Girls grow up and become women, but no one tells them the baggage they have to carry with them through the fast changing society we live in today. Nowadays, issues such as stereotypes, discrimination and objectification still shape society in such a way that we can find extremes in the feminist movement.
Our society has created an ambiguous and negative meaning for feminism and for what this should represent for women, and men as well.
Even though there are so many issues to be discussed I chose to talk about objectification, because for most women, and men, it is a part of daily life.
There are many ways in which a woman can be objectified and it starts very young. For instance, in children’s books or TV shows, male characters outnumber female ones. I feel that emancipation for a woman happens when she can fulfill her goals without being stopped by situations that shouldn’t be happening in the first place, such as sexual objectification.
Sexual objectification however, is the most common and most visible. As I am sure is the case for many women, I have been treated as a sexual object by passing men on one too many occasions.
I have also heard many of my male-friends voice their wonder as to how I am not taking this unwanted attention as flattering. For me it is quite obvious that treating a person as a commodity, without having any regard for their dignity, feelings or personalities has repercussion.
Men can be affected too – since not all of them objectify women, but sometimes, all men are put, unfairly, in the same category.
However, as a woman in a society where values and goals change rapidly, talking about women’s rights, feminism, and drawing attention to issues such as sexual objectification, shouldn’t be looked upon carelessly.
By Alexandra Paduret
The Rabbit Newspaper 