Hating Women by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Author:Rabbi Shmuley Boteach [Shmuley Boteach]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780061744945
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2006-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Loss of Reverence for Women Begets

the Loss of Girlhood

Our society’s failure to nurture the feminine spirit with all its complexities, coupled with our obsession with Hollywood ideals, is having a tremendously powerful influence on young girls. After all, who is it that little girls are looking up to? The tawdry and depraved trio of Britney, Madonna, and Christina? Their proclivity to expose their bodies in undignified and sleazy ways not only depicts a lack of self-respect, but it also presents an image of the female figure that brooks few alternatives. The insistence on a stereotypical female form has long been problematic, right back to the time when the Barbie doll was created with her unattainable figure. The need to be beautiful, to get ahead, even in reputable professions, is problematic in and of itself. What the “Musical Axis of Evil” adds to this image is even more distressing. The example of a Britney Spears not only teaches young girls that they must hate themselves if they are not perfectly built, but it also pushes them to grow up quickly, to embrace the imagery of women developed by our pop culture—a vision that leaves them few alternatives but to personify, in some way, the role of the sex kitten. Why do you think that so many women go to the gym at night instead of the library? Why do they go jogging instead of to a night class? They realize that the real rewards in society come from looking great rather than having a lot of knowledge. I recognize that society has always glorified beautiful women and held them out as models to be emulated. But the difference is that beauty used to be more holistic. It encompassed not only a human’s figure but her feminine demeanor, her heart and mind, and her grace. Beauty once was a total statement of a woman’s appeal, whereas today it means her physical appearance exclusively.

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