Portraying Females in Media...

Can you imagine a culture where photos of women are banned?  Can you imagine what the grocery check-out lines would look like without all the magazines, many featuring models with altered photos? King Abdullah of  Saudi Arabia has called for a ban on photos of women saying “one needs to think if he would want his daughter, sister or wife to appear like that. Of course, no one would." Newspapers in Saudi Arabia had recently broken with tradition and published photos of women that showed their faces but with their hair covered.

In the U.S., a site on Sexual Relationships in the Media notes that the pressure put on women through ads, television, film and new media to be sexually attractive—and sexually active—is profound. 

Wendy Shallit writes in Modest Extremes: Why an Observant Jew Understands Sexuality Better Than Hugh Hefner:

It all begs the question: If doing away with modesty was supposed to be liberating, why is the sex now so bad? Why should men and women be further apart than ever?

To me, the essential confusion comes down to mistaking modesty for shame. If you think sexuality should be private, goes the prevailing view, then you must be ashamed of it. You must be a prude. Conversely, if you are “comfortable with your sexuality,” then you should be “cool”…

In truth, the real reason for sexual modesty is not shame, but an awareness of how precious we are. Smirk at that statement if you will, but the fact remains: It is a rare dog that desires a candlelit dinner before mating. On the other hand, it is a rare human who can have a one-night stand without feeling at least a twinge of guilt afterward. And, howls of protest from vested interests notwithstanding, most men know that their most intimate relationships should not be with their computer browsers.

The media and cultural expectations/portrayals of women... The power of the media and its messages...

Comments

[Kathy]

Right on! How awful to consider a world without pictures of females...it's like erasing us from existence! However, suggestive pictures of women don't do us any good either, and demean us in a different way.

Eloquent post!

[Jael]

True. The hubs was the first man I ever slept with, and I'm proud of that. I'm also proud that we have a great relationship in that area, because its been a mutual journey. When women "explore" I think alot is lost on the wrong people.

[Jille]

How interesting that modesty is coming back into fashion. Something suggested is more alluring than nudity because of the mystery, something remains to be discovered.

You should check out Modestly yours, http://blogs.modestlyyours.net/ a group blog of young women reacting against the predominant images pushed at us by the main street media