Week 1 Blog
Posted on: March 8, 2013
1/ Mary Wollstonecraft “anxious to render my sex more respectable members of society” challenges modern women to think about the way they are exploited by sexualization. What are your thoughts on this? Start a discussion on this with someone else in your “group”.
As I read this excerpt of Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women, I am torn as to the extent of its relevance and application to today’s society. On one hand, there is no denying that sexual exploitation is a prominent feature of the modern world we live in. We all care about our looks; it is a natural and instinctive response to social expectation. However, many take this too far through social media and release compromising photos or information of themselves in order to gain attention. Might I add, that while we are focusing on women here, this issue of sexual exploitation is definitely not immune to males, which is evident through the recent boom in gym culture and social promotion of accepting a certain ‘shredded’ body image.
Even though some females may succumb to putting themselves in this degrading position, I would actually argue that most know better than that. Yes, we care about our looks but the modern everyday woman in today’s society does not allow the epitome of her purpose and identity to be defined by appearance, but rather education and success. We’re not pretty, dainty little flowers who want to stay at home and please our men; we want to be lawyers, doctors, artists, teachers! It is this kind of drive and ambition that has brought women a long way since Wollstonecraft’s time.
10 Responses to "Week 1 Blog"
March 13, 2013 at 10:38 pm
Hi Jess
i agree with you that sexual exploitation is still dominant in our society today but the modern day women do seek ambition and to consider their future but the younger generations namely the teens don’t as they believe that having a pretty face is all they need in life
May 12, 2013 at 11:40 pm
I agree that most women know better than to put themselves in degrading positions. When talking about clubbing in the city – speaking from experience – most of my good friends and even myself don’t dress to degrade themselves in a hope of appealing to the oposite sex but dress to either impress or show off infront of other females. If society portrayed skivvys and bellbottom jeans as the ‘hottest, sexiest trend’ all the girls would be trying to compete with each other by wearing them! There is a massive difference between trying to sell yourself and being proud of how you look. The same girl that wears a short revealing dress on a Saturday night in The Cross probably backs up on a Tuesday in her very nice “smart casual’ clothing to complete her practical teaching for university. Being female in this modern society gives us the right to not only be powerful and in control of our own lives but still also channel ‘the damsal’ within.
May 24, 2013 at 12:11 pm
I agree with you that there is an issue of sexual exploitation of women in our society today. It’s interesting to note the distinction you’ve made between the “educated women” who do not succumb to the degrading portrayal of females, and the ones who do succumb to it. In relation to this point you’ve made, I think it would be interesting to discuss the educated women who do still conform to “looking sexy” when going out to the clubs, as other people have talked about below. Our society prides itself on the positive stance it takes on the equality of women, so I believe it’s really not up to a woman (educated or otherwise) to have to hide herself with her clothing – however I do think that there is a limit to how far people go with that opinion, but really that’s also a personal choice and that person’s decision shouldn’t be cause for judgement.
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March 13, 2013 at 7:09 am
I dont know, if you attend the city on Saturday or Friday you can see a mass majority of women wearing degrading clothing and selling(literal and/or figuratively) their sexuality especially in Kings Cross. Educated or not those women want to look beautiful/pretty/sexy and some often think its required to have a good time. I think the entrapment of women’s pride in appearance still exists heavily today
March 13, 2013 at 12:54 pm
Thanks for your feedback! Like I said in my blog entry, sexual exploitation is definitely still dominant in society today, and clubbing is an example of this. However, the flattery and attention that girls seek by dressing and acting a certain way whilst clubbing, is not the same kind of behaviour that girls exhibit in ALL aspects of life. In general, the modern woman today is more aware of her potential and approaches her future and ambition seriously. This is how Wollstonecraft’s emphasis on virtue is amplified today, as females of our generation want to make more of themselves than the females of her time did. As opposed to us, they were simply concerned with spending ALL of their time seeking flattery and money to buy new dresses and sought no other means of purpose.
March 13, 2013 at 4:59 pm
true that is such a difference 😛