I love the Halloween dance because it is the only time during the year that I will not be accused of objectifying women: they do it for me. There has been a lot of discussion on campus about women being objectified and whether this assertion is justifiable or not. Let me say something real: If you are a woman on campus and you don’t want to be considered a slut, don’t dress up as “Cinnamon, the Sexy Nurse” for Halloween. Do not get me wrong; I fully acknowledge that many girls do not go to the Halloween dance and that not everyone who goes dresses like Cinnamon. However, many girls dress in an intentionally sexually provocative manner during this dance and then blame their male counterparts for evaluating them based solely on their sexual appeal. While there is nothing more refreshing than a woman who is comfortable with her sexuality, for a woman to achieve complete comfort with her sexuality, she must recognize that what she wears is directly proportional to how she wants to be perceived. It takes only a few looks around Facebook to get a broad idea of what women on campus deem appropriate for dress. Dorms posted pictures of themselves with bare legs; girls dressed as everything from dominatrix-esque firefighters to the omnipresent Playboy Bunny. As long as women dress sexually, men will appreciate them sexually, for the simple reason that men have and always will be sexually attracted to women. It is a paradox, then, that women wish to be appreciated as intelligent members of society but dress like they are better for nothing more than sexual exploitation. These same women complain that they are disrespected and disenfranchised by men, but this is the consequence of their own exploits. If they want men to take them seriously, they should place less emphasis on cheaply accentuating their sexuality. Again, it is important to note that not all women behave this way. Some, with a little more self-respect, dress in ways that show more than their sexuality. Unfortunately for these women, they must suffer the same effects of objectification that all women do. The issue is not that men are objectifying women; it is that women objectify themselves. Teenage girls do not leave their dorms dressed like maids fearing that they will be objectified by boys. Subconciously, they hope that they will elicit a sexual response. Thus, these girls are perpetuating the plight for themselves and for their fellow females. There is a sense of utter hypocrisy when it comes to this issue as well. Women always cheer for the water polo team at the Pep Rally, asking them to continue running around in male speedos. If we want to end objectification, the purge begins with both genders. Men cannot be held responsible for this problem. Although they may be apathetic to the issue, the objectification of women is not a creation of men. This is not a question of what came first: the woman leaving her dorm dressed provocatively, or the man objectifying the woman dressed provocatively. Clearly the woman’s intentional choice to dress in a sexually driven manner precedes the cat calls thrown at them. Women initiated this conflict, and the ultimate resolution will not be achieved unless they make the first step in the right direction. Either choose to accept the consequences of your actions, or do not take part in behavior that clearly demean you.
