Objectifying protesters
Over the past few days, China Airlines (CAL) flight attendants have been on strike over working conditions, with hundreds of CAL workers occupying sections of Nanjing East Road in Taipei.
Some online commentators debated which flight attendants could be named the “sexiest striker,” an activity that several feminist writers have raised concerns and objections about, saying that it is a protest about workers’ rights, not some sort of cattle market for the benefit of males.
If female flight attendants have chosen to use their appearance to garner attention and support, while also being aware of the pros and cons of so doing, and have addressed structural issues, then this is essentially sexual empowerment in which it is the female flight attendants themselves who are empowered.
There is nothing wrong with this per se, although it would be preferable if women were not beholden simply to how attractive they were perceived to be, with their purity and innocence made vulnerable as a result to gain support.
Neither do I have much of an opinion about the masses enthralled by the external beauty of the flight attendants, save perhaps for a little lingering pity, so long as they do, at the same time, spare some thought for workers’ rights, and do not resort to sexually harassing them, or taking pictures of them without their consent.
It would be nice, of course, if the same people would also pay heed to the rights of toll workers and plant workers, groups that cannot usethe same methods in a society with a specific and narrow definition of beauty, given the inherent structural issue of inequality it entails.
Here is the crux of the problem. When people harass or photograph female flight attendants without asking for their consent and then post the photographs online for others to pore over and fantasize about, it is sexual objectification.
In the language of gender discrimination and male domination over women, it is the flight attendants who are the victims of the skewed gender power relations, being made to abdicate the rights of their own bodies to male fantasies.
Most human behavior is driven by sexual desire and emotions. I have seen many examples of this, with women and gay friends being attracted to firefighters during a social movement.
I myself, during the May 1 Workers’ Day march, found myself attracted to some of the male engineers there, because they reminded me of a certain ex-boyfriend, who was also an engineer. I talked to them, but it was friendly and respectful.
The problem is not whether you are attracted to the people in a protest, or because you interact with them as a result of that attraction. The problem is the lack of respect, the sexual discrimination and the sexual objectification that follows.
Wu Hsin-en
Hsinchu City
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