Disclaimer: May Be Inappropriate for Younger Audiences

Smiley face - mine, Photo - Jessica Yatrofsky 

Warning: this link contains nudity. The girls over at The Core posted a really interesting feature on artist, Jessica Yatrofsky. Ms. Yatrofsky displays male nudity in an attempt to equalize the overwhelming emphasis on the female body in popular culture.

'Jessica Yatrofsky:  “My work has the underlying desire to make male nudity more visible in our cultural landscape. Plus: dicks are more easy on the eyes, right?! Our society is always eager to construct and depict the sexuality of women, but actively avoids the sexuality of men, except as voyeurs. Our generation should be challenging these inequalities.” '

While it is true that women are overly sexualized and put on display in advertising and movies, does the remedy come in the form of subjecting men to the same scrutiny? 

Or is the point moot? Do women have the same physical reaction to male nudity as men do to female nudity? 

Is this reaction inherent or a result of societal conditioning?

Initially, did the provocative displays of the female body offend the senses and shock people in the same way that Ms. Yatrofsky's photos do? Are they less shocking because we have become desensitized?

If we are desensitized, I would argue that it isn't a good thing. Just as inflation occurs when the market is flooded with currency, thereby devaluing the currency; the flooding of public space with scantily clad women may lessen the value of the female body. 

Many argue that it empowers women, because they have the choice to do with their bodies what they will. I would never say that anyone should mandate how women should dress, but as a woman - making those decisions for myself, could modesty add value? The overwhelming availability of female nudity subjects each woman to endless comparison. Eating disorders and plastic surgery and rampant consumerism are the destructive forces threatening women from the teen years through adulthood. 

 The shape of a woman's body which once was hers and hers alone to share, is now held to some standard set by the public market. In the attempt to escape a patriarchal control, have we gone too far? 

What do you think?

Not the only, but a truly horrifying account of al Qaeda's violence

CNN's Arwa Damon provides a heartbreaking account of atrocities inflicted upon women by al Qaeda. The fear now, is that there is a generation of children as a result of this violence. Can you imagine suffering the physical and emotional trauma of an attack, surviving the reality of a future life characterized by public shame, and then discovering that you are pregnant? Can you imagine the internal battle between maternal instinct and jarring memories? People question the existence of evil, but this just further illustrates the utter depravity that persists in our world. My heart breaks for these women and children. 

Beauty, truth and love are just as real as evil. I encourage all of you to share those things with whatever means you have available to you.

Why Are We So Catty?

The Washington Post published a photo series on a community of widows in Afghanistan. Once a woman is widowed in Afghanistan, it becomes difficult for her to function in the community. Not only does she struggle to provide for her family, as careers for women are not generally available or accepted, but she faces gossip and slander from other women. 

“Other women get worried you might try to marry their husbands. They talk behind your back. It’s Afghanistan, it’s full of negativity. We feel more comfortable when we’re around other widows.”

Andrea Bruce / for The Washington Post

Even a world away from us here, women manage to pick other women apart. What is it about us that chooses to tear down and criticize rather than encourage and build up? 

In the US, this shows up in various scenarios. When girls hook up with guys we call them sluts, but when guys do the same thing they get a slap on the back. When guys are successful in business they get applauded for being leaders, but women are torn apart for sleeping their way to the top, or becoming men, or being bitchy. This isn't always the case, and there are plenty of exceptions, but it is prevalent.  

Then, we look in Afghanistan, and the same attitudes exist. When women are widowed, other women worry they will try to steal their husbands. What makes us so catty and insecure? More importantly, how do we change this? How do we do what these widows have done, banding together to survive? Building and creating with each other's help rather than cutting people down when they succeed. 

Accident of Birth

Have you seen what is happening in Somalia? You can check it out here and here. As if living under the constant threat of terror under Al-Shabab isn't enough, these people are suffering from a dramatic famine, weather extremes, and constant threat of robbery, rape and death. My heart breaks for these women who cannot even relieve themselves or gather firewood without risking their bodies. Not to mention the fact that once they are raped, there is no method of recourse, and public shame associated with their pain.

Here in the U.S., not only am I largely sheltered from the threat of any sort of sexual harassment, I have major tools for recourse. Not only do I have food, but I complain about it being hard to buy food in small enough quantities, or it being hard not to eat too much. Not only do I have a home, but I have a home in a safe neighborhood with plenty of room to spare. If I got pregnant, I would have very little risk of complication and the best treatment from world renowned facilities if anything did go wrong. These women suffer terribly from small easily avoidable complications. The infant mortality rate is astronomical there. How is it that a Somali girl, born on the same day, in the same year as me, has no voice, no guaranteed safety, no guarantee of basic needs met, while I never even had to ask?!?

These women need advocates. They need protection. 

This is where I feel called. This is why I am pursuing an education. This is why I am trying to take full advantage of the resources available to me, so that I will be capable of using my voice to speak for them. 

For now, I will work hard to get to that place. Does anyone know of an organization that provides protection for Somali women? Here is what I've found so far.