In a hardcore feminist’s world, a man sexualizing a woman’s body is condemned. However, when a woman sexually objectifies herself, it somehow manifests itself in the form of sexual empowerment and sexual liberation.
The fact is that objectification does the opposite of liberation for women. It binds them to their bodies. It ties their self-worth to their external selves. This sets off a vicious never-ending cycle of constantly needing other people’s approval and validation.
There is no denying the fact that humans appreciate dressing up to reinforce their sense of individuality. It makes no sense, both practically and morally, to restrict someone’s ability to dress however they like. That sentence does have some fine lines, though.
The world is in chaos. And when I say chaos, I am referring to the current trend of sexualizing and normalizing nudity solely for attention. Women project themselves in self-objectifying ways on social media at times for views, likes, comments, and validation and other times for subscribers and money.
I see this portrayal as the exploitation of women’s sexuality rather than their liberation.
The trend of sexualized images circling over social media has a direct effect on young minds. Looking at edited and post-surgery bodies of women with the perfect skin, hair, and body, is making young girls question their natural bodies and is creating insecurities that in the first place never existed.
And more importantly, it is making them all about their looks and beauty. Further, these images paint a wrong picture of women as sex objects in young boys’ minds.
So, we are creating a generation of men who view women as nothing more than sexual objects; and a generation of women who, because they perceive themselves as flawed, turn to sexual exposure as a means of obtaining approval. This cycle never ends.
The issue here still goes deeper than that. It is not uncommon to see sexual images on Instagram feeds and Explore pages along with a link to an Only Fans account.
Only Fan, a $1-billion industry solely based on sexual images of women is thriving to success. Turns out, investigators have found child abuse images originating from Only Fans. So, it is not as the company says- a safe platform for creators to earn, rather it is a heaven for sex traffickers and child exploiters.
The problem is not women wanting to feel sexually desirable. I don’t see anything wrong with that. The problem is the extensiveness of it. When the want to feel sexy turns into the desperate need for the validation of being sexually attractive and further when this compulsive need stems into the act of selling your body online.
This is when the “choice” of nudity is not an act of empowerment.
