dehumanization/degradation for monetary gain is not restricted to women... malthaussen Feb 2014 #15
I think I address that phenomenon with my post #8 in this thread. Tuesday Afternoon Feb 2014 #16
"We are the chorus, and we agree" malthaussen Feb 2014 #17
... lol ... Tuesday Afternoon Feb 2014 #18
Naomi Wolf warned us JustAnotherGen Feb 2014 #4
it was wrong when i heard it at 12, it was wrong when i realize even i felt i was subordinate to man seabeyond Feb 2014 #6
I still say the root of the problem is lack of diversity ismnotwasm Feb 2014 #7
that is what the world wide net gives us ism. i absolutely agree, but i think that is here and now. seabeyond Feb 2014 #10
There is a just the tiniest bit closer confirmation ismnotwasm Feb 2014 #12
i didnt read it the other day. seabeyond Feb 2014 #13
Part of this involves the twisted, bottom-line way our economy works starroute Feb 2014 #19
Thank you. This is not about sales. This was demonstrated very well just recently. redqueen Feb 2014 #20
I think that toys are more gendered than they were 20-30 years ago Nikia Feb 2014 #21
Latest Discussions»Alliance Forums»History of Feminism»the return of sexism. th...»Reply #1