The movie Sucker Punch came out about three years ago. Though it was epic, a lot of people criticized it because of the apparent "subliminal messages" it contained. The movie is heavy on action sequences while playing on the theme of oppressed women and how they liberate themselves, which is good, but a lot of people were confused as to how this could work when the girls were wearing some pretty revealing outfits for most of the movie. The funny thing is, the actresses themselves have stated in several interviews that they actually felt very empowered in their roles and felt that the movie got it's message across positively. And even the director explained that he didn't put them in skimpy outfits to objectify them; he wanted to bring to light how "fanboys" (who usually value brains over brawn) actually desire attractive females as much as the dominating macho-types do.
So I ask the question: can you be attractive and yet "empowering" for your gender?
Let's face it, we can't go through a day without seeing an attractive women being used to market a product. Their skinny, meticulously tanned bodies grace everything from Jaguar ads to Greek yogurt commercials. But at the same time, have you ever noticed that men are idealized in advertisements as well? How they possess miraculously white teeth, a six pack, and a fresh wardrobe? Don't get me wrong, men have been portrayed as unattractive or clueless, especially when it comes to baby-related commercials, because we all know that men just can't be attractive, successful, AND a good father, right? Of course they can, just as women can be all of those things. But society is telling us everyday that somehow you need to pick either sexiness or integrity if you want to succeed.
How is it that you can't be both?
I think the easiest way to explain this would be to compare the classic nerd and the popular kids. The popular girls are attractive and sociable, but also submit somewhat to their jock counterparts. On the other side, the nerd girls have all the brains and character, but they may lack social skills and flawless beauty (this is hypothetical, of course; we are all beautiful.) And you would think that since the jock boys enjoy their sexy girlfriends, that the nerd boys would enjoy their somewhat-unattractive girlfriends, right?
Actually, not quite. While the consumerist, mainstream culture seems to cater to the jocks by presenting sexy images of women, the nonconformist, "nerd" side isn't much different. Nerds may value brain over brawn, but they are still boys. They're still going to most likely prefer a sexy female over a zit-covered one; why else are female comic book and video game characters always seem to be scantily clad? And it's not just the boys. I'm sure that most girls would not turn down someone like Ryan Reynolds for someone like Mel Gibson. We don't like to admit that we tend to notice physical attractiveness before brains, but let's face it, we do. And some people have too much of a problem with that, despite how they probably do the same thing.
Don't get me wrong, I am against women being objectified in every sense. But why is it only a problem when women are portrayed as sexy? Is it because it's encouraging men to become chauvinists? Or is it really because the very people who criticize these objectified women are actually somewhat jealous of them?
That's right, I said jealous.
I know some of you are thinking, "When I see a girl in a short skirt and tight blouse, I'm not jealous. I just think she's helping to further perpetuate a stereotype." But hold on a second: why would you be concerned that she is sexually appealing if it really just means she's going to have to deal with possible sexual harassment all by herself? What ever happened to "to each their own"? Why should we even care what other girls are wearing? It's not like she's forcing you to wear it; her decisions don't affect you except for the fact that you are both the same gender. Yeah, I get the fact that if a man sees her walk by he may automatically think, "Now that I have seen an extremely attractive woman, I am going to use her as the standard for any other woman I come into contact with because I am only listening to what my ding-a-ling is telling me." Yet not every man goes out with the sole purpose of objectifying women. It's kind of thrust onto everyone through shameless advertising. We seem to forget that the men and women are being paid, not forced, to appear seductive in an ad.
But again, apparently if you appear to be more attractive than other people of the same gender then it is wrong. I actually think that it's because when we see these models, we get a little nervous that people we come into contact with may reject us or harass us for not being as attractive as the "beautiful people", or that they will expect us to live up to the same standard. With that logic it sounds like you can only be a good female/male role model if you are not too attractive or sexy, because then you are not "empowering", you are just shamelessly parading yourself around with your beauty and we should hate you, though we won't know why.
So in order to totally NOT play along with the possible sexist connotations against your gender, you can only win the fight against the chauvinists by just...not being attractive.
Wait, what?
So if I choose to wear tight clothes or a skirt that's a bit short then somehow I'm no longer a role model? That I'm not a "good example" and that I just present the other gender with the idealized sense of beauty I'm supposed to be against?
This is when I think, "Well, look who's putting appearance before character now!" Ironic, isn't it?
Being attractive is not a bad thing. I don't think movies would be very successful if we hired average people to be in them. I think the root of the problem is that we value beauty and we value brains but from some strange reason think they aren't supposed to go together.
The nerds and the populars will never accumulate! Everyone must stay on their side! Everything must be segregated!
But why??? Wouldn't putting these together be the best of both worlds?
To conclude this, I do believe that you can be empowering and attractive at the same time. Being smart does not mean you have to sacrifice inner beauty; usually the girls who combine the two are among the rarest and most wonderful of all (this goes for the boys too, by the way). And if people give you a hard time about being sexy, then who cares? You've got the wit to deal with it, and that is what's empowering.
P.S. Sucker Punch is an awesome flick...go see it!
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