Read Online Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape by Friedman, Jaclyn Friedman, Jessica Valenti - Free Book Online Page A
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out.”
The statement “My product is me” is a tricky one. On one hand, it can be taken as an empowering declaration from a woman claiming ownership of her body and sexuality. On the other hand, the statement also equates a woman’s body with merchandise—her sexuality has again become something that’s up for sale. And this does not empower me—it scares the shit out of me.
Ford went on to be pretty up-front about the industry. She said that even though her big butt, large breasts, and thick thighs made her body desirable to video directors, she suffered from great insecurities over her looks. “If I were to ever form a sustained, confident image of my body, one that isn’t dependent on outside opinions, I would have to quit modeling and doing videos,” she said. Ford also said she was upset when The Source magazine ran photos of her in which her butt showed but her face did not.
In the essay’s conclusion, Ford claimed to have more control over her image and career now. “Recently I stopped allowing photographers to shoot my butt unless it serves me financially or in terms of publicity,” she said. She added that she now prefers shots that are sensual and not “too in-your-face” or “all sex.” But she also implies that her images are sending an empowering message to women:
“The fact that a woman who looks like me keeps showing ”The fact that a woman who looks like me keeps showing up on magazine covers is justification enough for what I’m doing. What I do sends a message to full-figured Black women that we are a part of the beauty standard even though we’re not thin and White.”
Ford may have the control over her image that she claims to, and if so, good for her. But the larger issue here goes beyond one woman’s career.
What messages are supersexual images from these videos and magazines sending out to young women and society as a whole? Are we teaching girls it’s best for them to use their bodies and sexuality to get ahead? Are we teaching boys to celebrate women for their bodies instead of their brains? And are these hypersexual images teaching boys that women, and their body parts, should be ready and willing to serve them anytime, anyplace, as they appear to be for rappers in videos?
There are no easy answers to these questions. My younger brother loves rap, rap videos, and magazines with booty-boasting covers. Yet in the real world he’s one of the most respectful young men I know, treating me, my mother, and his female companions like queens.
But an industry that cultivates and encourages the degradation of women is still frightening, because there’s no denying that this treatment can and does continue even when the cameras stop rolling. Ford may have made a lot of money in this industry with her “product,” but in her essay she also recounts a terrifying incident in which she barely escaped being assaulted by a group of men who obviously assumed her merchandise was up for grabs.
She writes:
“On that same [video] set, I had to wear a short, tight dress. I had some downtime, so I sat in one of the rooms where the food was set up. Soon one guy came in and then another. Within a few minutes, fifteen guys were surrounding me, and I was trapped. I felt like a specimen in a museum. I didn’t want to get up because I knew if I did, they would start making a fuss over my ass. I kept thinking, ‘I’m sitting here with these guys ogling, trying to touch my leg and arm, trying to see what kind of girl I am, see if they leg and arm, trying to see what kind of girl I am, see if they can run a train on me.’ I was so terrified of getting up. The dress was so short and my shoes were so high, I was afraid to even uncross my legs. Eventually a crewmember came in and regulated the situation; he could see how terrified I was about even moving an inch.”
You may think it’s silly to make such a big deal over rap videos,
The statement “My product is me” is a tricky one. On one hand, it can be taken as an empowering declaration from a woman claiming ownership of her body and sexuality. On the other hand, the statement also equates a woman’s body with merchandise—her sexuality has again become something that’s up for sale. And this does not empower me—it scares the shit out of me.
Ford went on to be pretty up-front about the industry. She said that even though her big butt, large breasts, and thick thighs made her body desirable to video directors, she suffered from great insecurities over her looks. “If I were to ever form a sustained, confident image of my body, one that isn’t dependent on outside opinions, I would have to quit modeling and doing videos,” she said. Ford also said she was upset when The Source magazine ran photos of her in which her butt showed but her face did not.
In the essay’s conclusion, Ford claimed to have more control over her image and career now. “Recently I stopped allowing photographers to shoot my butt unless it serves me financially or in terms of publicity,” she said. She added that she now prefers shots that are sensual and not “too in-your-face” or “all sex.” But she also implies that her images are sending an empowering message to women:
“The fact that a woman who looks like me keeps showing ”The fact that a woman who looks like me keeps showing up on magazine covers is justification enough for what I’m doing. What I do sends a message to full-figured Black women that we are a part of the beauty standard even though we’re not thin and White.”
Ford may have the control over her image that she claims to, and if so, good for her. But the larger issue here goes beyond one woman’s career.
What messages are supersexual images from these videos and magazines sending out to young women and society as a whole? Are we teaching girls it’s best for them to use their bodies and sexuality to get ahead? Are we teaching boys to celebrate women for their bodies instead of their brains? And are these hypersexual images teaching boys that women, and their body parts, should be ready and willing to serve them anytime, anyplace, as they appear to be for rappers in videos?
There are no easy answers to these questions. My younger brother loves rap, rap videos, and magazines with booty-boasting covers. Yet in the real world he’s one of the most respectful young men I know, treating me, my mother, and his female companions like queens.
But an industry that cultivates and encourages the degradation of women is still frightening, because there’s no denying that this treatment can and does continue even when the cameras stop rolling. Ford may have made a lot of money in this industry with her “product,” but in her essay she also recounts a terrifying incident in which she barely escaped being assaulted by a group of men who obviously assumed her merchandise was up for grabs.
She writes:
“On that same [video] set, I had to wear a short, tight dress. I had some downtime, so I sat in one of the rooms where the food was set up. Soon one guy came in and then another. Within a few minutes, fifteen guys were surrounding me, and I was trapped. I felt like a specimen in a museum. I didn’t want to get up because I knew if I did, they would start making a fuss over my ass. I kept thinking, ‘I’m sitting here with these guys ogling, trying to touch my leg and arm, trying to see what kind of girl I am, see if they leg and arm, trying to see what kind of girl I am, see if they can run a train on me.’ I was so terrified of getting up. The dress was so short and my shoes were so high, I was afraid to even uncross my legs. Eventually a crewmember came in and regulated the situation; he could see how terrified I was about even moving an inch.”
You may think it’s silly to make such a big deal over rap videos,
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