Is feminism dead?
Oh man. I feel like a have a serious case of deja vu.
Yesterday, Kim Kardashian released another photo that caused controversy across the web. This time she was not nude, only topless, but still with a black strip covering her nipples, and this time she was not alone either. The photo also featured a topless (and very toned, might I add!) Emily Ratajkowski, a model and actress.
Considering that Kim had a) already done this before and b) was considerably more covered up this time, you think there'd be less outrage about this particular photo. Oh, how silly of me to assume that people would have gotten over the whole "women have breasts" thing.
Piers Morgan had to go and share his thoughts with us, didn't he? Unsurprisingly, they were just as ignorant as before. In fact, I think they were worse than before, because I had managed to ignore him and his comments when the first photo came around. Yesterday though, he genuinely made me angry. Here's some of the things he said in regards to the photo:
"RIP Feminism"
"Just a thought...you could always try wearing a little dignity?"
"Classy ladies. Real classy"
"If women genuinely think this photo advocates women's rights & equality, then feminism as it was intended is dead".
Oh Piers. Piers, Piers, Piers.
You are, unsurprisingly, missing the God damn point.
Why does this photo advocate women's rights and equality? Because men can upload naked/topless selfies online with no repercussions- why shouldn't women? If women can't, there's no equality in this particular situation. Women should be able to show off their bodies how they like, just like men can- that's what Kim and Emily are doing, and that's equality.
I'm not sure what it was about the photo that upset Piers, and many others, so much. Was it the appearance of Kim Kardashian and Emily's breasts? Which were, I hasten to add, covered quite considerably considering it was a topless photo. Was it the fact that they're "flipping everyone off" in the photo? Because I took that as a "fuck you, we can do what we want" and I loved it. Or was it because they are women doing what they want after people tried to tear Kim down the first time and she is strong enough to fight back?
Because I feel like that's the real problem here. After the abuse people gave Kim for the previous photo (you can read more about it in my previous post here) they probably hoped she had learnt her lesson and wouldn't do something so "offensive" again. And yet here she is, just a few weeks later, doing almost exactly the same thing again...people like Piers can't believe they didn't manage to quash her the first time around.
And then there's people like me, and all the other feminists in the world who see the photo for what it really is and take to social media to scream "Go girls! You rock!"
Because they do rock! They don't give two shits what people think about them, they love their bodies and they are embracing that. Hell yeah, if I had a body like Kim or Emily I'd want to be showing it off all of the time! They look great, they love themselves...they're essentially doing the same as any toned, hot, male celebrity who posts a topless photo (cough Justin Bieber Zac Efron Channing Tatum cough). The fact that people see these as two different things is the reason this is a problem of equality.
Not a day goes by where I don't see a shaving ad or an aftershave ad where there's a topless guy- or sometimes a guy wearing nothing but pants- selling a product, for everyone to see, including children. Do I take to social media to tell him what a "tacky", "classy" person he is, the way Piers and many others have done to Kim, and now Emily too? Do I mock the person they are, insult what kind of parent they must be? No, I do not. So why do people do it for women?
Feminism is about the equality of the sexes, yes. Which means it should be okay for women to post photos of their body as they please, the way it's okay for men to post photo's of themselves as they please. But feminism is also about choice, and the fact that some women, including Kim, are fortunate enough to make their own choices in life- something many women don't have the privilege of being able to do. Kim and Emily's photo represents a woman's choice to be able to do what she want's without having to answer to a man. A woman's choice to be who she wants to be, regardless of what other people want her to be. A woman's choice to be in control of her own body.
The sad fact of the matter here is that Kim and Emily still covered their nipples in this photo- something men don't have to do. Despite their standing up for posting photo's of their bodies, they still knew they had to cover their nipples to make it acceptable, to make it a photo that Twitter and Instagram wouldn't remove for being inappropriate.
Yet how many male's post photos that include their nipples?
The answer is a lot.
