Hi guys. My male bestfriend and I got into this heated debate about women and power. Right off the bat, I'm not too sure how this is associated with our unit but since it has something to do with female representation on facebook, it shouldn't be too off tangent!
So I'm not sure if any of you are aware of the 'I like it on the ...' status updates on FB. Basically, it's intention is to raise awareness for Breast Cancer, with it being October - the Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this trend started last year, with people (always and normally female) copying certain information onto their FB statuses based on what bra colour they are wearing for that particular day.
This year, female users are encouraged to write 'I like it on the ...' based on where they first place their handbags when they get home. The more popular ones are, 'I like it on the floor' and 'I like it on the chair' (these are based on my personal FB status updates from friends).
So here's the deal: my friend immediately bombed a 'Women are only powerful through sex' at me and it got me really, really frustrated. Of course, in the heat of my anger I retorted almost immediately that THAT'S NOT TRUE. (By the way, this whole thing happened through text messaging. I couldn't express my real anger so I was just jabbing my keypad furiously - I pity my phone for taking the punch).
He asked then, why is there a need to raise awareness through quotes that insinuate sex thereby associating women with sex. I explained that the intent plays a role, bearing in mind that women as it is have already been heavily objectified through commercialism.
I'm asking you now of your views on this whole Breast Cancer Awareness on FB issue. Is it really fair that we are encouraging women to attach sexual connotations in our deeds to do good? Or are we simply just amplifying the fact that women, are after all, only good for sex.
ps. Please forgive me if this all seems like a big mad mess, because I had really just wanted to find an outlet to ramble on, and this seemed like a perfect idea.
pps. You don't really have to give your views if you don't want to, but I would appreciate it very much as I try to solely debunk this unjustified accusation.
I think the question your friend asked assumed too much. He asked, "Why is there a need to raise awareness through quotes that insinuate sex thereby associating women with sex?" I don't think there is a need to raise awareness through quotes that insinuate sex at all - it was just a way of getting people's attention. But the fact that the people looking at those statuses (eg "I like it on the floor") and thinking straight away of sex just goes to show how much power sex really does have... Just because women are harnessing this power to create awareness doesn’t mean that they are only powerful through sex. A woman could post on her facebook "I support Breast Cancer Awareness month" and it would probably give her the same amount if not more power for taking it seriously.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading over my comment again, I'm not actually sure how right I am in what I said. I'm going to put "I support Breast Cancer Awareness Month" as my status and see how much feedback I get, and hopefully that will prove my point.