Editor:
The column by Jeremy Voros, “Magazines, Big Macs and Weight Problems” in Tuesday’s opinion section was very well done. In it Voros briefly touches on the “objectification of women in America,” and the social repercussions we are experiencing as women are more and more portrayed as marketable “consumables.”
It is a sad paradox to me that I constantly hear the complaint, so common among women today: “Why do men always look at us as objects?” Yet these same lamenters are the first to conform to the barrage of these images, exposing their bodies as if they were part of a meat market.
Could it be, sister, that he treats you like a commodity because you dress like one?
I observed this absurdity last semester when I met a scantly clad, self-proclaimed feminist. I thought feminism was supposed to be a liberation of women to realize their self-worth. Those are worthy goals, but isn’t it interesting that as some try to “free” themselves from the “repressive” conservative traditions of modesty, they throw themselves into this array of packaged females who are viewed as merchandise by most men.
I admit that I subscribe to those conservative traditions of modesty. In my mind, a woman who has realized her self-worth is confident enough about her value that she doesn’t need to compete for men’s approvals with all those who have relegated themselves to the status of items. A truly attractive woman is attractive for the very reason I always hear women want to be considered attractive for: who she is inside.
So when I meet a woman who dresses with less, I get a clear signal that she’s looking for a man who treats her like an object. After all, she dresses like one.
Stephen Bair
Senior, Pre-Med Biology