Thursday, July 1, 2010

You see, here is what bothers me...

Disclaimer: I am not trying to piss anyone off by posting this. I am not trying to make fun of anyone. I am not trying to be rude or insulting. I am stating my opinion. If you have a different opinion, feel free to voice it in the comments, as long as you play nice.


So. I have a problem with that one particular vampire franchise that just released a new movie. (I am trying my damnedest to avoid the name, because I do not particularly want to be spammed by anonymous haters after this post.)

My problem is that it makes people crazy. People who are normally quite reasonable, even.

I've heard men complain about how these movies make the women in their lives go absolutely bonkers.  "These movies are like porn for women," said one of them.
I have had many a girl friend tell me that they don't watch the movies because of the storyline, but because of the hard bodies. I have heard happily married women gush over the shirtless male actors. This bothers me!

And here is why:
If my husband was to sit in a theater and wolf-whistle and cat-call whenever a beautiful, half-dressed woman appeared on the screen, I would be insulted. NOT only because it would make me feel unsure about my own value in his eyes (and yes, I admit that I am insecure enough to feel this way) but because I think that this sort of behavior devalues and objectifies women, and is insulting to our gender as a whole. I am not flattered when a random stranger whistles at me. I am offended. My body is not an object for you to approve or disapprove of.
Am I alone in this? I don't know.
But, the point is that the same thing applies to our treatment of men. Why should we demand respect from our men, if we don't respect them in return?


Something to think about:
It is one thing to say "Hey, I think that person is attractive." It is quite another to swoon and shriek and yell "Edward is sooooo sexy! Woooooo baby!"



Now. I know that this doesn't apply to everyone. Some of you get absolutely no thrill from Edward and Jacob, and just enjoy the vampire and werewolf bits of the movie. And some of you might have no problem with your husband/wife admiring other women/men. I know many couples are fine with the 'look, don't touch' philosophy. To each their own. But... I felt like I had to get my opinion out there.

3 comments:

Ashlie Dalton said...

agreed. i find the whole "T" and vampire fad so annoying actually. it's just girls feeding off other girls annoyingness. and i'm ready for the whole thing to die out. even though i read the books and enjoyed them...everyone else ruined that for me.
also, more than it just being insulting the way girls "swoon" over these guy's bodies... it is plain WEIRD. i guess i should just feel grateful that i've never been one to lust after a body. it's just not me. THANK GOODNESS. but i agree i would definitely have a problem if luke acted like that toward another womans looks. thankfully he never would. because we're normal. hehe... ok i'm being a little bit rude now i know. but seriously...

agreed full heartedly with all your thoughts.

Randi Gardner said...

Oh I love this post!
I witnessed this first hand at the premier. My mom asked me to go and i knew it would make me feel silly, but i like the movies and so i went and watched all 3 actually. My mom and I were so irritated with the conduct of all the "married" women there.
They were either mocking the movie loudly or screaming out and whistling at edward and jacob.. it was so childish.
I am pretty laid back - I dont mind if trenton thinks an actress is attractive because its just obvious that a lot of movie stars are.. he feels the same with me, but the fact that all these women go without their husbands and yell innapropriate things about these young men on screen is just icky!

Ha

The Marvelous Mrs. Miller said...

I couldn't agree with you more. For Heavens sakes you have women who are Happily Married Drooling over "teenage" boys? I don't get it, I just don't.