I recently
came across a peculiar case online that got me thinking. The story involved
Petra Collins, a 21 year old photographer for has caused quite a bit of a stir
across the worldwide web. This specific instance involved a picture that Petra
had put up on her Instagram account that subsequently got her removed from the
social media network. The picture in question depicted the lower half of Petra’s
waist, complete with bikini bottoms. The offence you may ask? Her bikini line
was unshaven! This got me thinking- have we as a society become so blinded by “altered
beauty” that we have forgotten what nature in its very essence feels or looks
like? This simple image violated none of Instagram’s conditions of use and yet,
of the several hundreds of thousands of bikini pictures on the network, this
one caused an entire account to be deleted. Popular culture would rather have
us believe a false version of femininity- one which involves hairless bodies,
flawless skin and curves like a Coke bottle. And we, especially as women, are
all too willing to buy into the fantasy and bend to society’s expectations. How
is it okay for Kim Kardashian to be posting pictures of her bare (albeit
inflated) behind all over the net or to have Rihanna twerking her g-string off in
a music video and yet an image as pure as an unshaven hairline can get so many
eyebrows raised? Petra’s picture really had me questioning what I have grown to
accept and dammit, I don’t like what I see! I’m used to seeing women ridiculed
on the pages of magazines in the name of “fashion”, I’ve become accustomed to
bare asses parading all over my television screen, I sing along to songs that
tell me “I know you want this d*ck” and how I should “pop that p*ssy for a real
nigga”. Hell, I was even part of that large group of people that thought Miley
Cyrus was slutty for her VMA performance but overlooked the fact that Robin
Thicke was very much a part of that hot mess. These are things that I want no
part of. Things I should not be used to and should definitely NOT be condoning.
The world is a messed up place and right now I feel like I am part of the
problem more than the solution. What do I tell my daughter a few years down the
line when music videos will probably be the equivalent of hardcore porn? How
will I teach my son how to appreciate women and treat them with respect when the
view of a large part of the female population is that to be sexually free is tantamount
to exposing your assets and degrading yourself for the pleasure of men? These
are the type of questions that pop up in my head and for the life of me I
cannot find answers. As if it wasn’t difficult enough growing up as a woman in
a society that respects you based purely on how sexual you can prove yourself
to be or how many children you can bear, I now have to deal with a superficial
version of what it means to be a woman! Take me with my pubic hair, my stretch
marks and my cellulite. Take me with my mood swings, my unbalanced hormone
cycle and the countless emotions that I have to waste. Take me with the good
and the bad but for goodness sake, take me for who I am- a dynamic, natural and
proud woman! And for the sake of sanity, please stop trying to get me to twerk!
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