The other day I mentioned Kickstarter on my twitter. It was a sort of throw-away thought – a perhaps I would need to do it. It seems like a good plan, right? Do a project, get some money to finish it off. But then it hit me.
On Kickstarter, you need a video.
No way am I putting a video of me on the internet! I don’t want the internet to know what I look or sound like. Of course, as suggested by the music video production firm, there are other ways of making a video, but my first reaction was one of my gut sinking. I am not happy with how I look, and I don’t want to toss that to the wolves of the internet.
Objectification is about more than being reduced to your looks. It’s a fear that limits the way women dress and what women say. It’s losing your humanity and autonomy. It’s the pervasive cultural message that women are just pretty things there for the taking, which is one of the reasons men rape. It’s characters on a videogame box having breasts but no eyes.
You might as well be made of plastic.
This is why I find it hard to know what to make of #objectify (link) as a day of some lighthearted comments about men’s looks will not generate the same kind of anxiety women have. Keeping it nice means it’ll never turn sour, as it does for women. Smile nicely, or things will get worse.
Of course, I have no suggestion on solving things.
As for Kickstarter, I’ll probably make a video of my dog.