feminism

Among feminists, there are puritan prudes who, in crying down “pornography”, object to advertisers’ use of the female body-beautiful on billboards, posters, magazines and television to sell products. They claim that such images “demean women”. It is doubtful that images of beautiful and sexy girls demean women. It is probably only the plain Janes and ugly duckling who feel demeaned when they compare themselves with the beautiful images over which men drool and lose their self-control. The truth or falsity of that jealous complaint is for women to sort out among themselves; however, it should be noted that if public displays of images of the female body-beautiful do “demean women”, then every woman who displays her own body-beautiful in public places (streets, parties, offices, beaches) also “demeans women”. If certain images are to be banned for “demeaning women”, so too must every woman’s self-display of a similarly provocative sort.