The fetishisation of the female backside reached royal heights this week with the global worship of Pippa Middleton’s bum.
The frenzied prostration before the bottom of HRH Catherine Middleton’s younger sister and bridesmaid highlights anew the objectification of women deeply entrenched in our culture.
This in the Daily Mail:
Many women admired her dress, but an army of male fans were happily distracted by her shapely rear as the procession went up the aisle.
Philippa Middleton’s backside has its own twitter address and an “anthem” of praise on You Tube . Then there’s the ‘Pippa Middleton Ass Appreciated Society’ Facebook page, which, at time of writing, had 168,781 fans. And no, it’s not in honour of any pet donkeys kept in the royal stables.
Here, the PM arse afficondos really let their love run wild. The FB page, created by Michael Bander, has been described in some media reports as “cheeky”. You see it’s just cheeky to set up a page promoting the 27-year old party planner’s bum as perfect masturbatory material for men.
Here’s some of their comments, so you can see the cheek of these lads for yourself (original spellings and grammar retained).
Steven Glinatsis: “Hell yeah, Saw that arse in the church through that dress and thought….Very nice.”
Andrew Franks: “god i want to make my mark and knock her up”
Álvaro Luna: “I would lyposuction her ass with pleasure.”
Ricardo Wooding: “Pippe very much needs pumping :O)”
Michael John McMahon: “My tongue, pipas bum! Lol!”
Ara Karanui: “you make my pepe go dadooing dooing dooooiiiiing” [a reference to Eminem’s “Ass like that”].
In a reference to blackjack: TJ Rush: “Id hit it like it was eleven against a dealer 16!” (this one may apply to Kate or Pippa, though I don’t think the author is fussy).
Kasper Kahari: “I would like to lick that ass till its covered in my saliva, then jizz on it. sooo sexxy …”
Malcolm Lant: “I’d destroy her or at least bash her back doors in ;-)”
Matthew Chambers: “She would need a wheel chair and straw when I’d be finished with it xxbig Matty chambers xxx”
The FB site provides an opportunity for men everywhere to share their sexual fantasies for the young maid of honour. Knock her up, bash her in, cause her injury such that she would not be able to walk . Wrecking and shredding a woman’s anus is a popular porn script.
Merchandise sold through the FB page also enforces the pornification of Pippa’s behind. From male boxers with ‘Pippa ass fan’ down the front, to tees with slogans such as ‘Ass-tocracy’ (get it!), ‘If only Pippa were a stripper’ and – plastered across the image of a women bending over – ‘I’d like to be in the middleton of that!’
All just part of putting women in their place. And even more fun when that woman is sister of a woman who will likely be Queen of England one day (or QILF – Queen I’d like to f__k – as another male fan on Bander’s page described Kate.
Pippa was given porn star treatment without doing anything except walk down the aisle in Westminster Abbey in a fitted white dress, holding the train of her sister’s wedding dress.
And all this is supposed to be accepted as a compliment. Of course there are no ‘Pippa the Wonderfully Supportive Sister Appreciation Societies’ or other pages lauding her gifts and character and other non-body related attributes.
When Karl Stefanovic let all the men present know in his Logie acceptance speech that his wife had “the best arse”, frequent comments were made that if a woman had made the same comments about a man, no one would mind.
But a woman making a comment about a man’s backside does not carry the same weight or intent as the reverse. We don’t hear men being told to “shake that arse”. We do not hear of a man’s backside referred to as ‘booty’.
If a woman does comment on a male bum, she is not usually thinking of doing all the things to it that Pippa’s fans are salivating over. Because of a pornified culture, references to a women’s ‘arse’ are mostly not compliments but have underlying pornographic meanings.
But women are expected to welcome it –thanks to the proliferation and globalisation of pornography, women’s bottoms have a very specific and often nasty meaning, as the Facebook comments attest.
The focus on Pippa Middleton’s backside for assessment and virtual mutual masturbation feeds into the Bangable and Hot or Not genres, in which individuals are rated on whether they are f__able or not.
Women are also encouraged to buy into their objectification and the objectification of each other. I’ve been told women should – and do – welcome sexual messages shouted to them in the street (“HOT ARSE!” “NICE TITS!”) as compliments instead of street harassment.
Putting Pippa’s backside on a virtual platter and offering it up for male gratification and pleasure, is not a compliment or credit to her. It needs to be named as the virtual sexual harassment of Pippa Middleton.
23 Responses
Oh my. The comments thrown at you over at The Punch do nothing if not prove your point on this one Melinda…
Good article, Melinda. I wonder how Pippa feels about all of this? It’s being framed as highly complimentary (“Congratulations! You are both very slim and have a shapely bottom!”), but it would also be rather embarrassing too, I’d imagine.
Thanks for another great article Melinda. I am gobsmacked after reading those comments from the facebook page- how absolutely revolting. I’ve just returned from a service remembering the women, children & couple of men who died from domestic violence assault in the last 12 months. These comments demonstrate that we have such a huge issue in our society of objectifying & disrespecting women. We all need to play our part in speaking up.
Great article..
