"Give us a smile, love!" came the chipper call of a man in van that had paused chivalrously next to me. Having caught me quite unawares, I turned my head to look at him (usually I would have flicked my finger at him and stormed off) and he laughs, winks and then the van drives off. I look at the book in my arms and, no thanks to Mr Spontaneous 8am Life Coach, I smile. I smile because in my head I am warning my new charming best friend that his days of flippant, casual, uncensored cat calling are numbered. I think about all the things are happening to start to eliminate behaviour like his and I begin to feel hopeful that the patriarchy's power is waning, that people everywhere are opening their eyes and standing up and fighting back.
And then this evening, my hope trickles away as a story pops up on my newsfeed. A story about Rita Ora's boobs.
And at first I am shocked and annoyed that her clothing choices are even considered newsworthy but then as I scan the article I realise that there is a much deeper problem here. That this is an article slut shaming and attacking Rita Ora not just because of some desperate need for a filler fashion article in the absence of anything real to report on (which is not the case today anyway considering that the Charlie Hebdo Offices were stormed by gunmen and the ensuing protests in defence of freedom of speech are really gathering momentum) or because some randy journalist thought they'd comment on her rack for the fun of it... no, this article is here because of popular demand.
Because the people, the everyday normal people that watch The One Show (people with questionable taste, certainly, but still), 400 of them rallied against Rita Ora and her DEVASTATING, TRAUMATISING, EVIL... tits.
The viewers at home made their feelings quite clear:
"I do not want to see her boobs hanging out on a family programme."
"I find it quite disgraceful."
"I am no prude but found it totally inappropriate."
Oh. My. Days. WHAT could she possibly have worn to warrant this torrent of complaints?
MY EYESS ARE BURRNINGGGG!
(no. seriously. they are. I just got a bit of face wash in them.)
Other than the frankly ridiculous hyperbolic nature of the complaints made- her boobs were not "hanging out" and the fact is that if she had been wearing a low cut dress rather than a blazer she would just have been "showing off her figure" or "looking glamourous" not branded a slut who is trampling on the male institution of the suit... who does she think she is? a man?!- the real issue here is that once again a woman, who has achieved amazing things (perhaps not to everyone's taste but nonetheless admirable) in her field and is meant to be on a chat show, chatting about one of those achievements (lest we forget that she was actually there to talk about her new role as a judge on The Voice), is being reduced to her cleavage.
Yes, it is a programme on before watershed. Yes, I am sure small children were watching. Yes, it is the middle of winter and why did no one buy Rita a jumper for christmas? BUT I've got to be honest with you- this is not the first time that your child has seen boobs. This is not the most explicit image your children have been exposed to. This is not the monster that you need to defend your kids from. Every newsagent you walk into with your child, every advert for swimwear your child sees on TV, every sun newspaper abandoned casually on a seat on the train is full of images of women's bodies, most of which are dressed in much less than Rita Ora was. I bet that hardly, if any, of the people who complained about Rita's boobs being partially exposed, have contacted the plethora of lingerie companies that advertise on billboards and buses all day, every day, or raised their voices alongside No More Page 3, or refused to take their child to the beach for fear that there might be a lady in a bikini there. Why are they pretending that they have an issue with seeing boobs? We see them all the time in a variety of contexts, some much more damaging than Rita Ora wearing an outfit that, probably, if worn in one of her music videos would be deemed too conservative by her industry and her audience alike?!
The problem really is that Rita Ora is a woman. That Rita Ora had the audacity to have boobs and simultaneously be talking about her success.
I watched the clip of the chat they had about her achievement. And actually I was quite shocked. What was discussed most was how she was the new female judge- the new novelty woman on the panel. That she would bring that much sought after "woman's touch". There weren't many complaints about that.
The complainers called for dress codes- What? So that you can further restrict what a woman is allowed to wear in public? So that you can dictate what another human being chooses to dress in? So you, divine authority, can tell silly Rita that she is flouting the rules and make her go and sit on the naughty step? And what are the rules, exactly? A woman must be sexy and well dressed at all times in case she is ambushed by a photographer, she must never repeat an outfit, she must wear the height of fashion, she must have a 'perfect' figure, she must show off said figure, she must look womanly BUT she must not wear low cut tops (unless you decide she is allowed to, obviously), she must not wear anything that actually expresses her identity, she must not wear a push up bra (but she must have perfect cleavage), she must not wear too much makeup (but she must have a flawless complexion... and red lips... eu naturale, eh?), she must not wear loose fitting clothes (because she will be deemed a slob) but she can't wear tight clothes either (because then she is a hoe).... and so it goes on. A list of rules that can never be fully complied with. So women have to choose which ones they break- they have to take a leap of faith and hope that no one criticises them too harshly for their inadequacy. A dress code is the very manifestation of a system that oppresses and harasses women for being women.
“Thankfully my 7-year-old boy is elsewhere. Come on BBC, make the woman put a vest on.”
Thank God your 7 year old son won't be forced to see (some of) Rita Ora's boobs. What the hell are you worried about? That it will destroy his innocence? If your son is anything like the average child in this country, I am sure he has seen celebrities in low cut tops before. I'm sure he's seen a woman's cleavage before. I am sure he wouldn't be traumatised by seeing Rita Ora sitting on a sofa- she isn't that scary, really. I mean i might have got the wrong end of the stick- you might be saying thank god he is elsewhere because you don't want him to witness a woman sitting on a sofa, surrounded by her male colleagues who keep on talking about how great it is to have ONE woman on the show and how tough she is going to make the competition- not because she is successful or ambitious or talented but because SHE IS A WOMAN and she has got that mystical womanly advantage. You might not want your son to hear that the most important quality that any woman has is that she is a woman- that she is firstly and foremostly a woman and that that is where her value comes from. But judging by your next sentence, somehow i doubt that that was what you were worried about...
"make the woman put a vest on." A phrase that is actively encouraging a woman being forced to do something against her will. And this woman we are discussing has a name- Rita Ora. I'm sure Rita Ora would not appreciate being referred to as "the woman" as if her identity is comprised of nothing more than her sex. Here, Rita Ora is reduced to her gender identity, her blazer and her boobs. Smashing.
Hundreds of people complained. A few strong individuals spoke up and pointed out the absurdity of the complaints. The press spun it into a story. The mirror's online article features a gallery of images of the offensive outfit- you'd think, after making such a fuss, they'd want to reduce the number of images of her boobs available but then again they are a loverlyyy pair, aren't they? Why not turn it into an ogling opportunity at the same time? The Daily Mail online went for a typically classy "Rita Ora goes braless in plunging white blazer as she spices things up on The Voice UK promotional trail." Personally, I think "Rita Ora is the new judge on The Voice" just about covers it- even if everyone seems to think her blazer didn't.
-vida xx
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