I recently became aware that jessica Simpson has gained on the order of 25 pounds. There was an article and pictures on the CNN web site. There have apparently been some unkind comments about her appearance, which prompted this statement:
According to Dr. Dianne Bennett, a Women’s Studies Professor at Loyola Marymount University, these “jokes” aren’t just attacks on Jessica; they are attacks on all women. “It is a way of telling us that even the most physically admired women will be the objects of ridicule if they gain weight or 'lose' their beauty. It is also a way of telling women that our looks are the only source of our value so that if our looks are diminished, our overall value is also diminished,” Bennett said. “The attacks are also engaging the idea that everybody has the right to look at, talk about, and judge women's bodies, something we rarely do to men.”
Every part of this statement is false logic, misleading or simply false.
Men's sexuality is primarily visual. Everyone knows this; it is biology. I will not go into the hormonal details here, but the structure of the visual cortex is different in men and women, that difference induced by a different distribution of androgen and estrogen receptors in the brain. Some women choose (or sometimes have no other option) to use their bodies visually for gain. These two facts set up a false syllogism: All men appreciate women visually; some women are specifically valued visually; therefore all women are only valued visually. This is simply incorrect. It is logically false, as demonstrated when phrased in formal logic terms.
The jokes and comments made are no reflection on women generally. Any person who is in the public in eye in whole or part because of their physical appearance is liable for having that appearance discussed and judged. This is as true of men as it is of women. Actors whose work depends on their physique get critiqued routinely, like Arnold Schwarzenegger being photographed and laughed at for his belly lopping over his Speedo, or Kevin Federline being called K-'fed' after gaining weight. Male athletes who gain weight or get out of shape get roasted for it, such as Ali, or Charles Barkley.
Women and men who choose to be valued for their abilities are not judged at all this way. Meryl Streep is evaluated by her extraordinary acting skills. No one mentions that she has gotten thick in the waist or that her breasts are smaller than some other actress, because these things have nothing to do with how she presents herself. Alec Baldwin is judged by his acting skills because he has never made an issue out of his body, which was once thin but is now fat.
There is an internet item that says, 'if a woman wears a low cut blouse, she has no right to complain when people stare at her breasts'. If a woman opts to use her body for professional gain, as an actress of a certain type (Jennifer Love Hewitt), a singer exploiting her sexuality (Britney Spears) or a bikini/nude model (Anna Nicole Smith and many others), then her body is rightly and fairly judged as a commercial commodity, it having been put forward for that purpose.
It is simply false to say that because some women choose to achieve fame or success in this way that all women are only valued in this way just because men have visual sexuality. The highly successful marriages of people of various shapes and sizes is testimony to the much more complex evaluation of a person than simply their size.
Statements like Dr. Bennett's are, I believe, a disservice to women generally, even while being made in their nominal defense and service. In perpetuating a belief that women are valued only visually and sexually, she denigrates women who are most unequivocally valued for much more, and also denigrating men for valuing women in any visual way at all. I believe society would be better served by commenting on the phenomenon of people distorting themselves with implants and steroids to achieve fame from their bodies, rather than making broad judgements of women and men that are simply false. I often wonder what agenda drives an 'academic' to make statements so distorted. Could it be that a Women's Studies program only has relevance as long as the belief that women are exploited visually by men is perpetuated?
Ted
According to Dr. Dianne Bennett, a Women’s Studies Professor at Loyola Marymount University, these “jokes” aren’t just attacks on Jessica; they are attacks on all women. “It is a way of telling us that even the most physically admired women will be the objects of ridicule if they gain weight or 'lose' their beauty. It is also a way of telling women that our looks are the only source of our value so that if our looks are diminished, our overall value is also diminished,” Bennett said. “The attacks are also engaging the idea that everybody has the right to look at, talk about, and judge women's bodies, something we rarely do to men.”
Every part of this statement is false logic, misleading or simply false.
Men's sexuality is primarily visual. Everyone knows this; it is biology. I will not go into the hormonal details here, but the structure of the visual cortex is different in men and women, that difference induced by a different distribution of androgen and estrogen receptors in the brain. Some women choose (or sometimes have no other option) to use their bodies visually for gain. These two facts set up a false syllogism: All men appreciate women visually; some women are specifically valued visually; therefore all women are only valued visually. This is simply incorrect. It is logically false, as demonstrated when phrased in formal logic terms.
The jokes and comments made are no reflection on women generally. Any person who is in the public in eye in whole or part because of their physical appearance is liable for having that appearance discussed and judged. This is as true of men as it is of women. Actors whose work depends on their physique get critiqued routinely, like Arnold Schwarzenegger being photographed and laughed at for his belly lopping over his Speedo, or Kevin Federline being called K-'fed' after gaining weight. Male athletes who gain weight or get out of shape get roasted for it, such as Ali, or Charles Barkley.
Women and men who choose to be valued for their abilities are not judged at all this way. Meryl Streep is evaluated by her extraordinary acting skills. No one mentions that she has gotten thick in the waist or that her breasts are smaller than some other actress, because these things have nothing to do with how she presents herself. Alec Baldwin is judged by his acting skills because he has never made an issue out of his body, which was once thin but is now fat.
There is an internet item that says, 'if a woman wears a low cut blouse, she has no right to complain when people stare at her breasts'. If a woman opts to use her body for professional gain, as an actress of a certain type (Jennifer Love Hewitt), a singer exploiting her sexuality (Britney Spears) or a bikini/nude model (Anna Nicole Smith and many others), then her body is rightly and fairly judged as a commercial commodity, it having been put forward for that purpose.
It is simply false to say that because some women choose to achieve fame or success in this way that all women are only valued in this way just because men have visual sexuality. The highly successful marriages of people of various shapes and sizes is testimony to the much more complex evaluation of a person than simply their size.
Statements like Dr. Bennett's are, I believe, a disservice to women generally, even while being made in their nominal defense and service. In perpetuating a belief that women are valued only visually and sexually, she denigrates women who are most unequivocally valued for much more, and also denigrating men for valuing women in any visual way at all. I believe society would be better served by commenting on the phenomenon of people distorting themselves with implants and steroids to achieve fame from their bodies, rather than making broad judgements of women and men that are simply false. I often wonder what agenda drives an 'academic' to make statements so distorted. Could it be that a Women's Studies program only has relevance as long as the belief that women are exploited visually by men is perpetuated?
Ted
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