Most are
probably familiar with the murder charges against South African Oscar Pistorius,
who previously wowed the world by being the first double-legged amputee to
participate in the Olympics. Unfortunately, his recent claim to fame is much
less glorious. Regardless of it being premeditated or accidental, his murder of
girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp is a great tragedy. Another tragedy is the
media’s coverage of the incident. Magazines like the Sun, the Mail and
even The New York Post all covered the story by choosing to use photos of Reeva
posing sexily in a bikini. The Huffington Post joined in by posting an online
slideshow of bikini shots. Yes, she was a swimwear model. However, she
also had a law degree, campaigned against violence towards women, and modeled
cosmetics for Avon. Reeva was a very intelligent, successful women and advocate.
It is a shame that the media disproportionately praised her physical
attributes.
To be
clear, I am not saying there is anything wrong with modeling swimwear. However,
I do find it distasteful (and frankly creepy) to objectify the body of a murder
victim. It demonstrates how far the media will go to sell magazines, which
brings up a bigger issue: why does the sexualisation of women’s (and men’s)
bodies sell magazines? Why has the coverage of this tragedy caused seemingly
little uproar in the US, while hundreds of people in the UK posted their
disgust on Twitter and Facebook?
Perhaps
we are becoming so accustomed to the way the media objectifies us, that we
hardly notice when they run stories like Reeva’s. Or perhaps we are too
busy self-evaluating and feeling bad about ourselves to do anything about
it. A recent study published in Psychological Science, found
that women who often evaluated themselves based on their appearance and sexual
desirability had a decreased motivation to challenge gender-based inequalities
and injustices.
So, the
media promotes this status quo that makes us feel bad about ourselves which in
turn decreases our motivation to stand up against it. This is great for
magazine sales, but bad for us. We must find a way to break this vicious
cycle and it starts with acknowledging these issues and standing up against
them. Challenge the status quo, view the media critically, and use your voice
to advocate for yourself and others.
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