I heard them talking about Pippa on the today show one morning this week, it was mild – the comments were about how lovely she looked, who she was dating, and was prince harry flirting with her… and that’s it.. I remember thinking to myself when they moved on to some other topic – what does she do for a living?? is how gorgeous she is and who she is dating all that matters?? does she have a job?? who knows.. it’s a subtle message… (unlike those facebook comments)
I just hope that no one who cares about Pippa Middleton actually reads those awful remarks..
So well said Melinda. The comments on The Punch were disturbing, and yes, they completely back up the point you were making. It saddens me to see so many people see absolutely nothing wrong in the way women are portrayed as sexual objects to be slobbered over on the internet. Keep up the fantastic work!
And I just thought she as a pretty girl in a nice white dress…..
Amazes me how constant expose to porn can condition the minds of its viewers to see people as sexual objects. People say it is harmless, I don’t agree.
I’ve struggled with the question of whether I (or women generally) would object if it were women commenting about a man’s body. I think I would still feel uncomfortable – I remember an ad years ago for “Just Squeezed” orange juice that featured women at a gym perving at and making comments about the orange-lycra-clad bum of a bloke on the exercise bike in front of them. They even made squeezing motions with their hands (linking to the ‘just squeezed’ juice name)… anyway, I hated the ad and thought it was sexist and degrading to men.
So yes, I would object if the tables were turned. However, I don’t think it’s merely a matter of the tables being turned, because things are certainly not equal when they are reversed. Sexual objectification does exist towards men, but it is nowhere near as prevalent as that applied to women, nor is it as violent. There’s a big difference between saying someone has a nice body and saying you’d like to hurt them. Even if it’s possible to ignore the violence for a moment, they are still all phrased as things men would like to do “to” Pippa, not “with” her. She’s not a woman with feelings; she’s an object to be f___ed. That’s NOT appreciation; it’s assault. And yes, those comments could have come straight out of a porn script, where women are objects who “need pumping”. That word (need) is standard porn talk, where women are portrayed as ‘needing’ to be beaten, pumped, hurt, smacked, drilled, f___ed – anything that will put them in their place.
Uninvited comments about Pippa Middleton’s arse – or any other woman’s, for that matter – are not complimentary. In a work context, uninvited comment about anyone’s body is considered sexual harrassment. Why is it harrassment in a work context but supposed to be accepted as a compliment in any other setting? It is not a compliment, it’s not empowering and it’s NOT OKAY.
I wonder how these creeps would feel if it was their daughter being spoken of so derrogatively! These sleeze bags should go crawl back under their rocks…how gross!!
Compliments are one thing..
But making demeaning statements about someone and somehow in this twisted world it is made out to be a compliment?.. that’s a whole different thing. Some of those comments are just plain vulgar and disgusting. I hope people, Pippa included, find it repulsive and offensive.
Headline should read ‘Pippa’s a….e has been pornified by slobbering men.’
Says it all really – men either hate women or else hold us in contempt because all women are apparently either men’s dehumanised sexual service stations or ‘man-haters (sic).’
Note too only men are human and only men are accorded the right of dignity and respect – yes respect because we women are admonished to always hold men in respect and not subject them to ridicule and/or contempt. Woe betide any woman who dares to challenge a man because she will be severely punished and the male punishers will claim ‘but you don’t have a sense of humour and that is why we are punishing you. Women must not only be expected to accept such women-hating insults as ‘compliments’ but we are also expected to desire them because men demand we accept 100% men’s oppression over us.
Spot-on Melinda subjecting a male to sexualised scrutiny and fetishisation does not have the same effect as when men subject women to a dehumanised sexualised body part. Why? Because men are human whereas women are just sex.
All the comments made by those men about Pippa Middleton are women-hating and misogynistic , plus these men are attempting to prove to other men how masculine and sexually powerful they are. Because male supremacy claims that in order for male humans to be accepted as ‘real men’ by other males they have to view women not as human beings but as men’s dehumanised sexualised body parts. Yet still these women-haters claim to ‘like women’ and claim male supremacy/male control over women does not exist.
Those women-hating comments men have written proves otherwise.
My god, get over it. How about some real stories,this is just rubbish and you call yourself a journalist.
I agree with Nicole J. I could not believe the level of justification for these comments expressed by The Punch commentators. Somehow it seems as if we don’t embrace these vile comments as good humoured fun we are prudish and out of touch. It is the normalisation of dysfunction
Look, I realize this is hard for chicks to comprehend, or at least, you haven’t comprehended it to this point, but men are visually aroused. Women want emotion, and to be swept off their feet by a man on a white horse, or whatever it is, and men want women to have a nice ass. You’d feel better if you’d stop stressing over something that has ALWAYS been this way and ALWAYS WILL. It’s the nature of the beast.
Um, Joey? Being visually aroused or ‘wanting a woman to have a nice ass’ does not excuse treating a woman like her ass is all she is, or speaking about her with a total lack of respect. It’s known as ‘manners’ and it’s not too much to ask.
You know Joey, unfortunately it isn’t us who miss the point, it’s actually you.
