Post 4 - Antonio Mihail

Policing Women’s Bodies

The policing of women’s bodies is not a new social issue. Ever since I can remember, women have been told what to wear, what to do with their bodies, and how they should act in public. All this policing occurs so girls can be in good terms with boys. Public and private Schools alike have dress codes which mainly pertain to girls’ clothes. For example, skirts should not be too short, shirts should not be too revealing, bra straps should not show, bras should be worn at all times, so boys and male teachers are not distracted in school. In addition, women are constantly being told what to do with their bodies by right wing politicians. Anti-abortion legislation is being pushed daily somewhere in the country by white, old, male politicians with whom abortion has nothing to do with. Also, women are taught from a young age to behave in ways that are “ladylike,” while boys’ behavior is condoned and accepted as normal. Concurrently, the media is complicating the situation by heavily sexualizing and objectifying women in an effort to push their social, economic, and political agendas.

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/dress-code-targeted-young-black-girls

The policing of women starts at a very young age. Young girls grow up with restrictions that are unfair and confusing. Girls are told what to wear and how to behave in certain ways in school. These restrictions do not apply to boys to the degree they apply to girls. “A 1990 study done at the University of Michigan found that, beginning in pre-school, girls are being told to be quiet much more often than boys. Although boys were noisier than girls, girls were told  to speak softly or to use a ‘nicer’ voice about three times more often. Girls were encouraged to be small, quiet, and physically constrained” (Kilbourne 139). Evidently, there is a social pressure for girls to be “nice,” “quiet,” and “ladylike” starting from a very young age. When girls do not fit these criteria they are judged and punished by school administrators. Punishments include being sent home when clothing not deemed appropriate is worn. However, what is considered appropriate clothing is usually determined by male officials and teachers. If visible bra straps of underage female students are distracting male teachers then these teachers should not be working in a school near children. Moreover, if school administrators are concerned with boys being distracted by girls’ bare shoulders then the issue at hand is how boys can we taught to have self control and to act in a respectful manner towards girls, so there can a be a more suitable learning environment for girls and boys alike.

The way media is portraying women is having an adverse effect on the way women are perceived and how they view themselves in society. Advertisements of all kinds contain half naked women in them in order to catch the attention of the viewers and to increase sales. However, such advertisements are objectifying women to a high degree. Men become the judges and women become the objects being judged. “Paris awards the apple to the woman he finds most beautiful. Thus beauty becomes competitive” (Berger page 52). The problem with judging women by their appearance is that we are limiting their powers. The male’s right to judge relegates the woman into a secondary role in which she has little to no power, other than her ability to turn on a man. This submissiveness also constitutes a competition on looks between women to get the attention of men who judge them on their beauty. This constant beauty competition between women creates feelings of insecurity, especially among young women. Young women believe that they need to buy certain products in order to be beautiful or fit beauty criteria. Thus, advertisers profit from these insecurities while women face the adverse social and emotional effects.  

http://neatoday.org/2016/01/06/school-dress-codes-gender-bias/

No matter how powerful and beautiful women are, they will never be acknowledged for both. They will either be acknowledged for one or the other. “Culture stereotypes women by flattening the feminine into beauty-without-intelligence or intelligence-without-beauty; women are allowed a mind or a body but not both” (Wolf 59). Women are constantly presented as sexual objects whose only purpose is to look good to please men. And when women are smart and hard-working, their sexuality is usually taken away from them. Very rarely are women portrayed as both good-looking and smart by media. According to the documentary Miss Representation, even female politicians are not respected for their work as professionals. Female politicians such as Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin are often judged by their looks instead of their actions as public officials. Clinton is usually called a “witch” while Palin is sexualized and admired for her looks. Both women were judged by the clothes they wore. This categorization of women of power based on looks transmits the wrong messages to people, and especially to young girls. It shows that women need to be good looking to achieve anything in their lives, and that they will never stop being judged on what they wear, no matter how powerful they become.

Overall, women are still being policed by men today. Schools, the job field, and the media have all played a role in reinforcing dress codes and representations of women in society. All these restrictions have been placed on women so a world in which boys and men are both pleased and “focused” could have been created. Even very powerful women in politics are not safe from objectification and ways in which they should carry themselves. Meanwhile, male politicians who openly objectify and harass women are just considered to just be “men.”

Work Cited

Berger, John. Chapters 2,3. Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting, 1972.

Kilbourne, Jean. Beauty and the Beast of Advertising.

Newsom, Jennifer Siebel, director. Miss Representation . 2011.

Wolf, Naomi. “Culture.” The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women.