Mammaries in MGs.

It’s that time of year again when the city council argues about the merits or otherwise of the ‘boobs on bikes’ parade, while a pornographer stands up for women’s ‘human rights’. Yes he claims that it is women’s human right to bare their breasts in public. Since when has a porn maker stood up for women’s rights? In all the arguments for and against the parade one issue has not been raised. In my ongoing quest for authenticity the issue that crops up for me is how authentic are the boobs on display? Is displaying a real boob different to displayed a fake boob, the parade is associated with advertising for the erotica expo but really I feel it is a better advertisement for the skill of the plastic surgeons.

To protest the synthetic ness of the parade I propose an alternative – Mammaries in Mgs (name provided by Mike). Real women show what it means to ride topless in topless cars, open to women with next to nothing up top, to the old and droopy, the scarred, the reconstructed, but only open to those with the genuine natural article.

Well my proposed parade is of course tongue in cheek, but it raises an important point, would the same fuss be caused by everyday fat, thin, old women riding around topless? It might raise a few eyebrows but I don’t think it would get the same media coverage. This clearly points to the problem of boobs on bikes – that it is simply not a celebration of the female form in all its god-given beauty. It is blatant sexualisation and objectification of the female body. The name of the event points to the objectification of a single part of the female anatomy - it suggests boobs floating on bikes unattached to women. Sexualisation of women in our society is rampant and unhealthy, particularly for young women who are still forming ideas about body image and sexuality.

I fail to understand why women go along with it and participate in such events, our foremothers did not fight for sexual freedom so that we were free to go along with men’s exploitation of our bodies and call it choice. On Sunday I saw the Dark Night in this movie the ‘girlfriend’ of Batman is a hotshot lawyer of such a calibre to be an assistant District Attorney. However she wears tops to work that are so low cut I doubt any judge would let her in a courtroom. In the struggle to be taken seriously as an intellectual equal in the real world of work, women cannot afford the slightest glimpse of cleavage. I can’t help but think that professional women on TV and in Movies are sexualised to try and neutralise the threat that they pose to some men who still feel rather insecure about professional women.

However I find the opposite view is not compelling either and once again does not lead to the healthy formation of body image and sexuality in young women. This view also over-sexualises the human (particularly female) body, and says that it should never be displayed in public, because it leads to and is associated with (usually) sexual sin.

Surely there is a middle ground that can be found, where a female body is viewed with respect and delight because of the wondrous beauty of its form. Some of the old masters paintings of naked women express some of this. Surely a woman is and can be beautiful without being a sexual object, her body can be celebrated for its wonderful form and design, whatever its size. This would help young women to develop a healthy relationship with the beauty of their bodies, and perhaps they would no longer need to have sex just to feel good about themselves.

p.s. If I did organise a mammaries in MGs parade it would not be in the cold winds of winter either.

Keep thinking, and young women learn to stand up for women's rights - don't let a pornographer claim to speak for you!

Christina