As I've said before, nudity isn't for everyone, and to post a nude or topless photo of yourself, as a woman, in today's highly patriarchal society, is definitely a bold move to make. Yet if a woman is comfortable enough to post a "provocative" photo such as Kim has done, and Emily has now done too, they should not be dragged for it. Thanks to feminism, (and the work of Emmeline, you'll be pleased to note Piers!), both of these women are in their dream careers, not stuck at home raising a family and not being able to work (although there's nothing wrong with no working to raise a family- as long as that's your choice, not someone else's!). Thanks to feminism, Kim and Emily are both independent women who can do what they like without having to answer to a man. Thanks to feminism, Kim and Emily can openly love their bodies however they choose to. Thanks to feminsim, Kim and Emily have the freedom to make choices. Feminism is indeed about equality, Piers, and thanks to equality it has given women so many more options in life- some of which Kim and Emily have definitely taken advantage of.
Piers, if you think this photo proves that feminism is dead, you are wrong. So, so wrong. This photo proves that feminism is alive and well, for some women anyway, and that women are growing stronger and more proud of themselves and their bodies every single day. It is not the photo that screams "RIP Feminism" but rather the reaction to the photo from the likes of you- being nasty about women, trying to prevent women from loving themselves and trying to tear them down for them being independent and confident enough to do as they please.
There is nothing disgusting or embarrassing about a mans body. There is nothing disgusting or embarrassing about a woman's body. If seeing the tummy and the tops of a woman's breast in a photo makes you feel uncomfortable, that is a problem for you to deal with, not women. As Emily so wonderfully put:
"However sexual our bodies may be, we need to have the freedom as women to choose when and how we express our sexuality"
Piers, take note. Feminism is alive more than it is dead. Women will fight back against oppression as much as they can, myself included. And a man stuck in his old fashioned ways is not going to hold us back.
Equality for the sexes always- ALWAYS.
Love from,
Florence Grace
P.S. The next time a male posts a topless selfie, I hope that you will tell them how tacky they are. Because that's only fair, right?
Or you could just get over it, deal with the fact that both men and women can show off their bodies and move on to a more interesting story.
Yesterday, Kim Kardashian released another photo that caused controversy across the web. This time she was not nude, only topless, but still with a black strip covering her nipples, and this time she was not alone either. The photo also featured a topless (and very toned, might I add!) Emily Ratajkowski, a model and actress.
 |
| Photo credit: Emily Ratajkowski Twitter |
Considering that Kim had a) already done this before and b) was considerably more covered up this time, you think there'd be less outrage about this particular photo. Oh, how silly of me to assume that people would have gotten over the whole "women have breasts" thing.
Piers Morgan had to go and share his thoughts with us, didn't he? Unsurprisingly, they were just as ignorant as before. In fact, I think they were worse than before, because I had managed to ignore him and his comments when the first photo came around. Yesterday though, he genuinely made me angry. Here's some of the things he said in regards to the photo:
"RIP Feminism"
"Just a thought...you could always try wearing a little dignity?"
"Classy ladies. Real classy"
"If women genuinely think this photo advocates women's rights & equality, then feminism as it was intended is dead".
Oh Piers. Piers, Piers, Piers.
You are, unsurprisingly, missing the God damn point.
Why does this photo advocate women's rights and equality? Because men can upload naked/topless selfies online with no repercussions- why shouldn't women? If women can't, there's no equality in this particular situation. Women should be able to show off their bodies how they like, just like men can- that's what Kim and Emily are doing, and that's equality.
I'm not sure what it was about the photo that upset Piers, and many others, so much. Was it the appearance of Kim Kardashian and Emily's breasts? Which were, I hasten to add, covered quite considerably considering it was a topless photo. Was it the fact that they're "flipping everyone off" in the photo? Because I took that as a "fuck you, we can do what we want" and I loved it. Or was it because they are women doing what they want after people tried to tear Kim down the first time and she is strong enough to fight back?
Because I feel like that's the real problem here. After the abuse people gave Kim for the previous photo (you can read more about it in my previous post here) they probably hoped she had learnt her lesson and wouldn't do something so "offensive" again. And yet here she is, just a few weeks later, doing almost exactly the same thing again...people like Piers can't believe they didn't manage to quash her the first time around.
And then there's people like me, and all the other feminists in the world who see the photo for what it really is and take to social media to scream "Go girls! You rock!"
