Ferris Museum of Sexist Objects
Starr 314,
901 S. State Street
Big Rapids, MI 49307
(231) 591-5846
[email protected]
Using women's bodies to sell products, giving women animal names, and the sexualization of girls and women are ways in which females are demeaned and objectified in society. For example, women can be judged or rated based on breast size or shape, turning them into sexual objects for the male gaze. Women look, too, which can lead to self-objectification and the body shaming of other women.
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Women as AnimalsShowing women as animals presents them as creatures to be tamed or conquered. Images such as these suggest that women are in need of domination or subjugation. Women Portrayed as Animals/Beasts ~ Nicole Outman |
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The “B” WordThe term "bitch" has had many meanings and connotations throughout its history. Originally a term for a female dog, people began to use it as a derogatory term for women in the 15th century CE. It equated a woman with a dog in heat. Feminists in the 20th century attempted to re-define "bitch" as a term of empowerment, with Joreen Freeman's publication of the "The Bitch Manifesto" in 1969 or look into the performance artist Bitch and "Pussy Manifesto." Despite these efforts the term is still used to demean women. Some try to shine the "B" word in a positive light while others in a more negative light. |
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The Body as ObjectThe female body can be presented as a collection of separate parts, a non-thinking
non-feeling object, as opposed to a whole person. The woman's body is something to
be possessed, controlled, and used for sexual gratification. Women are sometimes reduced
to individual pieces "legs," "breasts," and "butts" similar to a la cart items on
a restaurant menu.
In Our Own Backyard ~ Nicole Outman
United States Trafficking ~ Nicole Outman
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