Question I

I like the way Jean Kilbourne uses advertisement. I thought the ads that she used were very compelling and made the argument. It was very cut and dry. When Kilbourne says that ads shape the way women think about their sexuality, I thought so true. Women, especially college aged, are very aware of the way men view them. Rather than be disliked by men, a lot of college aged men are very ignorant and tend to look for a specific type of girl, and seen as a raging feminazis, women will dress like strippers. I especially notice this when my friends, both white and of color,  go out on Thursday-Saturday nights and their whole personality changes because most of the time the girls I am talking about are complaining about men and how they really only want to sleep with them. Even my DXP sisters act this way, even though they all claim to be feminist and have feminist ideals. I feel like we all want to be accepted. So, when they go out they want to be desired by what seems to me a bunch of drunk guys.I shake my head, but its the whole social acceptance issue that plays against them. I also shake my head when people say that young women dress like "sluts" as though it is the young woman's fault. I also feel that young women have a choice and if they are educated they should be making the right decision. Then again I feel that the harassment they will face as being labeled a "prude" or "uptight" outweighs the benefits for them because the effects would be long term. Women are not going to start standing up for themselves against being objectified overnight. A lot of women have also been crucified for doing so i.e. "feminazis".  I feel kind of sick about it  because I know they know it is wrong to perpetuate the cycle of sexism and objectification. For them its like a competition. I think Kilbourne does a good job at explaining how the ads affect the attitudes of young and adolescent girls. I like how she mentions that most men don't have anything to worry about by being objectified because of our culture. A lot of people, like my friends who dress in less then there clothing to go out, will say "well it makes me feel good about myself to have some attention from men" and when I hear this I do shake my head. I feel like they are allowing it to continue by saying "it makes me feel good" to deny that their behavior is in anyway related to being objectified or being consumers of the idea of how women should be. I have never had a discussion with them about it because I tried and it immediately went to the issue of me trying to be their "mom" so I guess we have to pick our battles, or approach them differently?