A few years ago I was watching a fairly superficial interview with Hugh Heffner and the reporter made some comment alluding to how much Feminists must hate him… Hugh had a very interesting response. He noted that in his early days with Playboy and right up until the late 70’s he was considered a sort of pioneer in the feminist movement and that at some point things changed and he became the target.
He expanded a bit on the subject by saying that in the 50’s and 60’s he was one of the first people to not only accept, but promote the woman’s right to express herself as a sexual being without be labeled or judged.
For whatever reason, this interview has always stuck with me… My initial thought was that Mr. Heffner was glossing over the big difference between promoting a woman’s right to sexual expression and exploiting it. And in my opinion, Hugh was exploiting it… But the more I thought about it the more I realized that the big difference was not really that big at all… in fact, the whole subject is quite abstract. Is having a woman pose nude, or strip, or dance in a music video really exploitive? If the woman wants to do it, agrees to it, gets paid well to do it- is it still exploitation?
I don’t see how it could be.
But on the other hand, I have a little sister… I have many nieces… I don’t want them to watch music video’s or see billboard ads of scantily clad girls and think “that’s what a woman is supposed to be.”
I don’t want my nieces to grow up to become a stripper… and that brings up a whole separate issue… As many of you know, I love strippers… I’ve known some strippers and for the most part- they’re decent people. They’re mothers. They’re daughters. They’re sisters… They’re- gulp- nieces…
So even though I don’t want my niece to become a stripper, I have a hard time with telling some 24 year old girl who dancers as a means to put food on the table that she shouldn’t do what she’s doing because it sets a bad example…
I think little girls (or little kids in general) should strive to be anything they want to be. Doctors, Lawyers, Veterinarians, Politicians, all that… but not everybody can get there.
I wanted to coach the University of Maryland basketball team when I was a kid… but it didn’t happen. Should I beat myself up over that?
Somebody has to be a mechanic, somebody has to be a window washer, somebody has to be a ditch digger, and somebody has to be a stripper…
So where is the line?
Shouldn’t a woman be able to make a living doing whatever she wants do as long as it’s legal?
Does a woman have a responsibility to not let herself be made into a sex object?
Is Hugh Heffner a feminist? Or is he an exploiter?
I’ve thought about this subject a lot and yet the more I debate the issue in my mind- the further I get from any conclusion… The only thing I’m sure of is the fact that I’m not sure about anything.
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Farting in the Shower is a ramblingand ecclectic mix of short stories, embarrasing confessions, pictures, and fast food reviews.
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12 comments:
this is a difficult debate. you can always fall back on personal choice. you make the choice. i think exploitation is more when someone is forced to do it. in some scenarios it is because it is a better paying alternative than busing tables, waitressing, or something like that. i know that is cliche. the idea is still the same.
it is like the kids in the ghetto, do they either choose to go to school or make an even quicker buck slinging some drugs. i dont know.
EXPLOIT -
–verb (used with object) 1. to utilize, esp. for profit; turn to practical account: to exploit a business opportunity.
2. to use selfishly for one's own ends: employers who exploit their workers.
3. to advance or further through exploitation; promote: He exploited his new movie through a series of guest appearances.
I was ready to say that as long as someone is getting paid, they're not being exploited. I went to dictionary.com to settle the debate once and for all. I then realized that what I say and what the dictionary says is contradictory. By definition, Hugh exploits the women in his magazine. I still say that if they're willingly accepting money for their "deeds", then they remove any exploitation tag from Heff...
its exploitation in my mind.. even if they accept money.. how the definition says..
2. to use selfishly for one's own ends: employers who exploit their workers.
employer exploiting the workers.. which they do get paid..
good question. I think feminine exploitation falls into the realm of public perception and self worth.
Not a question easily answered. Anyone can earn money/choose a job and the job is still exploitation- just self exploitation.
If it is a womens choice to follow this sort of career I don't think it is exploitation.
However the sex industry is one that is open to explotation, the most obvious cases are of young girls smuggled into our countrys (from poorer one's) with the promise of a better life only to find they get stuck in a seedy world.
white rose boy says that if it is a woman's choice to perform this kind of work, then it is not exploitation.
my gut reaction is to disagree with this statement unless it takes into consideration the other opportunities that are available to these women.
if you grow up poor, attend bad schools, have a bad family life, and then you end up being a stripper, well, you can say that a woman "chose" to be a stripper. but she didn't necessarily have the same range of choices as someone in a different socioeconomic position.
on the other hand, if paris hilton decided to become a stripper, then i would agree with white rose boy. it was her choice. she is not being exploited.
i think it all comes down to the kinds of "choices" that are really available to women.
hmm? this is very intersting...mostly because just like dcn i too am a fan of strippers. i've always believed that the world is made of choices. people choose their own destiny.
so lets say that one did grow up in the ghetto, didn't go to a good school or had a not so good relationship with family, it's up to that individual to decide what is good for him or her. look at oprah...i'm not a fan of hers but i do admire her because she did come from the ghetto and messed up family yet she chose to be do something about it.
mr. hefner is not a feminist or an exploiter, he is a business man. i've often gotten upset...but never have said it outloud...when women criticize him instead of criticizing the women on the magazine...not that i mind looking at women on the magazine. really, the woman choose to be in that magazine. nobody forced them to do anything. they could of easily gone anywhere else to make money, granted not the same amount of money they are probably making with mr. hefner but none the less they would have an income coming.
anywho,to me he is a business man!! and nothing else.
i agree with sonrisa. hefner is a businessman. and i give him kudos for creating such a lucrative business for himself--and i'm sure he's had a blast doing it. if a woman consents, accepts pay and willingly poses--i have a hard time calling that exploitation.
Sorry Jennifer I still disagree although I understand where you are coming from
If the lady in question chooses this path to make more money than taking a low paid job then it is not exploitation.
Been forced into the sex industry with no choice is exploitation.
Good point, Jennifer! Everyone seems to agree that it's not exploitation if the woman chooses to be a stripper, but then we have to examine what we mean by "choice." White Rose Boy, you write "Been forced into the sex industry with no choice is exploitation" and I agree with that. If a girl's socioeconomic position limits her choices so much that being a stripper is the only way she can earn the money she needs, she doesn't have a real choice about it. That makes her a stripper who is being exploited.
And Joel, it sounds like you do what many people do: you divide the world into women you comfortably objectify (strippers) and women you could never objectify (nieces, etc.). That's just human. Objectification and exploitation are different. I once chided my boyfriend, "I'm just your plaything, aren't I?" He very seriously said, "I love you and I am damn lucky...that you're also my plaything."
Such a brutal question to ask. I had a friend who worked at a Hooters for a year before law school. She made amazing money for that year and yet I don't think she was exploited. Probably because she had choices and she chose an easier route to making money, she chose her route. I have to wonder if it is the same with women who strip for a living; are there other jobs that they could realistically do for a living or is it the lure of the income that keeps them there?
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