Hypersexualization, violence against women and oppression
Debates about consent notwithstanding, violence is a reality with which many women and girls unfortunately continue to live. What this discussion does reveal, however, is that the dominant patriarchal discourse in North America instills men with a fear of women and girls’ sexual power that serves as a basis for control and domination, creating an enabling environment for violence against women and girls. Without indulging in too many statistics, it is worth pointing out that most perpetrators of sexual assault are male and most survivors/victims are female. The rate of violence against women and girls in Canada is disturbingly high; “half of Canadian women have survived at least one incident of sexual or physical violence”, yet the vast majority of incidents of sexual assault are not reported to police (CRIAW 2002). Most times, violence is perpetrated by an intimate partner or someone else whom the survivor/victim knows and trusts (CRIAW 2002).
Hypersexualization naturalizes, encourages and eroticizes violence against women and girls (Kilbourne 2010, Dines 2010). Many studies have shown that hypersexualization is not a separate issue from violence against women and girls, but rather part of a broader picture of violence that includes sexual assault and harassment, physical, psychological and emotional abuse, structural violence (such as poverty, war and racism), cyberviolence (
see Sidebar C), and the internalization of misogyny contributing to self-harm, substance abuse, eating disorders, and struggles with depression and anxiety (APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls 2007, Kilbourne 2010, Pipher 1992, Tolman 2002). All of these forms of violence help maintain the current social order that upholds male privilege, and the prospect of women’s sexual liberation threatens this order (Filipovic 2008). When hypersexualization and the less ‘visible’ forms of violence are not enough to keep this power structure in
place, men use rape and physical violence (whether knowingly or not) to ensure the continued subjugation of women and girls.When we talk about violence as a means of keeping women and girls in their place, we are really talking about oppression. The word “oppression” originates from fourteenth century Latin and means literally the “action of weighing on someone’s mind or spirits” (Online Etymology Dictionary n.d.). In contemporary times and in the contexts of examining human relations and histories, the word “oppression” is used to refer to the cruel or unfair treatment of one group by another. Feminist thinker bell hooks has developed a theory of oppression that identifies “imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy” as a system, or rather a system of systems, that enables a small group of people to dominate and exploit the majority (hooks 2004: 17). Her work reveals that there are many forms of oppression such as sexism, racism, classism, homophobia, ableism and colonialism, and they all intersect with and reinforce one another.
According to hooks, all forms of violence that exist in North American society are connected. While violence against women is “an expression of male domination”, she argues that
it is the Western philosophical notion of hierarchical rule and coercive authority that is the root cause of violence against women, of adult violence against children, of all violence between those who dominate and those who are dominated (hooks 1984: 118).
In other words, because our society believes in the right of those in power to abuse the less powerful, we tolerate and encourage sexist, racist and homophobic violence, as well as class exploitation, war and environmental degradation. This is reinforced by the fact that we tend to see relationships of domination and subordination as natural and even based on biological facts (e.g. men are aggressive and women are passive). Until we all challenge this way of thinking in ourselves and others, hooks argues that violence will never disappear and will likely worsen.
Resisting hypersexualization
As the literature shows, hypersexualization is but one form of violence experienced by women and girls in today’s rape culture. When one considers gender-based violence as part of a global context that involves multiple forms of oppression, it is difficult to know just where to begin to resist hypersexualization. Can we end violence against women and girls without ending all forms of oppression?
The answer to this question cannot be found here, but fortunately many others have asked the question and identified numerous ways of constructively challenging hypersexualization. Several of the authors featured in this review have offered up strategies for overcoming rape culture that range from policy reform to revolution, operate at multiple scales, and employ various disciplinary and creative approaches.
In the book Yes Means Yes! Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape (Friedman and Valenti 2008), Jill Filipovic highlights the ways in which women are challenging rape culture by promoting a model of “enthusiastic consent” that recognizes female sexual autonomy and women’s right to sexual pleasure and reproductive freedom. She explains that while it is absolutely necessary (and lawful) for men to respect women’s decision not to engage in sexual activity, the usual “no means no” message assumes that women do not want sex and that men cannot control their own sexuality (boys will be boys). Enthusiastic consent is about the right and the ability of women to say yes to the sexual experiences we want, and it fundamentally challenges the gendered paradigm into which most North Americans are socialized. In a broader sense, Filipovic (2008: 25-27) argues that ending rape means challenging oppressive structures and discourses, educating men, asserting women's right to sexual autonomy and reproductive freedom, and promoting a “pleasure-affirming vision of female sexuality.”
The APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (2007: 4) provides an overview of practical alternatives to (hyper-)sexualization that includes media literacy training in schools, healthy extracurricular activities, “comprehensive sexuality education programs,” creative outlets such as zines and blogs, and girl-specific groups that focus on empowerment. The report also recommends further research on the sexualization of girls, education and training of psychologists and teachers, advocating changes in public policy to address sexualization, and increasing public awareness of the issue.
The APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (2007: 4) provides an overview of practical alternatives to (hyper-)sexualization that includes media literacy training in schools, healthy extracurricular activities, “comprehensive sexuality education programs,” creative outlets such as zines and blogs, and girl-specific groups that focus on empowerment. The report also recommends further research on the sexualization of girls, education and training of psychologists and teachers, advocating changes in public policy to address sexualization, and increasing public awareness of the issue.
According to Jean Kilbourne (2010), addressing hypersexualization requires setting in motion changes that are “profound and global.” She stresses that we need to think of ourselves primarily as citizens with basic rights rather than consumers. This paradigm shift must occur, she argues, if we are to have “authentic and freely chosen lives”. Kilbourne’s message is echoed by Jackson Katz, who in his documentary Tough Guise (1999) asserts that men are capable of breaking the cycle of violence against women and cultivating healthy masculinities. He emphasizes the importance of “break[ing] the monopoly of the media system,” which is currently controlled by wealthy, white, heterosexual men, in order to allow for a more diverse and healthy range of images and messages to be circulated in our culture (see Sidebar D).
There is evidence that this elite media monopoly is indeed being challenged by women and girls who are creating alternative, non-hypersexualizing representations. For example, in
Queer Girls and Popular Culture: Reading, Resisting, and Creating Media (2007), Susan Driver discusses the ways in which girls who do not conform to heteronormative expectations are capable of both critiquing and transforming mainstream culture, recognizing that it currently does not reflect the richness and complexity of their realities. With the rise of social media, it seems that new spaces are opening up for youth to redefine culture and our roles within it.
Conclusion
What does redefining culture look like? This is an area where more research is needed, particularly with regard to alternatives to hypersexualization. While we have a variety of tools at our disposal for critiquing and deconstructing gender roles, overcoming hypersexualization requires a cultural process of constructing healthy masculinities and femininities, and a serious look at how we can redefine “sexy” so that it connotes both pleasure and safety for women and adolescent girls. The voices and stories of youth are crucial in this process of renegotiation, and supportive adults have an important role to play in opening up spaces in which these conversations can happen.
References
Dines, G. (2010).
Pornland: How porn has hijacked our sexuality.
Boston: Beacon Press.
Driver, S. (2007). Queer Girls and Popular Culture: Reading, resisting, and creating media. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
Filipovic, J. (2008). Offensive feminism: The conservative gender norms that perpetuate rape culture, and how feminists can fight back. In J. Friedman, & J. Valenti (Eds.), Yes Means Yes: Visions of female sexual power and a world without rape (pp. 13-27). Berkeley, California: Seal Press.
Friedman, J. and J. Valenti (Eds.). (2008). Yes Means Yes: Visions of female sexual power and a world without rape. Berkeley, California: Seal Press.
hooks, b. (1984). Feminist Theory: From margin to center. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.
hooks, b. (2004). The Will to Change: Men, masculinity, and love. New York: Atria Books.
Katz, J. (Director), Tough Guise: Violence, media, and the crisis in masculinity. (1999). [Video/DVD]
Kilbourne, J. (Director), Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's image of women. (2010). [Video/DVD]
Pipher, M. (1994 and 1992). Reviving Ophelia: Saving the selves of adolescent girls. USA: Ballantine Books, Mass Market Edition.
Tolman, D. L. (2002). Dilemmas of Desire: Teenage girls talk about sexuality. USA: First Harvard University Press.
Yes Means Yes: Visions of female sexual power and a world without rape. Berkeley, California: Seal Press.
