Admittedly, I have not been an exception to this. I have never really thought twice about the implications of some of the magazines I see in newsagents or of the women standing on street corners in Soho in the early hours of the morning. It took a university event to shock me into the realisation that the objectifcation of women is still very much a part of our lives and that no matter how far we feel we have progressed in the feminist struggle, gender inequality is an everpresent, albeit unspoken, problem.
I was invited to a facebook event for a "Miss Warwick University" beauty pageant. The description of the event claimed that "this was not a beauty pageant" but rather a "chance for the brightest and boldest females" at Warwick to showcase their ambition and drive. By competing in an exclusive fashion show. And by sending in three photos of themselves, one of which had to be "revealing". Having thus far very easily turned a blind eye to the seemingly insignificant indications of women's objectification today, this event took me truly by surprise. How could students at a renowned, highly academic university suggest that the empowerment of women could be achieved through a public display of their appearance, through being judged on the typical, narrow and male standards of what beauty in women entails? Whilst the organisers may have hoped to quell any feminist criticism with the buzzwords of "ambition" and "drive", there was no way that this disguised beauty pageant could be seen as empowering for women in any way, shape or form. And yet, many female students seemed totally unaware of this. With posts from female students as well as male claiming that beauty pageants were just a bit of fun, and that the critics of the event were just "hairy lesbians" it became clear to me that we have moved so far into a state of acceptance, that women themselves are satisfied with their own objectification. In a seminar about "The Cult of True Womanhood",a movement in mid-19th century America which sought to establish womanliness as rooted in the qualities of piety, domesticity and submisiveness, the seminar tutor facetiously asked who in the class agreed with its sentiments. Most students laughed, shrugging off his question as ridiculous and clearly sarcastic. But one female student proudly and defiantly raised her hand and claimed to agree with this archaic notion of womanliness. "Everyone would be happier if women just accepted their subservience".
If women of academic institutions such as Warwick, in the 21st century hold this view, then where does feminism go from here? Have we moved so comfortably into our 'liberated' and 'empowered' state that we are merely going full circle back into a state of subservience? Perhaps the Miss Warwick Beauty Pageant is a telling indication of where women are headed in today's society. Satisfaction with a relative liberation in comparison to years of submission, inequality and repression is surely not enough though. With the pay gap still so huge, with rape conviction rates at less than 6.5%, with only 10% of directors of FTSE 100 companies being female, it seems that Beauty Pageants are only further cementing gender inequality in this country. The UK would do well to stop, take a look at women's position in today's society, and reevaluate the notion that women are 'empowered' and 'liberated'. And Iceland's recent successful clamp down on their sex industry, serves to make this need all the more pressing, putting the UK to shame.
