The Policing of Our Bodies

The policing of bodies, of women’s bodies, is by no means a new concept. Because we live in the here and now and not the past, the historical context of how women have been regarded for centuries is sometimes lost on us, not necessarily at the forefront of our minds. (For example, here’s a simplified timeline of the role of women’s bodies throughout history, going as far back as 1800 B.C.) At the same time, it’s discouraging when we realize that we haven’t really come all that far, considering how long humanity’s been around. We do have more legal autonomy now than we did in the past, granted, but there’s a clear and defined limit to that autonomy. How can we bring ourselves to care about such a small victory, when our reproductive rights are under credible threat, or when unfair dress code restrictions are implemented based entirely on sexist notions, or when we’re straight-up sold the idea of how we should look and act and be? We’re taught (whether blatantly or in a more subtle way) that our overall worth is tied to our bodies, and that our bodies aren’t just our own, but also a twisted form of public property. John Berger summed up this concept well: “To be born a woman has been to be born, within an allotted and confined space, into the keeping of men.” (Berger, p. 46).

In case you were wondering, here's what your skirt length says about you.

 As we’ve established before, the ultimate purpose of the patriarchy is to keep men (or rather, an accepted archetype of man) atop the hierarchy of power within society. I feel like bell hooks encapsulated the true essence of the term ‘patriarchy’ when she referred to the methods it employs as “psychological terrorism and violence” in order to maintain the status quo (hooks, p. 18). We see that take shape in the form of individual and collective reinforcement of these harmful beliefs, to the lens through which mainstream media is provided to the public, to actual legislature that impacts how we live our lives and the role we play within society. Our culture defines itself through the images perpetuated throughout the media. Bordo pointed out a great Baudrillard quote regarding this idea: “it is no longer the territory that provides the model for the map, but the map that defines the territory (Bordo, p. 104).”

Focusing our importance entirely on our bodies, while also being taught that we’re forever stuck in some indirect competition with one another, has consequences that reach beyond self-image and self-importance. We’re treated as lesser than, so we see ourselves (and other women) as lesser than. When I was younger, I noticed that a lot of girls I knew developed a mentality in which attention and validation from boys took precedence over establishing friendships with other girls. Their line of reasoning was always the same: “I’m not like the other girls; they’re so dramatic. I only hang out with boys now because they make me feel like one of the guys.” Of course, many of ‘the guys’ didn’t really think of their token female friend as one of them – especially if she was attractive. So, as many of them got older, they also came to realize many of these ‘friendships’ ended up being a ruse for unrequited romantic/sexual interest, which is a whole other issue in and of itself. While a lot of them did grow out of this mindset, just as many stayed there. The popular narrative we’re fed through our capitalist, patriarchal culture dictates to us a false idea of what womanhood is and/or should be. In truth, we’re represented only to the extent of what the observers (men) would like to see from and of us, not how we see ourselves nor how we are (Wykes & Gunter, p. 208).

Media plays a pivotal role in how people perceive and regard women’s bodies. It can both help and hurt how women perceive themselves, sometimes even simultaneously; it all depends on the message and how it’s delivered, as even good intentions can end up being obscured if not handled properly. It’s the nature of growing up in a culture like ours. The most negative message I can think of is that women, all women, are allowed agency – but only up until it interferes with how a man experiences them. I think Jean Kilbourne put it nicely: “The emphasis for girls and women is always on being desirable, not on experiencing desire (Kilbourne, Cutting Girls Down to Size, p. 148).” I’m sure many, if not all of us have experienced this in some way. A small but still personally significant example is when I showed a friend of mine a picture of me with long hair (he’d only ever known me with the short hair I sport now) and he said that he preferred it. First of all, I didn’t ask. Secondly – the gross assumption that the way I wear my hair is not for the sake of vanity, but for the preference of a man.

We’re all susceptible to the messages across media, some more than others, and often in different ways; we’re still trying to figure out why. Of course, we’re more vulnerable when we’re younger – young enough to still be heavily influenced by peer pressure, but old enough to truly comprehend what we’re told and its “importance” (Kilbourne, Beauty and the Beast of Advertising, p. 121-122). Worst of all? The problems proposed to be solved by the media are created by the media; I have to admit, cutting down the self-esteem of girls and women in order to sell them snake oil panaceas for internal discrepancies they otherwise might not have is almost as clever as it is horrible. Just as much as others police our bodies, we police our own bodies, thinking that it’s just how it is, how it has to be; even if we know that it’s unfair, most of us still feel obligated to play the game because it’s risky not to. If we don’t believe we can take action for whatever reason, it only serves to prop up the people already in power and maintain that imbalance (McIntosh, p. 5).

That’s not to say that it’s all bad. I think social media, for all its faults (and boy, are there many), has helped a lot of people come to terms with who they are, as well as the bodies they inhabit.

An example of an image promoting body positivity.

The ‘body positivity’ movement has become more and more prominent through many social circles I run in, and I can’t see it losing steam now. There’s always going to be lash back of course, but persistence is crucial. Content made by and for all of us, the everyday person, is extremely important. I use the term “content” here because it’s such a broad, catch-all term for what we do now – we all participate in some form, and participation is creation. Content comes in all shapes and sizes, just like we do, and we have to fight back when and where we can in order to shift how we view ourselves and others. It won’t happen all at once, but I do think it’s achievable to some degree in our lifetime. Or perhaps I’m just an optimist.

Citations:

• Berger, John. “Ways of Seeing.”
• Bordo, Susan. “Hunger as Ideology.”
• hooks, bell. “Understanding Patriarchy.”
• Kilbourne, Jean. “Beauty and the Beast of Advertising."
• Kilbourne, Jean. “Cutting Girls Down to Size.”
• McIntosh, Peggy. “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack."
• Wykes, Maggie & Barrie Gunter. “Conclusion: Body Messages and Body Meaning.”

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