Jayhawks' Minor Study in Pornography (Emphasis in Perpetuating the Objectification of Women)

I wish I could be the fly on the wall for all of the feminist groups, women's resource offices, and gender studies faculty offices when this little gem was distributed world(wide web)wide a few days ago:

It’s all about who’s in the driver’s seat, and in the case of #kuboobs, it’s the ladies all the way. #kuboobs has emerged from the throes of March Madness: a frenzied, cultish worship of the male body and its physical prowess. It's a masculine sphere that traditionally excludes women (just like those pricks who assume girls don’t watch the games!). But with #kuboobs, ladies are here to announce their fandom, loud and proud, and to seize their own place among the Apollonian body worship that’s synonymous with the NCAA basketball tournament. (source) [WARNING: going to link will show images that may be considered distasteful to those who have not been desensitized to normalized pornography]

Yes. There has been a movement (so classfully deemed a "boobment") that orginated at good ole University of Kansas. The goal? Take pictures of your breasts adorned with something exhibiting a form of school spirit, and post it to the internet for the world to see, all in the name of supporting the KU Basketball team.

The young lady who was quoted above stated that the idea came to her when KU was losing a basketball game against their rivals, the Missouri Tigers, and felt that her only option was to photograph her breasts while wearing a low cut KU t-shirt, and tweet the picture out into the universe. Miracle upon miracle, KU was able to overcome their opponent in the game, and yet another excuse was created to continue the objectification of women under the guise of "empowerment" and "school spirit" (two Jayhawks with one stone).

Let's break down her quote above, because there are a lot of confusing things about it.

• "It's all about who's in the driver's seat, and in the case of #kuboobs, it's the ladies all the way." No. It isn't. It was made very clear that the intention of posting photographs of her breasts was to show support for the basketball team. The male basketball team. Composed of men. And a quick glance over at the facebook page that was created in honor of this phenomenon (which I will not be linking to, because the images there are depressing and disgusting all tied up in one so nice and neat package) show that the comments are coming from men (one from a soldier overseas who is thanking the faceless breasts for improving his day), and the few from women are asking for directions on how to post their own pictures. The pictures of the breasts are not attached to a CV listing the accomplishments or characteristics of the woman in the photograph. Her face isn't even in the picture, so she is defined solely by her breasts. Saying that the women are in the driver's seat when you're falling into the predetermined definition of what is sexy and desirable is like claiming you're the one in charge as you follow the GPS route designed by Hugh Hefner. You aren't calling the shots.
• "#kuboobs has emerged from the throes of March Madness: a frenzied, cultish worship of the male body and its physical prowess. It's a masculine sphere that traditionally excludes women (just like those pricks who assume girls don’t watch the games!)." Okay. I certainly have my opinions about college athletes (especially those that fall into the category of hero worship), but they didn't fall out of the womb possessing their ability. Granted, one cannot train to be seven feet tall, but there is more to it than that-- these athletes are putting in the hours, they're training, they're pushing their bodies and overcoming mental and physical barriers in order to become the best that they can be at what they're doing. So an appropriate response to this sort of "cultish worship" would be to expend energy in supporting women who are accomplishing these same sorts of things-- supporting the KU women's basketball team, for instance. Instead, they continue to feed into the stereotype of women ("just like those pricks who assume girls don't watch the games!") that not only are they not interested in athletics, but they are also defined solely by their physical attributes. #kuboobs = #KUnfusion
• "But with #kuboobs, ladies are here to announce their fandom, loud and proud, and to seize their own place among the Apollonian body worship that’s synonymous with the NCAA basketball tournament." Here's the thing-- YOU aren't announcing anything. If you were, it would include a headshot. Instead, you're just selling a part of your body to the porn agenda, and for what? To feel better about yourself? I really don't understand what the woman gets out of posting pictures of her breasts. To know that some random guy is having a chemical response in his brain to an image of your anatomy is somehow some kind of reward for-- great genetic coding? A decent plastic surgeon? A healthy lifestyle? If you're feeling proud, why isn't your name attached? Someone who is truly "loud and proud" would even link it to their resume, right?

Which brings me to what I feel is the greatest misconception about all of this, which is everywhere today-- the idea that objectifying yourself is empowering. I brought this idea up with my husband, and he said, jokingly, "What if the object is a high powered motor?" Even then, it isn't empowering-- because it still requires something else to power it (battery, fuel, etc). Someone who is empowered requires no one but themselves to move forward. Breasts are not empowered without the woman behind them, and to become only your breasts strips yourself of the ability to, well, do anything for yourself.

So why is the knee jerk reaction when women feel oppressed to take our clothes off? If we've associated restriction with our attire then perhaps we need to move up a size.

 We need to recognize our physical bodies for their purpose rather than define ourselves entirely by what visual stimulation they provide. When we're reduced to eye candy, we are seriously limiting ourselves from doing good in our own spheres.

(Stephanie Nielson says it best, I think.)