Comments on: Quotables: Don’t Worry, Cameron Diaz is More of an A-Hole Than Ever

By: LegalEase

LegalEase — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:20:23 +0000

Yea, I don’t think she meant objectified…I think she meant something like admired. This is what happens when idiot hollywood fucks try to open their word holes when a script isn’t written for them.

By: jay

jay — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 19:25:29 +0000

I don’t think there’s one thing wrong with what she said. I am very well educated and in a happy marriage, but when I get dressed up and go out somewhere, I don’t do it so people will give a damn if I have a functioning brain or not. It’s nice to know men are looking at you and thinking, “Wow, I’d love to hit that.” That is not admiration, it is objectification, and I think a lot of of women feel good about that sort of thing. And they should.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:54:48 +0000

No, you’re right—it’s lipstick feminism.

There’s a difference between being admired and objectified.

By: Harriet Meadow

Harriet Meadow — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:25:07 +0000

I thought about that before I posted, but I decided that, actually, they’re not so different. When I put on flattering clothes for the purpose of looking attractive not only to people I know but also to complete strangers, I am doing it because I want some of those people to appreciate me purely as a physical being, i.e. more as an object than a person, because I am accepting the fact that some of them might not get to know me as a person. I don’t think that anyone who appreciates a woman’s physical beauty *literally* thinks of them as no longer human, but I would say that appreciating someone purely for physical appearance is objectification, and it is in that sense of the word that I don’t mind being “objectified” (as long as people I actually *know* aren’t doing it haha). Perhaps there are different levels of objectification…I don’t know, it’s certainly an interesting thing to think about. Your perspectives are always thought-provoking, Miree!

By: mireee

mireee — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:03:39 +0000

I think you are all confusing objectifying with being found attractive. When you objectify a woman you reduce her to a non-human entity, she is just T&A. Her opinions aren’t important, you don’t care about her, because you don’t see her as human. She is replaceable, like a pair of shoes is. Perhaps she meant every woman (and I think everyone, really) wants to be seen as attractive at some point in her life, and I agree. Seeing someone as attractive doesn’t strip them off their humanity. Objectifying someone does.

By: mireee

mireee — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:00:05 +0000

Attention =/= objectification. It’s not the same.

By: mcmiller

mcmiller — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:05:32 +0000

This reminds me of that quote from Anais Nin:

“He thought that every woman should be at one time or another a whore. He thought that all women, deep down, wished to be a whore once in their lives and that it was good for them. It was the best way to retain a sense of being female”

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 21:28:11 +0000

I agree with most you. Like I get what she meant, she just worded it wrong.

By: Megan

Megan — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 21:12:41 +0000

I’m not really sure it’s “healthy” as Cameron says, but I do think that women often want to be objectified because it’s what society teaches us (see Girls Gone Wild and women objectifying themselves under the guise of being sexually adventurous)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 20:21:38 +0000

I agree that this is a problematic statement, especially from a feminist perspective. However, I don’t fully disagree with Cameron. It is common for both women and MEN to want to be found sexually attractive, which requires some level of objectification. Sarah, you are also examining this comment from a hetero perspective. You are assuming that objectification is gender specific, but women can (and do) objectify other women as well.

By: Alicia

Alicia — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 19:41:25 +0000

You’re just giving her a hard time, you know what she meant. Women can celebrate themselves as sex objects; they can celebrate their own sexuality, it’s not a big deal, it’s not anti-feminism.

By: Harriet Meadow

Harriet Meadow — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 18:58:01 +0000

Maybe not “all women,” since I’m sure there are exceptions, but I think she’s not off the mark here. Even though the most important part of my life (teaching) involves my intellect rather than my physical appearance, and even though I have a husband who thinks I’m beautiful no matter what, I still care about whether what I wear looks good, what my hair looks like, etc. I want people to appreciate my physical appearance, as well.