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Ashley Judd & Woman Hatred

Wed, 04/11/2012 - 09:30
Submitted by LilithLand

I just finished reading Ashley Judd's article in the Daily Beast. And I had to blog about it. For those who haven't heard, there has been a lot of media speculation over the last few weeks that she has had plastic surgery -- largely due to a TV appearance she made with a puffy face.

She finally answered her critics, not only by denying surgery (she says she was on steroids for a cold), but by pointing out that discussions like this are a load of sexist crap. I loved, loved, loved her statements. She writes:

"...the recent speculation and accusations in March feel different, and my colleagues and friends encouraged me to know what was being said. Consequently, I choose to address it because the conversation was pointedly nasty, gendered, and misogynistic and embodies what all girls and women in our culture, to a greater or lesser degree, endure every day, in ways both outrageous and subtle. The assault on our body image, the hypersexualization of girls and women and subsequent degradation of our sexuality as we walk through the decades, and the general incessant objectification is what this conversation allegedly about my face is really about."

And again:

"The Conversation about women’s bodies exists largely outside of us, while it is also directed at (and marketed to) us, and used to define and control us. The Conversation about women happens everywhere, publicly and privately. We are described and detailed, our faces and bodies analyzed and picked apart, our worth ascertained and ascribed based on the reduction of personhood to simple physical objectification. Our voices, our personhood, our potential, and our accomplishments are regularly minimized and muted."

In other words, it's not only nobody's damn business what she does with her face, but why do we continually subject women to this kind of scrutiny? I can't read any kind of magazine, watch TV, or read comments online without there being some kind of reference to how a woman in the public eye looks.

Judd turned it around and rightly asked why her face was such a topic of conversation anyway. We don't do this to men. Men aren't judged solely by how fuckable they are. When was the last time you saw an article dissecting Johnny Depp's face and whether or not it was "new and improved"? And that is what this whole thing is about in a nutshell --that a woman's primary value is limited to how she looks; how fuckable she is to men. If you aren't a fuckable female, you are useless waste of DNA. If you don't believe me (or Judd) scroll down the page of the Daily Beast article and check out the vitriolic comments about Judd from a troll who calls himself/herself "AshleyJuddisOLDandFat".

I don't know whether or not Judd has had surgery, and frankly, it isn't any of my business. What I do know is that her comments are right on. Focusing on a woman's appearance minimizes her as a person. It makes it more difficult for all women to be taken seriously professionally, personally, and politically. If women are just eye candy than it's okay to control their reproductive freedom, pay them less money, and beat them silly.

The insanity needs to end.

We Suggest: 
Betty Dodson's Bodysex Workshop
"Desire Overwhelms Most Preferences"
"I am a Woman, Not a Castrate"
If the Masters Had Photoshop
Women, Sex, Culture & Relationships
http://www.lilithland.net/

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Well, I think she's

Wed, 04/11/2012 - 12:10
Elin A (not verified)

Well, I think she's right. 
But I also thing plastic surgery is a result of the same misogynicism she's talking about.

Respect

Wed, 04/11/2012 - 13:59
Jake E

 It's not very difficult to close your eyes and become a woman and when I do that I feel that society wants to own me and tell me what is appropriate and if my appearance is always the 1st thing on the agenda I feel that I must look good first before anything else I do is respected. That's not a good feeling.

I think it's lovely if we can compliment someone on their appearance and have them know their sexiness is a valuable part of them. Perhaps instead of shaming people we ditch the churches agenda for our own and respect sex and sexuality and respect each others sexiness as valuable and something that belongs to us and give each other kudos for it, just like any other talent like a great singing voice. The issue is one of respect and If we did that for everyone regardless of sex or gender the problem would be solved. Your welcome :)

Unique and beautiful

Wed, 04/11/2012 - 22:01
Collette

I have thought quite a lot about body image issues, especially after reading some of Marissa’s posts, and after watching the Bodysex DVD. I started looking around at women that I work and noticed that thin does not equal attractive, contrary to what is marketed to us all the time. I see some women that are quite thin, and maybe I think their outfit is cute and geez, maybe I would wear that if I were that thin, but they aren’t necessarily beautiful.

Then I see other women, who may be larger, or average, or older, or younger, and they might be quite attractive. Each is unique, and beautiful in their uniqueness. Every single one of the women on Bodysex is absolutely gorgeous. I can’t really say that one is my favorite or more beautiful than the other. How wonderful the video is, celebrating naked women celebrating their sexuality.

How did we all get to the point that we so narrowly define what beauty is, and we let so much of our self-worth be driven by our perception of how closely we mimic a contrived notion of what is beautiful? I get annoyed at women in my life that constantly self-denigrate because they think they are not thin enough. We really need to resolve to quit putting ourselves down and love who we are, and especially to raise our daughters with healthy self-esteem and not let them fall into the “thin is beautiful” trap. Healthy, confident women are beautiful, regardless of stature.

What I liked about what

LilithLand's picture
Thu, 04/12/2012 - 13:45
LilithLand

What I liked about what Ashley's reaction was that she called the media on its own bullshit. Women are subject to so much scrutiny regarding their appearance. It is hard to develop a positive self-image. As a teenager, I was so self-conscious about my butt that I never wore anything tucked in or form fitting. 

Ashley Judd is right

Sun, 04/15/2012 - 01:40
Patrick_R

People should be left alone and allowed to be whoever they are without interference or scrutiny. Unfortunately there are whole billion-dollar industries built around making us anxious about how we look, how we smell, whether we're 'acceptable' compared to any of a thousand arbitrary, meaningless criteria. Marketing firms shamefully employ Ph.D psychologists to better worm their way into our deepest insecurities.

Cosmetic surgery stories do happen to male celebrities sometimes, and more and more boys have body anxieties and eating disorders that used to be seen almost exclusively in girls. I think boys have begun to absorb the 'you're not OK' messages that have
been broadcast to women for so long that they've become a part of our culture. No matter who these things are happening to, it's wrong.

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