In The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood draws attention to a possible uneasy (and unintended) alliance between feminist and theocratic objections to pornography. In his recent Spectator column – ‘Feminism becomes more like Islamism every day’ – Brendan O’Neill returns to the same theme.
People are under very many pressures, and the pressure to look good is (for most of us) probably not our main concern. And men face pressures of their own – such as those fostered by anxieties around ‘rape culture’.
In the past images of scantily clad women were more routinely and gratuitously used to sell commodities associated with a glamorous lifestyle or masculine aspiration.
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But now that images such as this
are rarer, they seem unlikely to have such a very serious impact on women’s self-esteem.
However, although I don’t think the Protein World advert is a big deal, I don’t think it’s reasonable to compare feminist objections to Islamist ones, as Brendan O’Neill does:
In 2011, Muslims in Birmingham used black spraypaint to deface an ad for H&M featuring a woman in a yellow bikini. They were reportedly ‘offended by her flesh’. In 2013, a gang calling itself Muslim Patrol ripped down adverts for a super push-up bra, and spray-painted over others, claiming the ads offended their sensibilities. Now, in 2015, another semi-clad woman appearing on bus-stops and at train stations finds herself being scrawled on by graffiti-artists-cum-censors — only this time the offended felt-tip pen-wielders aren’t Islamists; they’re feminists.
Feminists don’t want to force women to cover up – their concern is the promotion of unattainable images of beauty. The same people who don’t like the adverts may well support initiatives such as the slut walk.
O’Neill thinks that:
Too much modern feminism depicts women as fragile, as unable to cope with rude pictures or rough words, as requiring protection from the banter and imagery of everyday life.
But a constant barrage of such banter and imagery – say in one’s working environment – could well be demoralising. That’s not such an issue nowadays perhaps – but that’s largely because women (and men) identified it as a problem and caused something of a cultural shift. Legislation has of course also had an impact – displaying pin-up girls at work, or making sexist jokes, could well constitute harassment.
Renee Somerfield (the model) offered this response to the controversy.
“I agree that ALL bodies are ‘beach body ready’. Skinny, curvy, muscular, petite, tall, short, young and old. Confidence is beautiful no matter what size you are…. Your reflection doesn’t define your worth.”
Protein World’s reaction has been rather more belligerent, comparing feminist objectors to terrorists, and compounding possible problems with the original campaign:
