Sad but true. Both men and women the world over label and judge others based on how they look, what they wear and how they choose to express themselves.
A recently published study by the Brazilian Institute for Applied Economics (IPEA) shows that a stunning 65% of respondents found that a woman who dressed provocatively deserved to be attacked or raped.
"Earlier this week, a study was released that said a startling 65.1 percent of Brazilians either partially or wholly believe that "if dressed provocatively, women deserve to be attacked and raped." In addition, the study revealed a 58.5 percent complacency with the belief that "if women knew how to behave, there would be less rape."
~ Huffington Post
The results caused an enormous outcry from women the world over and prompted many Brazilian women - and men - to take to social media, exclaiming "I Don't Deserve To Be Raped" - read the BBC News article here. The hash-tag used is #NãoMereçoSerEstuprada, check it out on social media!
As the Huffington Post reports - in their article Brazilian Women Bare All To Remind Nation They Don't 'Deserve To Be Raped' - the published results contained an error. In fact it was "only" 26% who thought that women who dress 'provocatively' deserve rape or attack, not 65%. To me, this is still a ridiculously huge amount of people who see women as objects to be used, abused and discarded.
The study reminded me of a photograph that I came across a while ago that created quite a stir. It too showed a lot about how women are perceived in today's society.Canadian artist Rosea Lake created a very inspired image entitled "Judgments" showing what may be seen as typical opinions regarding skirt length for women in the West today. Ranging from 'matronly' for long skirts to 'slut' for the truly short ones, she truly hit the nail on the head.
The artist explains on her Tumblr page:
"Working on this project really made me examine my own opinions, preconceptions and prejudices about “slutty” women and women who choose to cover all of their skin alike. I used to assume that all women who wore Hijabs were being oppressed, slut-shame, and look down on and judge any woman who didn’t express her sexuality in a way that I found appropriate.
I’d like to think I’m more open now."
The image created a media frenzy when it was reblogged, retweeted and reposted by many. It got people thinking about and talking about something that needs to be addressed and - as far as I'm concerned - needs to be thought about differently by society as a whole.
Twenty-six percent of respondents to the Brazilian survey I talked about at the start of this article agree that women who dress provocatively deserve to be harassed, attacked or even raped. Rosea Lake's photograph has 'provocative' quite high, just underneath 'asking for it'. I'd say she's spot-on, sadly.
Lake talked to The Star where she explained more of her thinking.
The Vlaams Belang poster not only had Rosea Lake up in arms, it also rubbed designer Christian Louboutin the wrong way. The Vlaams Belang poster model - politician Anke Van dermeersch - wears Louboutin shoes without asking to use the shoes for their campaign.
It seems clear to me that women the world over deal with objectification, harassment and unwanted attention from others solely based on looks on a daily basis. Whether in Brazil, the US, Belgium or in the Middle East - there will always be some men who choose to objectify a woman based solely on what she chooses to wear. Sadly, there are also a great deal of women who agree with those men, for whatever reasons.
To complicate matters, there are also many religious 'rules' about interaction between the sexes and matters pertaining to what to wear, what not to wear and how to wear whatever you're wearing the 'right' or 'proper' way. However, whatever one's religious or totally non-religious views are regarding appropriate dress for women, it is important to remember that not only religion but society itself is about so much more than the way women dress.
Some things that are important to all religions and to all people I know of are respect for other living things, caring for weaker members of society, being honest and acting justly. Let's remember some of those values the next time we come across someone we judge, objectify, hurt or attack based on what they wear, how they look or how they choose to express themselves.
The image created a media frenzy when it was reblogged, retweeted and reposted by many. It got people thinking about and talking about something that needs to be addressed and - as far as I'm concerned - needs to be thought about differently by society as a whole.
Twenty-six percent of respondents to the Brazilian survey I talked about at the start of this article agree that women who dress provocatively deserve to be harassed, attacked or even raped. Rosea Lake's photograph has 'provocative' quite high, just underneath 'asking for it'. I'd say she's spot-on, sadly.
Lake talked to The Star where she explained more of her thinking.
“If you see a girl wearing something you see as distasteful, then you automatically discount them as a person and you don’t give them the opportunity to really be somebody in your eyes. That’s really shameful.”
“I think most people know that it’s a photo meant to call out society on its ridiculous views.”
Rosea Lake's photograph not only caused a media frenzy, it also inspired Belgian political party Vlaams Belang's to copy-cat antics in order to promote their anti-Islam campaign. Their image featured their president's legs with writing on the legs showing Vlaams Belang's right-wing take on 'proper clothing for Muslim women'. Read about it here at the New Statesman website.
The Vlaams Belang poster not only had Rosea Lake up in arms, it also rubbed designer Christian Louboutin the wrong way. The Vlaams Belang poster model - politician Anke Van dermeersch - wears Louboutin shoes without asking to use the shoes for their campaign.
"Paris-based Louboutin argues that the ad tarnishes the image of his luxury footwear brand, which is a favourite with stars including Victoria Beckham, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Kate Moss.
He has asked the court to issue an emergency 'cease and desist' ruling against the anti-Islam campaign."
Source: Daily Mail UK
It seems clear to me that women the world over deal with objectification, harassment and unwanted attention from others solely based on looks on a daily basis. Whether in Brazil, the US, Belgium or in the Middle East - there will always be some men who choose to objectify a woman based solely on what she chooses to wear. Sadly, there are also a great deal of women who agree with those men, for whatever reasons.
To complicate matters, there are also many religious 'rules' about interaction between the sexes and matters pertaining to what to wear, what not to wear and how to wear whatever you're wearing the 'right' or 'proper' way. However, whatever one's religious or totally non-religious views are regarding appropriate dress for women, it is important to remember that not only religion but society itself is about so much more than the way women dress.
Some things that are important to all religions and to all people I know of are respect for other living things, caring for weaker members of society, being honest and acting justly. Let's remember some of those values the next time we come across someone we judge, objectify, hurt or attack based on what they wear, how they look or how they choose to express themselves.