Taboobies

The discussion about objectification of women(‘s bodies) can be recognised as a common theme in Richard Dyer’s, Griselda Pollock’s, and John Berger’s work; women are “an object of vision”  and their bodies have “come to signify sale”.

A perfect example of this is the way boobs are treated: treated as acceptable in certain contexts – when thought of as sexual objects – and unacceptable in other contexts – when shown in ‘unsexy’ ways such as breastfeeding. We live in a world that regards boobs on billboards as more normal/acceptable than boobs feeding children in a public place. The harassment women encounter when breastfeeding in public sparked multiple campaigns to normalize breastfeeding – thus the biological function of breasts – such as the one pictured above which was made by students Kris Haro and Johnathan Wenske (http://whennurturecalls.org/index.html). And the double standard between the acceptability of naked men’s breast vs. female’s breasts on social media (and in society) sparked the campaign to ‘Free The Nipple’, a campaign which gained popularity among many celebrities and even made an appearance during Paris Fashion week’s Chanel show.

An interesting article that goes into this issue can be found on www.dazeddigital.com, which remarks:

“This breast hysteria still exists, especially in mainstream pop culture, which is so increasingly odd in a world where women are hyper-sexualized, and where “sex sells” isn’t so much a motto as something that’s so deeply ingrained in our collective psyche it might take generations of reconditioning to dispel. It comes down to the idea that there are inherently “good” naked breasts and “bad” naked breasts. “Good” naked breasts exist to serve male fetish and fantasy. They appear in pornography and men’s magazine and on the wholly invasive paparazzi shots of female celebrities on vacation, sunbaking topless, or experiencing a wardrobe malfunction at some event. Breasts are also okay where they are being used to sell something, whether it’s Victoria’s Secret lingerie (kind of fair, you can’t really sell a bra without putting boobs in it), or a wholly unrelated product targeted at men, like Nandos.

Breast panic is one of the more blatantly contradictory elements of sexism. Whereas breasts abound for male pleasure, when that pleasure stops, they become taboo. Whether we’re telling women to be ashamed of their breasts, attempting to curtail their right to bear them on their own terms, or defining what “sexy” breasts are in a sanitized, fetishistic way, it’s clear that when it comes to mammary autonomy, women aren’t entitled to it.”

http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/30529/1/the-pervasive-persistence-of-boob-shame