A Topless Argument
How women are using their bodies for protest and why it is so frowned upon in Western society.
It is no secret that women have been using their bodies as protest against male dominated regimes. A recent display of the nude body for protest was used during trump’s campaign, before he was elected president. In an article posted by Glamour, the writer had shown a beautiful interpretation of how women protested against the presidential candidate. The sexist comments that Trump had made during his election cycle (and earlier) had brought many issues to the table. Woman fought against by posing naked in front of an American Flag backdrop and holding a 2016 ballot in front of their private parts. The artist what came up with the visual display of this protest told the women who chose to take the photos, “I want you to feel how strong your body is.” These women oozed confidence in their political opinions, and you can tell because of the way they are positioned and the fact that they are looking straight into the camera.
Each of the women that participate in this beautiful, artistic form of protest had their own connection to Trump’s sexist statements. Some reasons were more personal, while others were becoming involved to show their stance for the community of women as a whole. One woman exclaimed that “this [was] the first time I’ve posed nude — and for a man who didn’t deserve it.” These women held the value of their bodies to a very high standard. This woman specifically shows that showing off her body for someone who had been making such derogatory statements towards woman was her way of showing that she is exposing herself to show her strength and vulnerability at the same time. These women used their bodies as a “vehicle for social commentary” and felt a sense of control and involvement with the political movements happening around them. They could put themselves, and their views out there without risking their lives as they would using other forms of protest.
An article I read in The Guardian explained “the naked body represents vulnerability and strength, being discriminated yet empowered.” The exposure, specifically of a female body, always brings attention to whatever situation is being protested against. Women’s bodies are often seen as sacred and only seen for the pleasure of the male gaze. When their bodies are used for anything other than those purposes, the situation is often thought of as being blown out of proportions. In some cases, women have no other means of becoming involved without putting themselves at risk. Naked protesting is a way in which women take pride in who they are, showing empowerment through every ounce of their existence.
Being naked isn’t the ultimate statement that people are trying to make. The article in The Guardian refers the process of becoming naked, “the removal of clothes, not just the absence of clothes, […] stripping down demonstrates a willingness and, therefore, purposeful vulnerability.” While showing the outside world that a woman is completely unarmed and willingly put herself in the open is one of the most power political statements. “Nudity renders everyone equal, and equality resolves conflict,” which is what everyone wants in order to resolve a conflict.
The article in The Guardian also mentions that “conflict and power-plays are ultimately about people, not about the weapons that act on our behalf,” demonstrating that we can have an impact on using our own bodies as weapons. This is taking into consideration a full fledged war. Protests, on the other hand, are smaller in scale, but the same values are places on the body — the political plays that happen through the process ultimately affect each individual.
In some senses, the absence of a woman’s body can be more powerful than the presence of one. Take for example Aristophanes Lysistrata. The women in Greece came together to figure out how to end the Peloponnesian War, because they were not allowed to be physically involved. The only way that they could think of getting involved was to withhold sex from their husbands until a treaty was signed to end the war. In this story, the women of Greece knew that their husbands would be more affected without the ability to have sex with their wives when they came back rather than any victory they could possibly have by winning the war. The lack of the woman’s body made it impossible for the men to carry on with their fighting. They could not resist the urges and it gave them nothing to look forward to when they returned. The women found another way to effectively protest, without putting their bodies at risk.
The women in Lysistrata were in every sense as involved in protest as the women above were involved in the political statements against Trump. The levels of effectiveness are very different, however the idea is the same: women’s bodies are more than just an object.
