COLUMN: Objectifying the female body, women first

From Siona Listokin's, "Think Different," Fall '99 From Siona Listokin's, "Think Different," Fall '99WOW. Those of you from the New York area know the word well. Opie and Anthony -- hosts of WNEW's morning show -- have commandeered the simple interjection as an acronym for Whip 'em Out Wednesday. Ladies in the New York metropolitan area have been cordially invited to bare their chests to fellow commuters every time they see a WOW bumper sticker on Wednesdays. But I really worry about the women actually take these men up on their proposition. Why do they participate? According to several interviewed on the show: "Because I felt like it," "Because I have them, so why shouldn't everyone see them?" and the most telling, "Because I can." Because we can. Women have taken the reins from men in systematically objectifying the female body. Gone are the days when catcalls were offensive; now, it seems women welcome the opportunity to strip to almost nothing. Mass acceptance of barely-there clothes and the subsequent peer pressure to bare all are products of female enthusiasm. The results are dangerous: Women are living in a society that demands that they show more than they would otherwise want to and, because much of the pressure comes from women, men think it is OK to demand a peep. Case in point. Playboy magazine has been around for quite some time, capitalizing on men's desire. Until recently, those who modeled for the magazine were decidedly not in the mainstream. Far from being considered champions of female freedom, they were deviants, "loose." Today, actresses like Vanessa Williams, Drew Barrymore and Kim Bassinger, models like Cindy Crawford and plain old famous people like Katarina Witt and Vanna White all grace Playboy spreads. Or pick up a copy of the highly acceptable Cosmopolitan. This magazine, written for a female audience, is arguably nothing more than a monthly sex guide, fun to read but only a step up from Playboy. In the hands of an impressionable young female, Cosmo might as well be hardcore porn. Girls pour over the pages, guilty but eager, staring at image after image of popular women exposing their bodies. Forget the subliminal message sent to readers that these models possess ideal bodies. The subtler message being sent is that women should show their bodies in the most public of forums. And the communication is much stronger when it comes from a publication geared largely to females. Penn girls convey the same powerful message to each other. Every warm summer's day, Penn hosts its own version of the Skin Showing World Championships. No doubt male students enjoy the competition. But it's not just the desire to look sexy. Women wouldn't wear itsy-bitsy tank tops if all their friends weren't wearing them, too. Neither the most masterful goading by men nor a million Playboys could have induced so many girls to take it all off. It took a woman's touch. The result of this success? When men ask us to flash them on the highway, we cannot think of a single reason why we shouldn't. We are usually half-naked already. However offensive Opie and Anthony's Whip 'em Out Wednesdays may be, it's unrealistic to expect men to host More Clothing Mondays. Women have to think about why they dress the way they do -- and what effect their minimal clothing has on society's perception of the female body. Until women can come up with a better rationale to strip than "Because I can," perhaps they should keep 'em in. When a good reason to get naked comes along, they will appreciate the novelty all the more.