Conor’s suggestion that women should develop their identity by demonstrating their objecthood is rather a controversial one. Sure thing, lots of modern women are now successfully using their bodies’ visibility in culture to achieve specific goals, such as earning money, gaining popularity, making a career or finding a husband. But does this method help them to become fully realized subjects? Probably, that depends on the specific situation and exact person.
Body display that results in woman’s feeling of satisfaction, confidence and self-respect may be considered a suitable way of self-realization. Nonetheless, not always it turns a woman into a subject instead of object. A woman becomes a subject only when she starts behaving correspondingly – starts examining instead of being examined, assessing – not being assessed. Only when self-display is used for purpose of self-determination, and ends up with independent self-sufficient views, attitudes and actions, it may be called a means of becoming a fully realized subject.
On the other hand, is Conor right in assuming that conscious being an object may finally lead a woman to a state of a subject? Today women’s body is so objectified in contemporary commodity culture that it is difficult to see other side of the shield. Even in products’ advertisements there is huge number of women’s images being literally objectified and dehumanized. For example, common usage of female body shape in alcohol drinks advertising. Can women be pleased to watch their bodies being objectified to such an extent that they become products themselves? However, that is exactly what modern public likes. To my mind, deliberate objectifying yourself is not a sure-fire way of realization as a subject, because of the peculiarities of current Western culture.
In fact, Conor’s assertion is true only for strong and independent personalities. There is plethora of examples in modern show business of how women celebrities exhibit their bodies and become objects of worship for millions of fans still preserving their subject role. Such a way they manage to become subjects through being objects as described in Conor ‘s studies.
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