By Sherri D. Lawson
Can one still claim they are the victim if they have all the information about something they have agreed to engage in, even though it exploits them? “Can we still claim we are victims of exploitation if, with all of the knowledge and information we now have as women, we still choose to allow ourselves to be used for profit or gain that will benefit others?”
In the early nineties with the rise of the “video girl” concept, we saw girls shaking their butts, showing their breast and exposing themselves to be a part of a video, or to meet people they believed would help make them famous. There were cries of outrage, how men were exploiting these women and degrading them. We saw images of men grabbing women’s butts, and rubbing all over their bodies. The cries of foul did not stop the rise of the video girl. Surprisingly, the women saw the cries as disrupting their income flow. So, we watched as the women were groped, and called degrading names, while they danced and shook their butts in the video.
There will probably always be women who are used by men as pretty accessories that are carried on their arms to impress their bosses, colleagues and/or friends. But, as women who have a wealth of information and support unlike no other time; it is up to us to recognize when exploitation turns into victimization.
Sherri's House 