Objectifying women

[tavarish]

My point is that some woman who choose to objectify themselves in adulthood were objectified in childhood before they had a choice. To them its normal. I won't deny for a second that some of them are just attention-seekers. But the whole 'hate the players' thing would make more sense if it was only adults. In my opinion, child pageants are as much of a form of indoctrination as churches.

Some children raised in an environment where they are sold as sex slaves treat sex much differently than the rest of us. Upbringing has a lot to do with values later in life, but they're not necessarily irreversible. You seem to think that indoctrination isn't administered by people, but held as some kind of evil unwritten ideal.

True, this is the internet. However I never claimed to be a supermodel. I merely said attractive.

Supermodel was merely an analogy.

I work at a DMV. Hence the lack of a human resources department. Where I am, the DMVs are privately owned and operated, but audited by the government.

DMVs are usually privately operated, but they usually have a central hiring station and human resource department. What state? I'm only familiar with those on the East Coast.

Even without a human resource department, you can file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, if the DMV is registered (as it should be), or file suit if you find it to be that much of an issue. There are always options and always those that will fight for your cause if it holds merit.

Personally, I think there should be a line drawn by common sense. I am working, and there are probably a lot of others behind you in line. I am not here to look pretty, I am here to help you register a vehicle or whatever the case may be.

I really don't understand the issue. You're angry because in a position where you have face to face contact with hundreds of people a week, some men take it upon themselves to try to ask you out? If it's such an issue, why work there? Obviously the reward outweighs the risk - or you're a glutton for punishment.

I'll take for example my girlfriend, who worked as a waitress for a few years, and got hit on absolutely everyday she worked without fail. Why is it an issue to just tune those people out and take it in stride, taking appropriate action when things escalate? I'm sure your bosses don't want a lawsuit on their hands for sexual harassment, so convey your emotions to them instead of idly complaining on a forum. Life isn't fair, but you do have cards at your disposal you're not using.

Male role models are a hell of a lot more varied. There are male role models celebrated for their intelligence (James Bond, Batman- World's Greatest Detective, Bruce Banner is a scientist, Tony Stark is a genius). Some are even physically deformed (Jonah Hex, Sin City's Marv, Heroes' Peter Petrelli gets a facial scar, Avatar's Jake Sully saves a whole planet despite being confined to a wheelchair).

What the hell are you talking about?

James Bond, Batman, The Hulk, and Iron Man are mostly womanizing men of power that have no qualms with killing people when the circumstances call for it. By the way, Jake Sully in Avatar wouldn't have done shit if it wasn't for Neytiri.

You're also not looking at the big picture. How many villains are women? Nameless henchmen?

Comic book heroes apply more to men than women because men are usually more visual and purchase and collect more comics than women. Conversely, if we look at an industry catered to women, for instance, romance novels, then the tables are turned as far as protagonists and role models go.

The vast majority of female role models are just good-looking bimbos with no real talent. Female superhero movies tank. When an intelligent female does appear in movies, it's typically a secondary or love interest role.

Female superhero movies tank because they're fucking boring and usually have shit writing and story development. In fact, most superhero spinoff movies suck donkey dick - as a general rule.

You want intelligent female roles? Didn't they just make a second Sex and the City movie with 4 main female roles - all of them successful? How about any of the countless romantic comedies where the man is portrayed as a bumbling idiot and the woman as a professional? Did you suddenly forget about those?

And when was the last time you saw a scarred/deformed woman in the media?

Have you seen the movie Precious? The main character isn't exactly scarred/deformed, but she is certainly 180 degrees removed from a Britney Spears lookalike, and it won best picture at the Oscars this year, along with a host of other awards.

My point is that we are largely stuck with one ideal, and that doesn't bode well for impressionable young girls.

And that isn't true at all.

So normal is unintelligent but good-looking girls with no self-restraint and a drug problem? (Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Anna Nicole Smith) Or spending your life on reality shows or making fashion lines between plastic surgeries? (Heidi Montag, Tori Spelling, Victoria Beckham, Donatella Versace) Seriously?

You do realize that the reason tabloids were invented is to witness the train wrecks within the lives of people with more money than we can ever hope to obtain, correct? It's a trade-off. No one wants to see Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan have an education and live a nice quiet family life, but it's amazing when they go nuts and check into rehab. It's gossip, and the public eats it up without issue. If you really think they're putting this out there purely for aspirational purposes, I'd urge you to do a double take. Things described in sensationalism is not grounds for emulation of a certain lifestyle.

If you have a little girl and she looks at Paris Hilton with doe eyes and proclaims that she wants to be a spoiled whore as well, you have failed as a parent. Reality shows aren't life tips.

I'd also give you the example of Oprah - a woman who has been in the public eye for decades, has made billions from scratch, is not a glamour model, does not have a drug problem, and promotes relatively wholesome ideals and gives to charity on a daily basis. These people ARE out there.

Seriously missing the point. Society is put an unnecessary amount of importance on appearance and it is affecting a lot of girls/young women. Granted, it isn't the only contributing factor. But would it be less of problem if there were more female CEOs, doctors, or soldiers in the media? I think that would help.

So the problem here is not that successful females don't exist - it's just that they're not advertised as well.

I'll reply with this:

So what?

Society puts an unnecessary amount of importance on a LOT of things, but it doesn't mean that it should be taken seriously at face value. Honestly, in a society that is more than 90 percent theistic, here you are on an atheist forum. Role models by themselves can't accomplish anything unless people make a conscious decision to embrace their ideals.

If your friend thinks she doesn't stack up to society's standards, it wouldn't necessarily be society's fault. Perhaps she set an impossibly high standard for herself and suffers from an inferiority complex - I don't know. What I do know is that in my experience, most people that suffer from anorexia and bulemia can't be convinced, even if everyone around them tells them they are beautiful. It's an internal complex.

I don't doubt it affects people, but that's life. There's always going to be people that don't conform or agree with certain ideals and go against the grain. That's an underlying tenet of the human condition - dissent.

My point was that saying a woman 'contributed' to her attack is ignorant. Most rapists know their victims and choose them for vulnerability and ease of scaring them to not tell, not sit on a street corner picking out which woman is most attractive to him.

1. Do you have any insight to what most rapists think?
2. The only issue I was alluding to was the added attention with wearing revealing clothing in public. If you're new to this topic, re-read the last few pages and read my replies - I've covered this topic already.

Also, here's a Halloween photo of me. Just so you know I am not a 45-year old bald man.

Nope, definitely not bald.