Saturday, January 31, 2015

Vagina Comodification

Vagina. Vagina. Vagina. Vagina. Vagina. Vagina. Vagina. Vagina. Vagina. Vagina. Vagina. Vagina. Vagina.

Why is the word Vagina such a loaded word? Why are vaginas left out of mainstream culture? Why do our movies censor women and female genitalia while normalizing the penis?

How can vaginas be so censored, so vulgarized in today's society, but yet so comodified ?  Free the Vagina!

When we see movies and television today  we are likely to come across a joke, between men, about sex and penis. Penises today are so normalized: we see them in movies, we have jokes about them, we draw them on people's faces, but yet vaginas remain censored in every media domain. As a society,  we are taught to think of vaginas as dirty, as pornographic,  as inappropriate, as gross. Basic vaginal functions are shunned and are forbidden to discussion and the only time we hear vaginas discussed in sex is as an object of conquer, a "thing" to fuck. Vaginas are not a body part to be proud of like the penis, it is something to be ashamed of. Vaginas are offensive. It,  in fact, is the most offensive word in the english language. CUNT.

So we live in a society where we have this very strange juxtaposition. A society where vaginas are censored and dirty, but yet they are so comodified. Vaginas need to look a certain way, we need to shave a certain way, we need to smell a certain way. They sell us our own vaginas in porn, in advertisements, in movies. We are taught how a normal vagina is supposed to function, an image we are supposed to project to the male population,  that is no where near how our vaginas actually smell, look, function. So we portray this image and work and pay for this image. Because, God forbid , if our vaginas do have hair, or do smell, or do bleed, or orgasm  we as a whole our shunned from society. And the best part of society. Sex. We are bombarded by media telling us that men will refuse to give us sex unless our vagina fits this perfect comodified model.

Which brings us to this strange juxtaposition, which now doesn't seem so strange. Isn't it just about control...?

So how can we take back our vaginas? How do we take it back from the porn industry, media, men?  How do we beat this double standard? I'm not quite sure. It might be doing whatever the hell you want with your vagina. And throwing around awkward vagina talk in the faces of all your misogynistic colleagues. But I'm not quite sure. :p =(l)=

4 comments:

  1. I wish I could take exception to what you wrote but I cannot. After class last week I read that male circumcision has reached a historic low in the USA. Stats suggest 55% of boys are not circumcised. The result is men are insecure about how they look with foreskin and a record number of men are seeking out plastic surgeon. Perhaps men are starting to feel the social pressure women have long felt about their appearance.

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  2. AHAHAHA... "I wonder if anyone has posted on the blog! ...vagina vagina vagina vagina vagina." That was not what I was expecting. I'm not exactly sure how male circumcision relates, though.

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  3. Point I was trying to make is men too feel pressure to be typical. Far less than what women experience but still present. regardless it is bit of a reach.

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  4. Point I was trying to make is men too feel pressure to be typical. Far less than what women experience but still present. regardless it is bit of a reach.

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