Black Hills State University’s most recent Geek Speak lecture series featured an open discussion about the objectification of women. The presentation, by university professors, touched on what’s called raunch culture.
Four Black Hills State University, or BHSU, faculty stood in front of a crowd of nearly 65 people. A screen behind them flipped through photos of advertisements, music videos and movie scenes featuring women wearing underwear and short dresses.
They explained that this is part of raunch culture. They define the phrase as highly sexualized culture in which women make sex objects of other women and themselves.
The panelists say the topic includes the sexualization of women in media for profit. Courtney Huse-Wika is the assistant professor of English at BHSU.
“We were relating this discussion or raunch culture to the rhetoric that we use in dress codes in schools and the idea that the way that we talk about young, female bodies-that they need to be covered up because they’re distracting-it indicated that they’re dangerous in some way. And at the same time it indicates that young men themselves are animals who can’t control themselves should they see a color bone or knees that are bared in a dress. So it weaponizes female bodies and it turns young men into predators,” says Huse-Wika.
Another presenter is Trenton Ellis, an assistant professor of human services and sociology at BHSU. Ellis says a big part of raunch culture is related to consumerism. He says that companies encouraging positive body image by using different sizes of models with more realistic beauty standards might help move away from raunch culture.
“Because ultimately I think that one of the major things that’s going to make any difference with regard to how we see the female body portrayed in the media and elsewhere is what people buy. And if consumers aren’t buying into these products that use these images, perhaps buying from places that are taking this different step from this new direction think that that’s positive,” Ellis says.
He says he’s optimistic that the future of advertisements and other media will bring change.