Because they do rock! They don't give two shits what people think about them, they love their bodies and they are embracing that. Hell yeah, if I had a body like Kim or Emily I'd want to be showing it off all of the time! They look great, they love themselves...they're essentially doing the same as any toned, hot, male celebrity who posts a topless photo (cough Justin Bieber Zac Efron Channing Tatum cough). The fact that people see these as two different things is the reason this is a problem of equality.
Not a day goes by where I don't see a shaving ad or an aftershave ad where there's a topless guy- or sometimes a guy wearing nothing but pants- selling a product, for everyone to see, including children. Do I take to social media to tell him what a "tacky", "classy" person he is, the way Piers and many others have done to Kim, and now Emily too? Do I mock the person they are, insult what kind of parent they must be? No, I do not. So why do people do it for women?
Feminism is about the equality of the sexes, yes. Which means it should be okay for women to post photos of their body as they please, the way it's okay for men to post photo's of themselves as they please. But feminism is also about choice, and the fact that some women, including Kim, are fortunate enough to make their own choices in life- something many women don't have the privilege of being able to do. Kim and Emily's photo represents a woman's choice to be able to do what she want's without having to answer to a man. A woman's choice to be who she wants to be, regardless of what other people want her to be. A woman's choice to be in control of her own body.
The sad fact of the matter here is that Kim and Emily still covered their nipples in this photo- something men don't have to do. Despite their standing up for posting photo's of their bodies, they still knew they had to cover their nipples to make it acceptable, to make it a photo that Twitter and Instagram wouldn't remove for being inappropriate.
Yet how many male's post photos that include their nipples?
The answer is a lot.
As I've said before, nudity isn't for everyone, and to post a nude or topless photo of yourself, as a woman, in today's highly patriarchal society, is definitely a bold move to make. Yet if a woman is comfortable enough to post a "provocative" photo such as Kim has done, and Emily has now done too, they should not be dragged for it. Thanks to feminism, (and the work of Emmeline, you'll be pleased to note Piers!), both of these women are in their dream careers, not stuck at home raising a family and not being able to work (although there's nothing wrong with no working to raise a family- as long as that's your choice, not someone else's!). Thanks to feminism, Kim and Emily are both independent women who can do what they like without having to answer to a man. Thanks to feminism, Kim and Emily can openly love their bodies however they choose to. Thanks to feminsim, Kim and Emily have the freedom to make choices. Feminism is indeed about equality, Piers, and thanks to equality it has given women so many more options in life- some of which Kim and Emily have definitely taken advantage of.
Piers, if you think this photo proves that feminism is dead, you are wrong. So, so wrong. This photo proves that feminism is alive and well, for some women anyway, and that women are growing stronger and more proud of themselves and their bodies every single day. It is not the photo that screams "RIP Feminism" but rather the reaction to the photo from the likes of you- being nasty about women, trying to prevent women from loving themselves and trying to tear them down for them being independent and confident enough to do as they please.
There is nothing disgusting or embarrassing about a mans body. There is nothing disgusting or embarrassing about a woman's body. If seeing the tummy and the tops of a woman's breast in a photo makes you feel uncomfortable, that is a problem for you to deal with, not women. As Emily so wonderfully put:
"However sexual our bodies may be, we need to have the freedom as women to choose when and how we express our sexuality"
Piers, take note. Feminism is alive more than it is dead. Women will fight back against oppression as much as they can, myself included. And a man stuck in his old fashioned ways is not going to hold us back.
Equality for the sexes always- ALWAYS.
Love from,
Florence Grace
P.S. The next time a male posts a topless selfie, I hope that you will tell them how tacky they are. Because that's only fair, right?
Or you could just get over it, deal with the fact that both men and women can show off their bodies and move on to a more interesting story.
HEAR HEAR! PREACH!
ReplyDeleteChichi
http://chichi-writes.blogspot.co.uk/
P.S. I think you should Tweet this post to Piers himself.
Also, I think it's very ironic how as a tabloid journalist (who writes for publications which objectify women) he has felt entitled to speak about feminism.
Haha I should do shouldn't I! Wonder what he would think! Yes I couldn't agree more, he has no place to say what is "feminist" and what is not given his past careers!
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