The Retort

Clearing Up the Confusion

Tue January 19th, 2010 by Jen Gross Of The Retort Staff

As I sat in an exam room with my legs up in stirrups, I suddenly had a moment of clarity. I had agreed to be a pelvic model for a certification program that trains nurses to handle cases involving victims of sexual assault.

First, I was surprised that sexual assault training is not part of the coursework required for RN certification. I guess I never really thought about it, but I had always just assumed that medical professionals and counselors are prepared to deal with something as widespread and traumatic as rape. Apparently, I thought wrong.

As the nurses each took a turn with the speculum, they learned which parts of the female anatomy are typically torn and bruised as a result of sexual assault. “Torn?” I shuddered at the thought. The physical damage that rape can incur had never hit so close to home. But then I had another thought. “This is why!”

This is why the so-called harmless jokes about women are, in fact, morally repugnant. According to the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network, one in six American women have been victims of sexual assault. That means 17.7 million women in the United States alone have suffered the trauma of rape. To me, numbers this high indicate that the violence is systemic, and that our cultural attitudes and practices must somehow condone, even encourage, violence against women.

Joking about women’s status cultivates disrespect for women in general. I used to work with a manager who often referred to my female coworkers and me as “broads.” It made me flaming angry, but of course his response was always, “It’s just a joke. What’s your problem?”

My problem was that he also had a very unprofessional habit of hurling a barrage of derogatory verbiage at my coworkers and me when he got stressed out. I understood that by repeatedly reinforcing our status as “broads,” our boss was able to justify his behavior that was, at least for me, intimidating and hurtful. He used his status, as male and as “the boss,” to project power over us, the female employees.

This example illustrates how attitudes that devalue women become normalized. That is, sexism is so prevalent in our culture that we see it as normal, not as problematic. To be honest, I was not aware of this until quite recently. It had to be spelled out for me. I grew up in a society that largely condones misogynistic language and humor. It is worth noting that, for the most part, we have moved beyond a time when racial slurs were commonly employed to refer to minorities. We have not, however, progressed to the point of attaching the same social stigma to sexual slurs.

This does not mean that our society has transcended racism. As the old anarchist adage goes, “No one is free while others are oppressed.” That is, oppression is pervasive. The effects ripple through society from one group to another. Globalization has made this true for everyone, everywhere. For this reason, it is important to maintain a diversity of social justice movements, and that we try very hard to identify oppression where we do not want to believe it exists.

My focus on gender discrimination is due largely to the fact many people don’t believe it to be a significant problem. Its forms are myriad; its influence is extensive and hard to escape, particularly when a person does not recognize something as sexist. The normalization process ensures that the masses will not object to materials or messages that emphasize sexist values, attitudes, and behaviors.

For example, it was recently called to my attention that there was a rather offensive display in the Student Union Building (SUB) in September. No, it was not a showcase of student artwork, and no, it was not a PETA demonstration. It was a poster sale, featuring a variety of posters. Hard to miss, though, was a selection of glossy, 24 x 36 inch prints that mimic the typical cover models for Maxim and Playboy: thin women with large breasts in sexually suggestive positions. These posters represent a popular form of sexism: sexual objectification.

Objectification occurs when someone is effectively turned into something. Women’s bodies are often seen as sexual objects, as a means for attaining (someone else’s) sexual pleasure. It is easier to violate and control an object than it is a subjective individual. Objects do not feel. It appears, then, that objectification could be a contributor to sexual violence.

The sexualized posters in the SUB were so offensive to one person at our school that she felt driven out of the SUB. “I turned around and went straight back through the door,” she said. “I felt ashamed and humiliated that such things were being displayed on our campus.”

As has been recently discussed among a loose network of feminist-minded individuals at MSUB, the problem is not with the images per se. The problem is that most people are generally unaware of the messages they receive from images and text in the cultural environment.

The focus on bodies, on certain types of bodies, over and over again, has a hegemonic effect on the viewers of posters, billboards, magazines, and reality TV. For example, advertisements featuring lingerie models send the message to women that they should look like lingerie models. This can lead women to eating disorders as they strive to attain that look. As well, the message is sent to men that real women look like swimsuit models. Ironically, Photoshop and other airbrushing techniques have made it so that not even the women in the photographs are real. Talk about false advertising!

Text can also convey sexism. While referring to “a vegan with a corndog forcibly lodged in her windpipe” might seem funny, the message that is sent is one of dominance and violence. First of all, the vegan, the one being dominated, is female. Secondly, “forcibly lodged” insinuates rape, with a phallic-shaped corndog, no less. “Lodged in her windpipe” plays on the notion that women who talk too much should be gagged. Finally, to make a corndog requires the killing of innocent animals, something to which a vegan would be adamantly opposed. Thus, the perpetrator expresses dominance over woman and animal. Once unpackaged, the message contained in those ten words is clearly one of violence, a far cry from funny, in my opinion.

The connection I have drawn between the normalization of sexist attitudes and sexual violence demonstrates why it is so important to challenge, or at the very least acknowledge, that objectification and degrading jokes are harmful to women. The longer we pretend these things do not oppress women, the longer women will face the danger of sexual violence, and the longer we will be training nurses to treat victims of sexual assault and anorexia-induced dehydration. It’s time to speak up; for it is said that silence helps the oppressor, never the oppressed.