Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Men's Group
In reply to the discussion: Poll: Would anyone here object to or be offended by skimpy outfits on male volleyball team members? [View all]caseymoz
(5,763 posts)42. Fair rebuttal.
Perhaps I can improve the example for you: if a neurosurgeon was a stripper working for her premed degree and then runs for office after years in the operating room, which part of her resume would she be wisest to promote, even if the culture changed and there wasn't any shame in being a sex worker?
Even if we try to equalize the stigma carried by the sex industry (difficult to do in any example), stripper was something she did prior to having any skill and expertise. Perhaps she took dance lessons as a kid, but perhaps not even that. I bet most customers who saw her as a stripper would not be as inclined to think of her as a leader, to defer to her leadership in important matters, or even see her as adept as people who knew her as a neurosurgeon.
Point being: except for the self-contained fantasy or immediate situation, being a sex worker is not something that puts anyone in a leadership position. That's usually true of sex in general. Even if the a person blows the boss to advance their career, they gain something not because the boss thinks they're qualified. Rather, it's a quid pro quo trade, and not because of any added respect from the superior. (The person might be qualified anyway, but that's irrelevant to the boss' final decision.) Moreover, there's not a boss in the universe who would make anyone his or her own superior only for awesome sex.
This a little off-topic: but I'll add that we should have specific criteria considered for the President. The fact that most people have been compelled to throw it aside due to our awful candidate selection process is because of decay of social-political system. Still, even without the stigma that's hard to separate from other psychological factors, there's little about being a sex worker that would gain anybody status. They may gain a lot of confidence and boldness from it, but that's all psychological, and they might not be to apply it to anything outside of sex. Though there's probably more to be gained in it than something like fast-food worker or telephone operator.
I'm not saying its something that would disqualify anybody from higher status, but it's not something that, by any stretch of my imagination, will help.
More off topic: if empowerment refers only to something psychological, that is a liberating feeling, it should go without saying that hetero males and females would have a totally different idea of what this looks like in a woman. Hetero males will judge female empowerment on what they feel in empathy with a woman. Of course this is filtered through their libido, and it comes out as something which, to women, looks like empowerment in a fun house mirror.
Therefore, empowerment shouldn't be judged solely as a subjective psychological effect.
Edit history
Please sign in to view edit histories.
Recommendations
0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):
69 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
RecommendedHighlight replies with 5 or more recommendations
![](du4img/smicon-reply-new.gif)
Poll: Would anyone here object to or be offended by skimpy outfits on male volleyball team members? [View all]
Warren DeMontague
Jul 2012
OP
Took a while, but here are my current (probably incoherent) thoughts on the subject.
rrneck
Aug 2012
#63
Really interesting post. It's gonna take me a while to sink my teeth into.
Warren DeMontague
Aug 2012
#65
I think the complexity begins and ends with the opaque and subjective definition of "empowerment"
Warren DeMontague
Jul 2012
#10
"Empowering"? I think it's reasonable to inquire as to the nature of that power.
lumberjack_jeff
Jul 2012
#11
Whether it's empowering or not I think is very much dependent on the person
4th law of robotics
Jul 2012
#40
Yes. Skimpy outfits without a purpose (like swimming/diving) have got to go.
applegrove
Jul 2012
#26
Sexy is fine in advertising. Or on the beach. I just think something overtly sexy, like a bikini on
applegrove
Jul 2012
#28
No. Neither the exposure of the male or female body is shameful. Depends how it is couched. In what
applegrove
Jul 2012
#30
In all seriousness, I agree that the primary function of a sport uniform should be utiltiarianism
Warren DeMontague
Jul 2012
#31
2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Cover. For RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY!
Warren DeMontague
Jul 2012
#36
That excuse is for people who have enough education to string a lot of words together.
lumberjack_jeff
Aug 2012
#45
I'm offended that he got to meet my favorite Olympians and I didn't. At least yet.
stevenleser
Aug 2012
#57
I can't very well say 'Yes' seeing as how I have posted videos of skimpy clothed men
stevenleser
Aug 2012
#56