raunch

My sister and I have been debating about beauty as a means to power. She emailed me after reading the raunch culture article I wrote in the mag. I thought I’d post our first two emails here as a way to continue the discussion. First email from Nicole:

R,

I am slowly making my way through lip. I would like to take some credit for helping out with the article Prudish or Powerful based on our phone conversation. One thing I “remember” (remember in quotes because I think I though it but I’m not actually sure I said it) from the conversation about bikinis is that one problem with our reaction to women who are happy about their looks and like to show them off is that we see this as inferior. I’m not entirely sure who the we is in this scenario, but certainly at least you and me. We think Ms. USA has accomplished less than say a similarly aged woman who has a PhD. Even though I can make the argument that Ms. USA has probably spent as much time and effort into looking like she does as the doctor has in studying and honing her skills, one seems the far more worthy achievement than the other. Ultimately, poring that much time into one’s looks seems morally unjustified.

But is that fair? Are we right to judge a woman who seeks to promote her best quality as somehow not as good if her best quality is her looks? Intellectual pursuits are not necessarily any more heroic, so why look down on women who choose beauty over brains. And maybe they are insecure, but maybe they’ve earned it just as honestly as we’ve earned our insecurities about our looks. Maybe they stayed in class and watched while all the smart kids got to go somewhere else year after year. And maybe putting on that bikini is their way of sticking it to all those smart kids.

Anyway, the debate over this stuff has gotten huge in America thanks to Pink. Her song “Stupid Girls” has put her on every single talk show in America talking about the over sexualization of her couterparts. I admit, when I saw the video, I thought, “who is she to criticize Jessica Simpson? Clearly, she cares just as much about being sexy—look at her abs.” But then, in one of her interviews, the interviewer said that a lot of people felt she was being hypocritical criticizing some stars for selling their looks. Her response was pretty awesome. She said, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with being sexy, my point is that sexy and smart aren’t oil and water. Ultimately, I agree with her that it doesn’t matter if she’s hypocritical or right; what matters is she’s finally got people talking about female exploitation. We’ll see if has any lasting impact.

N