Jezebel: Sex Objects

Sure, we all love Gossip Girl but most of...

Maria — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 09:45:00 EDT

Sure, we all love Gossip Girl but most of us are (semi-)reasonable adults who can separate the show's risque antics from reality. But what about the children? Carol Platt Liebau, author of Prude, says that the show "glamorizes and normalizes" a sexy lifestyle which can result in emotional and psychological distress in young girls. She also thinks that "depicting high school girls as little more than gossipy sex objects is simply a tired cliche that does all females a disservice." But Carol, they aren't just gossipy sex objects! They are ASB presidents who out their ex-BFF as a recovering drug addict, they steal Valentino couture, they kill people. OMG, the drama! No wonder 14-year-olds love this show. [Reuters] More »

My Scene Barbies, Mattel's skanky answer...

Jessica G. — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 09:45:00 EDT

My Scene Barbies, Mattel's skanky answer to the highly successful Bratz dolls, are being given away as part of McDonald's Happy Meals, and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is not happy about it. "It's bad enough that McDonald's continues to use toys to sell kids on junk food," said CCFC's head honcho, child psychologist Dr. Susan Linn. "But to lure young girls to its restaurants by promoting the worst sexualized stereotypes is reprehensible." McDonald's spokesbitch Heidi Barker retorted with this pat answer: "Barbie has been a familiar and fun toy enjoyed by millions of families for decades. That's why it continues to be a popular Happy Meal Toy." [MediaPost] More »

Reluctant Esquire Writer Admits That New "Sexiest Woman Alive" Is A Series Of Pretty Parts

Anna Holmes — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 11:00:00 EDT

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"And I have to point out — despite my sensibility that wants not to offend women — that there is a lot of flesh. There are a lot of parts — tanned arms, even the tips of her fingers, when she jabs the air to make a point. I have to look. To set her up as a series of parts, and present her as a whole," laments writer Tom Chiarella as he grapples with tackling the subject of Esquire's (just-announced!) "Sexiest Woman Alive 2007", actress Charlize Theron. He even says as much to Charlize herself!

But I'll just tell you that I hate describing women's bodies. What am I going to say? Stunning? Red-hot? Great eyes? Fucking wow?

(Mr. Chiarella says that when he told Charlize that, she threw her head back, exposing her long neck to the world "with a kind of joy.") More »

Feeling Sexually-Objectified? It Could Be Your Own Damn Fault

Dodai Stewart — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 13:30:00 EDT

In The Guardian today, writer Decca Aitkenhead argues that these days, if women feel like victims of sexism, it might be because they've set themselves up for it. In the UK, there's this "lad mag" called Nuts. You know the kind: sexy girls, football, rude jokes, cartoons. The Nuts website features a section called "Assess My Breasts," (NSFW) which invites men to study pictures of naked mammaries and rank them on a scale from 1 to 10. Sure, toplessness is more common in the UK. But asking men to judge your tits? Really? Because the thousands of pictures available are uploaded voluntarily. For free. By ordinary women. Writes Aitkenhead:

And so manicures, and Brazilian bikini waxes and pole-dancing classes were all reintroduced under the guise of harmless girly "fun". Barely 10 years later, we look in the mirror and mistake ourselves for sex workers.