Policing Women's Bodies

Leading up to this assignment I started to think of all the readings and class discussions we have had thus far and try to reflect on what seems to be a common thread, and what comes to mind is this idea of control. Who controls the media, controls the narratives in our advertisements? More importantly who controls the policing of women’s bodies? It shouldn’t be hard to answer these questions but, unfortunately they all come back to a society run by old, rich, white heterosexual men.

Activism T-shirt 

Many of us can probably remember our experiences of either middle or high school and, perhaps even recall the strict policies pertaining to the school dress code. Now, many years later I can remember just how those policies were often enforced and geared towards female students rather than their male counterpart. I can even remember a time where at a young age I was able to get away with and wear graphic t-shirts at school that either promoted a specific beer distributor or had sexual innuendos that were portrayed as being “comical” so, why was I not held accountable or importantly why weren’t my parents? Honestly, without sounding too brash the first thing that comes to mind are the comments made by Senator Cory Booker during the Judge Kavanaugh hearing and that’s of “the toxic culture and pernicious patriarchy” that plagues this country.

Netflix, Reversing Roe

In preparation for this blog post I watched the Netflix documentary Reversing Roe, a historical look highlighting the debate of abortion which has turned into a political quagmire in America. The documentary tackles abortion laws and what I found to be the main underlying goal which is to “keep women in place”. Some will argue though that if you’re going to end abortion through legislation then what is being done to end unwanted pregnancy, which is a strong and valid point. Gabrielle Blair, a mother of six went viral online with a well detailed rant that seems like the perfect counter argument to this sensitive issue. An issue that really isn’t about these proponents fighting for reproductive rights but, fighting for equality.

Colleen McNicholas, a gynecologist interviewed in Reversing Roe says that, “If you think about controlling when and if and how many children somebody has its sort of the absolute demonstration of patriarchy. Because controlling people’s fertility can affect what education they can get and what career they can have and sort of how far they can go in life.” What also is important to note is how poor non-white women are being ostracized and have no agency on their reproductive rights.

It’s pretty appalling especially for me, an older white male that even with technological advances we continue to follow an architype of social stratification that has been pinning men against women for generations. When looking at these issues now through a new lens I can see how much women have become a target, which in my perspective clearly fits into the framework of bell hooks theme of “otherness”. We even hear stories that women at a very young age are told to be “good girls” which leads to the notion that they were never “good” in the first place.  

I think it’s also valid to note that it’s not just men who police women but, also women themselves. I vaguely remember several years ago that a popular health magazine got some negative backlash to photoshopping their cover model, singer Kelly Clarkson. Now, this is almost a given with all magazine and print ads to color correct and make light edits to the photos but, the editor-in-chief who was a woman decided to digitally alter Clarkson by making her slimmer. When the magazine’s editor was questioned she had no issues with her decision by saying something to the effect that it is a health magazine and they want to promote healthy lifestyles to their readers.

In her article on body positivity, author Lindsay King-Miller says that, “The prevailing cultural definition of beauty is rooted in hierarchy, racism, misogyny, ableism, homophobia, ageism, cissexism, and other forms of marginalization.” What seems apparent, at least to me, is that media and our culture has historically sought to viciously control the lives of those in the margin.

I do feel however, there are incremental steps being made to combat the negative effects of policing women’s bodies. Besides Ms. Blair’s Twitter post, there’s also the recent interview with The New York Times in which supermodel Ashley Graham was asked her thoughts on body positivity and she said that she’s well aware that “the doctoring of women’s bodies and faces has become a common practice” and she’s made it a part of her contract with agencies and photographers around the business to ask for her consent when editing her photos. Her reason behind this is “if you are constantly showing an altered woman in media, what is that little girl going to go and do when she looks in the mirror and doesn’t see smoothed-out skin, or almond eyes, or a pinched nose and plumped-up lips?”

As Jean Kilbourne said, advertising has become “one of the most potent messengers in a culture that can be toxic for girls’ self-esteem.” Graham is on a mission to change this.

While some in the media are still attempting to program us to believe that young is better than old, pretty is better than ugly and rich is better than poor — our culture, which is increasingly becoming intersectional, has started to shed light on the overt and subtle ways in which those in power have attempted to stifle and control others.