Does Sucker Punch Objectify Women?
On Friday night I went with some friends to Harvard and Stone, a bar in Hollywood/Silverlake where they have some burlesque dancers who come out every 45 minutes or so and do a sexy dance. It was fun to watch!
That's me on the right, obviously...
On Saturday I had acting class and in the evening I went with some acting friends to see Sucker Punch. What a crazy movie! There isn't a lot of character development but there is quite a bit of ass-kicking and some well-defined abs. Abbie Cornish in particular looks incredible. I talked before about the movie Bright Star and how much I loved it, and I will always like her because of that movie.
See? Gorgeous.
There's been some controversy around Sucker Punch, saying that there's a discrepancy between the apparent female empowerment message of the film (it's all about abused women kicking the shit out of everyone who has hurt them, pretty much) and the skimpy outfits they wear throughout the whole thing, that reeks to some people of objectification. The coincidence of my burlesque viewing on Friday combined with this movie made me consider whether women wearing sexy outfits is really objectification and/or exploitation. I read a review that said that the outfits in Sucker Punch are all about exciting men, as if that were a foregone conclusion. But here's my radical hypothesis -- heterosexual women like seeing beautiful women in sexy outfits just as much as heterosexual men or homosexual women do. I don't know about homosexual men but I'm willing to bet that they can appreciate some awesome-looking lady body as much as I can. I'm not romantically or sexually interested in women but I love looking at beautiful, sexy women in revealing outfits. I think all women do (uhh... fashion blogs/magazines?). It's about appreciating beauty (and appreciating the hard work that goes into those defined abs). So why do we immediately think that women in sexy outfits are just being objectified or appealing to men?
Obviously, there is a lot to be written on this topic. And you know that thousands of graduate school essays have been, so I won't attempt to be comprehensive. I'll just re-iterate my point: women like looking at women, too.
Moving on...
This week I've been eating lots of steamed veggie bowls. I took a few pictures, but I've realized there is NO way to make these look appetizing. Though they are.
Fat-free refried beans, broccoli slaw, broccoli, cauliflower, sauerkraut, sprouts, spinach, fresh cilantro, nooch, pico de gallo. Everything until the sauerkraut mixed and microwaved for two minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients. Season with whatever.
A similar veggie bowl, different meal. This one had seitan and kale.
This one had BBQ sauce.
I've also been working out a lot, and often twice a day, because I've had the time. This isn't inspired by Sucker Punch, though that certainly didn't hurt my motivation. It's just inspired by wanting something more out of my workouts... which I will talk more about TOMORROW. I did feel inspired to write down what I ate and what I did for exercise today, though. It might be fun to keep track for a little while.
Workout:
Morning:
45 minutes bike
30 minutes weights - biceps, triceps, deltoids, chest, upper back, abs
stretching
Evening:
15 minutes bike
10 minutes calisthenics
stretching
Food Diary
Breakfast: 1 bowl Cracklin' Oat Bran with almond milk
Lunch: 1 Dr. Praeger's patty, three bites Trader Joe's beefless strips
Snack: 1 serving edamame
Dinner: Veggie bowl with fat-free re-fried beans, broccoli slaw, broccoli, cauliflower, clover sprouts, sauerkraut, BBQ sauce, and nutritional yeast
1 serving Dal Mix (new Whole Foods purchase I'll write about soon)
(Dinner)
BTW, I will just reiterate what I hope is obvious -- I'm not saying this is how anyone SHOULD eat or exercise. This is just what I happened to do and eat today. I don't necessarily think Cracklin' Oat Bran is the healthiest cereal, but I find it really filling and delicious and I felt like buying it this week. I could have used more raw veggies. Oh well.
Have you seen Sucker Punch? Or burlesque dancing? What do you think of my theory? Do you think skimpy outfits immediately mean women are being showcased for men's enjoyment, or are we all enjoying it? I would include the actresses, here. Everyone likes getting dressed up and if I had a six-pack I'd probably be showing it off.
