Explaining Objectification

It seems like lately, a lot of us here at ShoutOut! are struggling to find ways to explain feminism to our friends. It can be really hard to get past that initial “oh, you’re just an angry feminazi” reaction that most people have when we even mention inequality, patriarchy, racism, or feminism. So I’m always trying to find ways to express my frustration in ways that my not-so-feminist friends will understand and appreciate. Luckily, this weekend I was able to use a popular comedy show to explain an important part of feminist theory to a friend.

As anyone who knows me will tell you, I’m a big fan of Saturday Night Live, or SNL. I grew up watching it with my dad, and have always enjoyed how it points out absurdities in our news media and society in general. So of course I was anxiously anticipating watching this past weekend’s show, especially because Mumford & Sons was the musical guest. Both of their performances were fantastic, but they brought something to my attention-the unequal pressures facing male and female musicians.

By societal standards, the appearances of the memebers of Mumford & Sons are less than stellar. The lead singer, Marcus Mumford, would be considered chubby by most standards. “Country” Winston Marshall has a bad complexion. I’m by no means trying to nit-pick, what I’m getting at is that no one is this band is perfect or “Brad Pitt”-esque. But when do you ever see this critiqued in the media? Oh right, you don’t. The only thing that matters is that these musicians are incredibly talented and write very honest, gut-wrenching lyrics.

But consider a singer like Adele. She is just as talented as the aforementioned male musicians. But google her, and what comes up? Articles about her weight, a Karl Lagerfield quote calling her “fat,” and other articles of the same ilk. After a recent concert appearance, Lady Gaga has been slammed for gaining weight. I pointed out this inequity to my friend, who was watching the show with me. I told him, “I guess what frustrates me is that you won’t see an article in ‘People’ magazine this week talking about how awful Country Marshall’s skin is, or how he should get on Proactiv. But if he had a vagina, people would be talking about it nonstop.” So what gives? Why can’t we just focus on their talents and work? One word: Objectification.

According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Objectification is a notion central to feminist theory. It can be roughly defined as the seeing and/or treating a person, usually a woman, as an object.

When women are treated as objects, they’re oftentimes taken at face value, and only appreciated based on their appearance. So you get situations like the one I described above, where we are judged first and foremost for our looks, instead of for our contributions to the world at large.

But this doesn’t just apply to famous women. In our day-to-day life, women are expected to conform to society’s norms with our hair, skin, and clothing. If we don’t wear make up or at least attempt to do something with our hair, we’re considered unkempt or lazy. But the majority of men don’t face this pressure. Sure, they’re expected to coordinate their colors, but beyond that, they’re going out as is. As any woman will tell you, getting an outfit and their face together in the morning can be an ordeal. In my case, thanks to a genetic pre-disposition for bad acne, pale eyelashes, and hair that rarely cooperates, it can take up to an hour to get completely put together for the day.

Even though Adele and Lady Gaga are world-famous singers, they face the exact same pressures as women all over the Western world. Hell, even my #1 lady crush Hillary Clinton gets judged more for her pantsuits than policies. But I’m not suggesting that we force these pressures on men. I’m not saying that guys should start having to wear make up or do more than run a brush through their hair in the morning. Instead, consider what you’re doing the next time you comment on another woman’s outfit or makeup. For all you know, she could be the scientist who finds a cure for cancer. So does it honestly matter if her foundation doesn’t perfectly match her skin? Didn’t think so.