"I have a daughter who’s 10 and we walked past a billboard the other day advertising a TV programme. There was a row of men in suits and a woman in a thong. My daughter said, “Why is it like that? It’s to sell it, isn’t it?” She knows that already. I said, “Yes, it’s a shame a young woman would want to be portrayed in that way,” and she said, “But it’s her choice, isn’t it? Nobody made her do that.” So how do you explain the Gramscian concept of hegemony to a 10 year old? If the culture is so all pervasive that you can’t think outside of it, how are you making genuine choices?"
Monica Ali (via petitefeministe)
I dunno, like. I see and appreciate the point, but this story has two things that bother me:
1) Why respond with “Yes, it’s a shame a young woman would want to be portrayed in that way” ? Why phrase it like that? A young woman WANTED to be portrayed in that way? Really? So…shame on her? I mean, even to a 10 year old (given her daughter’s response) that comment implies paternal judgement on the woman and the woman’s ability to make choices.
2) I don’t know what the hell ‘Gramscian concept of hegemony’ means, but that doesn’t mean I can’t understand how the world works. There are other ways to learn in non-academic/abstract/theory ways. You don’t need to bust out academic terms in order to explain anything to anyone, including 10 year olds. Especially if this kid is already paying attention so well? Chances are she’s ready to listen. Gramscian concepts of hegemony notwithstanding.
(via glockgal)
Reblogged to agree with my sister’s summation of the thing. Why, why, WHY shunt all of the blame to the “young woman who wanted to be portrayed in that way”? Uh, maybe because she wants to eat and pay her rent, and this is the kind of modelling job she can fucking *get*, and she knows she better make cash on her backside in a thong before agencies tell her at age 25 that she’s too old for high-paying gigs? UGH.
(via glockgal)
