Many people believe that women are seen as objects of desire in our culture. However, I would like to argue that women, in some respects, are actually seen as aesthetically pleasing objects. Contemporary women are expected to wear makeup. Makeup is analogous to paint. Women paint their faces to become aesthetically pleasing to both men and women- not sexually but simply aesthetically. Similarly, fashion is considered a kind of art- women like to get dressed up not for necessarily for men, but just to look pretty. But the most concerning beauty standard for women is probably the "thin ideal". Contemporary women are expected to be thin, and often too thin. I believe that, for some reason, thin women are aesthetically pleasing (to both men and women). Although women with eating disorders are often thought of as sexy, there's really not anything sexual about them. They tend to lose their sex drive, as well as their ability to conceive and carry a child. In class, we briefly discussed the evolutionary perspective of this: certain features are considered beautiful in women because they represent fertility or nurturance. I disagree. As I just described, the ideal women in our society would be physically ill-fitted to mother a child. So, we created this thin ideal because it aesthetically pleasing- not because it is sexually desirable.
How many times have we heard someone compare a women's body to a violin? This comparison is not being made because both things are desirable (I'm assuming here that the person saying this is not attracted to the violin) but because both things are aesthetically pleasing. Art is far more likely to depict female nudity than male nudity. This is not sexual. It's because we find women's bodies to be something nice to look at. Women's bodies are canvases for them-or others- to form a work of art. The objectification of women in our society certainly has something to do with sexuality and desire, but we tend to overlook the aesthetic aspect of it.
Question: Why are thin women aesthetically pleasing to us?
NOTE: I hope this post isn't found to be offensive. I am certainly not attacking thin women/women with eating disorders. I simply disagree with the thin ideal in our society.
