In the wake of spring break shenanigans across America, I want to stop and smell the roses—or, tequila, rather—and consider the weighty implications of spring break behavior. Cancun, Panama City Beach, Acapulco, Miami, Punta Cana…what do all these spring break hot spots have in common? Rampant female objectification. Sexism.
What is interesting to me is that most women I have encountered objectify themselves. While one little feminist in my head argues that women should be allowed to openly exercise their sexuality, another little feminist wonders how often we see contests exposing men? Our generation grew up watching MTV spring break specials featuring hundreds of scantily-clad drunkards running around sandy beaches in “paradise.” Now, that very same generation is at an age where we can go on similar spring break escapades.
It’s no secret that the media has encouraged a culture of spring break promiscuity and over-indulgence. But what makes 20-something’s buy into the stigma? Maybe it’s the need to blow off steam after midterms…or maybe it’s just a convenient excuse to behave however they want (“What happens in PCB, stays in PCB.”) Whatever the reason, I have always personally viewed the portrayal of the female role in all this spring break mumbo jumbo as a huge problem. Please don’t misunderstand me: If women want to use spring break as a means of exploring their sexuality, hoorah for them! But if those women are pressured into acting a certain way because overly-sexualized stigmas of ridiculously inebriated female spring-breakers, prancing around wearing bikinis (or less), are constantly shoved in their faces, I am not down with that. According to an American Medical Association (AMA) survey released early this month, one in five college women “regretted” their spring break sexual activities, and 12% of women felt that they were “forced or pressured into sex.” I am not one for stats and percentages (I feel like they are a cop out way to make arguments stronger) however, this statistic is interesting because it represents a group of women that are unafraid go against the grain. These women are potentially unwilling to accept the highly sexual nature of America’s spring break culture as the “thing to do.”
Another thing that bothers the heck out of me is sexism embodied by spring break culture. Where are the wet T-shirt contests for men? Where are all the nudy shots of guys walking down the beach? I wanna see men objectified in the same way women are. How about a series called “Boys Gone Wild”??? I am not so naïve to think sexism in the spring break tradition can be completely eradicated when it exists in so many other places. But I am arguing for a lethal injection of equality into this culture of objectification and sexism. What do you think? Should this spring break culture last forever?
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
Very interesting and well argued concept! Especially since this is so relevant and recent to us, and me in particular as just having returned from spring break in Panama City Beach myself. I do have to say I partook in a great deal of the spring break “hype” and misbehavior that qualifies as overtly-sexualized stigmas, however, I do not regret my actions. Unfortunately I do feel as though I was one of the women who specifically objectified myself, but not to any extent where I feel I overstepped boundaries, endangered, or shamed myself. I just had a good time doing exactly what I felt like doing, when I felt like doing it. I am glad that you make this differentiation in your article, that it is the perception of “fitting in” to what we see as a stigma, rather than the actual acts themselves if they are willful, that is the issue. I agree though, I sometimes wonder if I would have felt so free and let loose as much if it weren’t for the already set stereotypes of a college spring break, or if I WAS coerced by forces other than my own incentives – aka growing up with MTV spring break specials as an influence like you mentioned.
Great article, and definitely got me thinking and reflecting. Though again, no regrets here! I had a great time! 🙂
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Very cool reflection about a very gray issue. There is no right or wrong here. I think that is what is important to recognize. Thanks for reading!!
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I always find myself going back and forth about this also! Like yes women should be able to do and where what they want. But then again I’m thinking, when is the last time you saw a man out in 20 degree weather on a Saturday night wearing a crop top and a short body con skirt? It doesn’t happen! Many of women’s clothes are made very scandalous, while the most scandalous you see men clothing is a muscle shirt and knee shorts. Great post!
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I agree, which is why I chose to apply that concept to spring break culture. I think the accepted norms of this culture add a lot of complexity to the issue. Thanks for reading!
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Love this! It’s such a difficult issue to talk about, and like many others, are not simply black and white but multiple shades of grey. We often talk about “constrained choice” which is the idea that while we as a society think we have all these choices, in reality we are only choosing from a limited amount of choices. We think that we are freely choosing from A, B, C, and D and are happy with that, but what we don’t understand is that the options are really A, B, C, D, E, F, and all the way down to Z. The question I pose where do you think the line should be? With so much internalized patriarchy and pressure how do we draw the line between choosing to participate and feeling forced to participate to be recognized?
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Imagineherstory: Thanks for the insightful comment. You really grasped what I was trying to get at in this post! I strongly believe in the subjectivity of life. One person might draw the line at wet T shirt contests, while another might choose to not draw a line at all. The question you pose, in my mind, is too heavily based on perception for me to give you an answer that I would feel content with. In other words, I don’t think there is one “right” line that will solve this problem. I will say, however, that I think every man and woman deserves the freedom to choose where they think the line should be drawn.
Thanks for reading!!
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