Staff Writer – Katrin Callender
It started with a change in status. There I was happily checking my Facebook account when I saw an image and caption that made me utterly sick. I looked at the name of the individual posting it and was shocked, then saddened. And our relationship has not been the same since.
The photograph- an extreme close-up of a woman’s undergarment with her groin slightly visible beneath the fabric- was initially posted on a page titled something along the lines of “Camel toes and Fat cats”. The connection, as I later understood, between the photograph and the two animals, was that these were terms apparently used to describe the appearance of a woman’s parts.
The few photographs that actually deigned to feature the faces of the women, whose anatomy had been captured, also made me ill. These suggested that regardless of the talents these celebrities possessed, they were reduced to a joke surrounding the shape of their private parts.
I was incensed! I immediately sought the words of those who shared my sentiments, posting quotes taken from feminist theorists. It was not to be endured. It was offensive to me. Did the persons operating that page know or even care about the pain they caused, when they chose to send the messages that images like that one sent to their audiences and to women like myself who were so displeased by it?
I also felt betrayed. How could someone who called himself a friend, be so vile? And had he learned nothing from me. I believe in taking care of the women around me and ensuring their well-being; I seek to educate and edify them. And here it was that he was sharing an image that showed no regard for the accomplishments of women, because as far as the site administrator was concerned, she was not her brain; her smile; her acts of kindness; or her acts of courage, she was her organ- a camel toe; a fat cat.
I felt and still feel very strongly, that we have to stop dehumanizing others. As a race, we sometimes measure someone’s worth in terms of what they contribute financially or physically only. However, the implications of viewing people as merely workforce or object include the creation of deep wounds, which heal at a painfully slow rate. Indeed, the effects of Slavery and similar systems, upon us are evidence of this.
Photo courtesy wolf189.blogspot.com
I cannot wrap my head around the fact that this individual took a photograph of an athlete or model or some such performer, while performing their craft- usually among the most beautiful sights to behold- and decided to zoom in on her panties, or crop the photograph, instead of appreciating the execution of the talent being demonstrated in that image.
We as women- and men are very much included in the observation- are more than any body part. We are spiritual and emotional beings, with insecurities, idiosyncrasies, talents and dreams. And every one of those attributes makes up a part of the unique story of our lives.
These are the things that make us beautiful and amazing. I cannot respect someone who would overlook all of that for some cheap titillation or ridiculous humour. I choose to love and respect my fellow man not degrade and dehumanize him.
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