Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

NEIL THOMPSON -- "Exploitation" is to women's issues what "sustainable" is the environmental movement - it has become so broadly used it has lost its "true" meaning


On Sunday May19th, CFJC Today ran an op / ed piece from Katie Neustaeter entitled, “Bikinis, bistros and the business of exploiting women”.  Below is a snapshot of that commentary: 

One of the great challenges of raising a daughter is teaching her how to clothe her body ... to respect her individuality and empower her own sense of style without allowing current fashion and the pressures of an over sexualized culture to dictate her choices.

Debates ... continue all the time as we try to teach young women that their worth is more than skin deep and that their bodies are the visible, physical representations of their personal standards ... Unfortunately, the wider world, which does not care one iota about their future, individuality or decency, is constantly giving girls mixed messages about what’s acceptable, expected and attractive — not to mention all the conflicting ideas about what kind of attention she should be seeking ...

... girls, don’t let anyone sell you on a cheap version of empowerment that
involves money being made off of your bare back (or any other body part). Your dignity is worth more than a temporary job that demands that you display your skin for the amusement of strangers and use your bodies as little more than bait. 

... but for now, she should save the parkas for the ski hills, the bikinis for the beaches and the dignity of women from further degradation.







I am unfamiliar with the Kamloops restaurant Katie mentioned.

I am interested in the semantics around the word "exploited". "Exploitation" is to women's issues what "sustainable" is the environmental movement - it has become so broadly used it has lost its "true" meaning. Exploitation, to me, is taking advantage of someone (sexually contextualized to this article) in a compromised circumstance.




The objectification of women it seems, given that is ubiquitous, has become part and parcel of our commercial complex. One needs also to point out that male objectification is ubiquitous as well - the ripped male form is used to sell extensively.


Bikini restaurant in China
The "damage" here is that the expectations of ourselves, and others, are elevated to the ideal, and the ideal is very difficult to compete with. It would, however, be a drab world indeed without beauty prominently featured in society.

Much of the concern around this topic emanates from societal view toward female sexuality - so there is an axis to be managed between women feeling free to express themselves, and a degree of decorum.

When my girls were young, I was protective as fathers are, I had no reason to worry because they had good role models, as does your daughter.






Mr. Thomson spent his youth in Vernon, BC, where he graduated from Okanagan College, and then participated in every major industry in the province, save commercial fishing. The greatest portion of his experience was gained in the construction, forestry, agriculture and tourism industries.

Through self directed study he developed a thorough knowledge of accounting, budgeting, marketing, logistics, government liaison, administration of capital improvements, board participation at various associations, participation public planning tables and general business reporting.

Recently Mr. Thomson has been self-directed and pursuing: marketing, accounting, small business consulting, entrepreneurial endeavors and significant self-study related to professional management.

Comments

Labels

Show more