I suppose this is exactly what I set this blog up for – to give me a soapbox on which to whinge about the accepted public opinion and the media at large. Earlier this week, the feminist wing of said public and media were in a moral panic about X Factor.
They reckon Saturday night’s final was too sexy. Christina Aguilera and Rihanna sang, and danced, in skimpy outfits, with provocative dancers. Cue a frenzy of disapproval: it sexualised women; it wasn’t suitable for screening pre-watershed; it will corrupt our children.
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| Dirrrty |
But is it that bad? What’s the implication of such performances?
Have a look for yourself on this handy blog-site:
So, what to make of it?
Sex sells. We know that. Should we shun that old mantra? Should men not be attracted to women any more? Should men look on scantily clad women with scorn? No, we shouldn’t.
It is largely seen as a triumph of modernity that men and women can both enjoy their sexuality, without fear of recrimination. And yet, if a famous girl dances exotically on TV, suddenly we want to censor ourselves back to the 19th Century? Cover your ankles, ladies!
It’s not only overly sensitive, it’s hypocritical. Around twenty years ago, a feminist icon broke new ground by recording an album, filming several videos and even releasing a photographic diary, all of which exploited her sexuality. Madonna has since been hailed as a trail-blazer. But Rihanna and Christina perform what are actually less sexualised routines, to a supposedly more liberated audience, and we condemn them?
I realise that young girls may emulate what they see on the X Factor. But did they not emulate Madonna on Top of the Pops? Was that not shown before the watershed?
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| Trail-blazer? |
I’m not saying Madonna was right. I’m not saying Christina and Rihanna are right. Maybe, if pop-culture was less sex-orientated, society would be better for it. I’m just saying there is a lack of consistency here.
And it’s not just a lack of consistency in how the censor-brigade treats women. It’s a lack of consistency in how they treat the two genders.
Why should we question the ethics of the two female guest stars’ performances and use them to condemn sexualisation of women when, three weeks ago, eventual winner Matt Cardle was thrown on stage in a vest to please the lady viewers?
A vest, you might say, is not quite the same as a bra and a pair of hot-pants. But I doubt girls would have been drooling over Mr Cardle quite so much if he had been wearing those items. Men and women are different, wear different clothes, and are attracted to different things. Just because a male performer has less flesh on display does not mean he is not being treated as a sex-object. And that’s not to say that there aren’t examples of male celebrities being ‘exploited’ semi-naked in the media – David Beckham’s package-displaying pants advert springs to mind.
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| Porn culture? |
Ironically, in this series of X Factor, which stands accused of this most heinous crime of sexploitation, the most successful female contestants – Rebecca, Cher , Mary and Katie – were actually not sexualised at all. Katie’s mid-series restyling from blonde bombshell to cropped-haired brunette actually represented the exact opposite. The raunchier female acts were filtered out in the formative stages of the show.
On the other hand, the male contestants, Matt and One Direction, were raved about by female viewers purely for their looks. My female Facebook friends’ posts read “Matt Cardle – yes please!”, “One Direction – Cute, Cute, Cute!” and so on. Disgusting. Or, at least, it would be considered disgusting if it was directed at women, wouldn’t it? Or would it? Isn’t it just human nature to enjoy attractive members of the opposite sex?
I understand feminism as a cause, and I admire the principles of promoting the rights, interests and opinions of a group. But I wish that the pro-women’s rights argument could be contextualised better. For example, why must the sexualisation of women be viewed as an aggressive, vulgar male act while the sexualisation of men by women passes by unnoticed?
I do understand the argument that performances like Rihanna’s and Christina’s aren’t great viewing for our kids. I agree that ‘porn-culture’ is not a healthy contributor to society (for men or women).
But let’s face it - men are not solely at fault and women are not wholly innocent. Sex sells both ways.
