Our Shameful Bodies
I believe that to achieve true equality there needs to be a redefinition of gender status within a society and a clear separation between body differences and competency. Plato, in the “Republic,” seems to agree with me in stating that to have a functional state there cannot be a separation of roles for women and men and that education and opportunities should be equally available to both sexes (Plato, 8). In the book of Genesis, it also appears that men and women are just as equal, regardless of their physical appearance or abilities. Differences between genders seem present in a society when associated with body awareness and mostly with the feeling of shame. Could it be that shame, more specifically body shame, can be at the root of the problem surrounding gender inequality and the double standard surrounding male-female body perception?
In the second chapter of the book of “Genesis,” there’s a strong emphasis on how both men and women are created to be equal in body and mind. Both genders were made one flesh at …show more content…
Our bodies seem to be doomed to belong in a category because of our fear of exposing their natural essence. Bodies are just a physical component that makes us human, but what indeed makes us part of a society is our ability to use those bodies to perform actions. Covering our bodies has become a custom imposed by society, and it has been slowly become a reason for us not only to be ashamed of being naked but also to shame others who choose to be. Clothes have become a sign of acceptance of what is “decent,” but they’ve also taken away our ability to accept everyone as equal. So just like Adam and Eve, we’ve become aware of our bodies and therefore of our differences, and we’ve become blind to the ability to look past those differences and to embrace our bodies just for what they are:
I believe that to achieve true equality there needs to be a redefinition of gender status within a society and a clear separation between body differences and competency. Plato, in the “Republic,” seems to agree with me in stating that to have a functional state there cannot be a separation of roles for women and men and that education and opportunities should be equally available to both sexes (Plato, 8). In the book of Genesis, it also appears that men and women are just as equal, regardless of their physical appearance or abilities. Differences between genders seem present in a society when associated with body awareness and mostly with the feeling of shame. Could it be that shame, more specifically body shame, can be at the root of the problem surrounding gender inequality and the double standard surrounding male-female body perception?
In the second chapter of the book of “Genesis,” there’s a strong emphasis on how both men and women are created to be equal in body and mind. Both genders were made one flesh at …show more content…
Our bodies seem to be doomed to belong in a category because of our fear of exposing their natural essence. Bodies are just a physical component that makes us human, but what indeed makes us part of a society is our ability to use those bodies to perform actions. Covering our bodies has become a custom imposed by society, and it has been slowly become a reason for us not only to be ashamed of being naked but also to shame others who choose to be. Clothes have become a sign of acceptance of what is “decent,” but they’ve also taken away our ability to accept everyone as equal. So just like Adam and Eve, we’ve become aware of our bodies and therefore of our differences, and we’ve become blind to the ability to look past those differences and to embrace our bodies just for what they are: