Female objectification isn’t empowerment

“She’s too young to be showing that much skin.” “That’s a completely inappropriate outfit.” “That’s too sexy.” These are among many common phrases repeated by those who criticize women’s sexuality.

Women are constantly condemned for what they wear and how they express their sexuality, specifically in terms of their sexual desires. Society encourages women to present themselves as attractive, but when a woman becomes too sexually promiscuous in the eye of the public, she is called a slut or a whore, bringing her reputation into question.

Men do not have to walk this thin line: they can be as expressive of their sexualities as they like without scrutiny. Shaming women for how they choose to express themselves physically hypersexualizes and reduces a woman’s power and control to their own self-expression.

To address conversations around womanhood, it’s important to not confuse objectification for empowerment. Society often fails to recognize that sexual empowerment includes seeing a woman for how they choose to express themselves through ownership of their body, while still acknowledging physical appearance as only one of many parts of a woman’s identity.

Director of Research and Education at the Glendon Association, Dr. Lisa Firestone, attributed society’s tendency to cast women into, what psychiatrist and author Estela Welldon described as,

“To put a woman into any of these categories is to deny essential aspects of who she is. Common opinions about female sexuality range from accusing women of being prudish or withholding sex, to being seductive and using their sexuality as a source of power or manipulation. These skewed views steer [society] away from seeing the reality that, just like men, women have a natural and healthy desire to be sexual,” Firestone said.

While women do have a biological tendency to engage in sexual behavior, just like men, research indicates a link between comfort and degree of sexual expression. A study from 1998 called “That Swimsuit Becomes You” identified the connection between self objectification and shame in young women. In the study, groups of students had to complete a math test wearing swimsuits or sweaters. Each group took the test in separate rooms; the girls wearing swimsuits performed worse than the girls in sweaters. However, among boys, there was no difference in performance depending on attire.

Obviously, swimsuits are more revealing than sweaters and this study demonstrates that when women don’t have the choice to wear something they are comfortable in, it impacts how they view themselves. Thus, we need to stop telling women how to dress and allow them to express their sexualities as they desire. For some, this may mean wearing more revealing clothes, if that is what they are most comfortable in.

Commentary surrounding the outfit intends to promote modesty. In 2021, singer Olivia Rodrigo, who was 18 at the time, was shamed for her outfit at the Academy of Museum of Motion Pictures. Her dress featured a plunging neckline and cut-outs, which many people claimed she was too young to wear and was deemed inappropriate. These comments, while aimed to force modesty on a young adult woman, actually sexualized her by implying there was something wrong with the outfit, to begin with.

Some may argue that women empowering themselves through their choice of expression of sexuality sends the wrong message and that solely equating looks with empowerment reduces women to objects. This belief also teaches women to only focus on their looks rather than other parts of themselves. This argument fails to acknowledge the complexity of a woman’s identity: a woman can have power through her sexuality, personality and talents –these don’t have to be mutually exclusive, but can co-exist.

It’s important for society to allow women to feel comfortable and confident in their internet the whole way there, learning, taking in the power of the little piece of metal in my nostril, penduluming between rue, love and anger.

The store was small, packed with shelves of ghatia, seven slightly different types of paratha and small tubes of henna. My mom just needed to grab some frozen batata vada before dinner, but I convinced her to buy some of the treats behind the counter. The woman there gave me a nod, choosing each ladoo and burfi carefully. And I saw it. In her nose, on the left, was a

I touched my own, new gold dot, and wholeheartedly loved it for the first time. Yes, because it’s cool, and I feel spontaneous and unpredictable for once, but also because I feel closer to me more than I have in so long — not the “cool new” Shyla, but closer to my culture, my namesake and the woman behind the counter who studied my piercing, smiling

The little piece of gold in my nostril has let me love the face, skin and heritage I’ve often wanted to hide. As the days passed since I got it, I feel more confident and beautiful, especially as I know what this piercing means to me and my ancestors. It’s a reminder of learning, but also of

So I leave you with this: what we choose to do with our bodies, the piercings, the ink, the jewels and the art, can make us feel powerful — in who we are, but also where we come from. Because in the end, own bodies and self-defined sexuality; the key is to understand the difference between sexual empowerment and objectification. Sexual empowerment is seeing a woman as a whole person, someone who may choose to embrace their sexuality as a part of their identity and control their own body and actions. Sexual objectification is seeing a woman as an object, solely for their body and sexual traits, with disregard for the other components of their unique identity. lhakimi@redwoodbark.org

The overlap between empowerment and objectification has to do with power and who wields it. Empowerment gives power to the individual while objectification gives power to the oppressor.

In today’s world, women continue to receive mixed messages about their sexuality as society struggles to decide how to control women’s bodies, wanting them to be sexually desirable, but not slutty, and to have ownership of their sexuality. A woman’s body and sexuality belong to no one but herself, and therefore, the power to control a woman’s body and her sexuality is hers alone.