Sure, men are visually aroused, we all know that. HOWEVER, verbalising in either written or spoken language, in a public forum, the desire to have what sounds like nonconsensual sex, or sex that gratifies only the male, (neary all the demeaning comments that I read on the facebook page spoke about “doing her”, “banging her”, “pumping her”, “smashing in her back doors”), is completely innapropriate.
Sex, which is wonderful, is not something you “do” to someone else. It’s something two people share to enhance and deepen a relationship. Speaking in derogatory sexual terms about someone else, demonstrates only your own lack of understanding about the most wonderfully intimate physical act two people who love each other can participate in.
Commenting only in physical terms also demonstrates a lack of respect about any person be they male or female – with the body comes a brain, a personality and a human being.
Computer crashed whilst commenting… trying to remember it…
@Joey – it’s not about whether men are aroused visually, nor about whether women are expecting to be swept off their feet. It’s about speaking about women in violent and degrading ways. Remarks like, “I’d destroy her or at least bash her back door in,” show a disturbing level of violence. It suggests women are not people with feelings; they are objects to be fucked. YOU may think it’s no big deal, but we “chicks” have been copping this shit for a long time and we’re sick of it. It doesn’t make us feel desired or attractive or empowered, it makes us feel unsafe.
Joey, I do understand that men are visually aroused. I think you will find that there are very few ‘chicks’ who don’t understand that. And that’s not a problem in itself. I don’t have any objection to men appreciating that Pippa Middleton looked a knockout in that frock. I agreed and in fact, I actually went to the facebook page with the intention of ‘liking’ it, as a light-hearted compliment. But I was sickened and horrified by the nature of the comments that I found just in the first half a dozen on the page. They had nothing to do with appreciation and everything to do with objectification and, as Melinda has pointed out, violent harm in some cases. No woman minds being found attractive. But likewise, no woman wants to be considered fair game for violent, misogynistic comments and behaviour – for any reason, much less just wearing a pretty dress at her sister’s wedding.
If you can’t see the difference between a man appreciating the view, so to speak and expressing a wish to anally rape the owner of the view, I can only suggest, as others have done before, that you imagine someone was saying it to you about a woman you care about. Or indeed yourself, if there aren’t any women you care about. How would you feel if it was a gay facebook page and it was your arse and they were getting off on the idea of violently raping you? Would it then be just ‘the nature of the beast’? Or is that a quite different beast?
Joey – please don’t speak for all men – you sure as hell don’t speak for me.
I’ve found the responses to Melinda’s articles disgusting, almost as disgusting as the sort of attitudes being expressed towards Pippa and her arse. I’ve commented on this and had all manner of accusations thrown at me. But I at least still have my integrity.
As others have said, this issue is not about the desire or the “visual arousal” as you so euphemistically call it. It is about the expression of the attitude. It is about the language of violence and rape that is being used. It is about the utter and complete lack of awareness of the impact of one’s language.
Bloody well said, Melinda.
Joey – there is a place and time for the attitudes you seem to live by. Problem is, it is on another planet and several thousand years ago.
I am trying to put together a blog post on comments. I have seen it so often. The comments people make in relation to (usually) a woman standing up and saying that it is just not OK …. they merely prove the point. I am so utterly sick of the culture of our society – in particular its marginalisation of … pretty much anyone who is an able-bodied straight white male.
Thanks GoodGravey,
I’m glad there are men out there who understand the difference between visual appreciation and violent, dehumanizing objectification.
Joey – do you think we’re stupid? Your attempt to distract us from the central issue by accusing us of not understanding that men are visually stimulated (so are many women, incidentally), has failed.
Can you seriously not tell the difference between thinking a woman looks great and being turned on… and then as a result wanting to ‘pound’ or ‘bash’ her. It is actually possible to get visually sexually stimulated by a woman and NOT have violent or objectifying fantasies. At least this is what most most of my healthy male friends tell me.
If getting visually stimulated and wanting to objectify a woman are one and the same thing for you, I suggest you get off the porn. You’d be doing yourself a favour.
How sickening that to part, at least, of the population, a young woman walking down a church aisle in a modest dress is seen to be inviting violent sodomy from strangers – people who see their points of view as justified and acceptable, worthy to be shared with the world via the internet! It truly makes me weep.
This makes me feel so embarrassed to be male. *Cringe*.
I find it amusing that people actually care about royalty, let alone the sister of royalty. Her handbag sold out in 2 days? This is how pathetic people become when awestruck and must have absolutely everything / anything she wears or carries. Bragging rights, fashion sense? Perhaps, but grow some sense of self and realize that you still won’t magically turn into a princess or movie star if you wear such and such. Not to mention, that some current fashion styles as depicted by actors/actresses are absolutely horrendous. You’re all sheep.
I found the whole focus about Pippa’s butt to be quite amusing but (and no pun intended)…keep in mind that Pippa does have a good looking arse for an English girl. No doubt about that so it is hardly a surprise that the British viewers picked up on that, the rest of the world simply surfed along on the media wave it created. Some really angry people on this site, does Matron know you are on the net?