The Sexualization of Girls
Mackenzie Zeigler, Charli D'amelio, Millie Bobby Brown, the list of young female celebrities that are sexualized by the media goes on and on. Whether it be a comment that goes too far on a bathing suit picture or a video of someone blatantly talking about how ‘sexy’ they find an underage female celebrity, young famous women's bodies have gone from an overused talking point to a lens that shows how all of our beauty standards are created by pedophilia. Commenters will applaud a young celebrity for “dressing her age” as if showing skin means that she is attempting to sexualize herself, when, in reality, categorizing clothing items into age ranges by how much skin they show inherently implies the idea that showing skin and nudity HAS to be sexual when that is not the case in any way, shape or form. The thing is, societal norms and beauty standards have made it so when a woman shows skin or wears revealing clothing, she is showing too much or ‘asking for it’ but when she wears conservative clothing she is a prude or too old fashioned. Women's bodies have become something that is no longer her own to love and take care of, but rather something that is picked apart by the media and treated as if it's solely for male pleasure.
Some women have decided to take advantage of the fact that their bodies are so sexualized, by selling pictures of themselves working out, in bikinis, and so on, on platforms like OnlyFans. Some men see women posting photos of themselves OnlyFans, and how much they are making and claim things like “women have it easy.” But, the men who say things like this are the same men that comment thirst emojis on underage girls Instagrams. Women that use OnlyFans as a source of income are just noticing how sexualized their bodies are, they hear men screaming out of their car window at them as they walk home enough times and they realize that they can turn this nasty card they were dealt, into something good. I am all for changing societal systems that rigged against certain people, however, the systems that exist, exist, and there is no place for shaming women who are working with the system, because women taking back their bodies and deciding when they get to be sexualized, and when they don't, is 100% a step in the right direction.
On the first day of kindergarten, the sexualization of young women's bodies begins, with dress codes. Girls are told that their shoulders and legs are a distraction. Girls cant even go to their place of learning without feeling as if their bodies are something to be ashamed of and scrutinized, and dress codes need complete reform.
Women's bodies don't only get sexualized on paper and in schools, but 86% of women report that they can't even walk down the street without feeling safe due to catcalling. Catcalling is not a compliment, and it furthers the idea that a woman someone will only see once in their life still exists solely to pleasure them. Catcalling is not treated as the serious event that it is. It's not funny, it's not nice, its rape culture, and every woman has had enough.
Women's bodies are not just made for sexualizing, they're not made for men's pleasure or happiness. A woman's body is made for her and she gets to decide what she does with it. Men don't get regulate what women do with their bodies. Period.
