Women in Black in a 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Culture

So why use our bodies as bait?

By Karen Farris, Op-ed contributor Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Like the pink hats of last year, women are now wearing black to show their strength and solidarity in the midst of all of the #MeToo sexual improprieties. Black is my favorite color, so I'm in. The new hashtag: #TimesUp.

But, here's where I'll show my age: if we want to have real power, let's consider our image. What are we accomplishing for womanhood with sexually explicit clothing? Men are visually hardwired.

So why use our bodies as bait?

Is it to attract a mate? Pastor and author, John Piper tells women desiring to attract men through their skimpy fashions, "The guy you are attracting by sexiness is not the guy you want to marry. Jesus is telling the "guy you want to marry" to pluck out his own eye rather than looking at you when you dress to be "sexy"." Apparently, the best guys aren't the ones who chase skirts.

Historically, women weren't always treated like sexual objects. From 1607-1968 women in America were treated better than any place in the world. What happened? The sexual revolution brought new values. The Supreme Court gave constitutional protection to the most incredibly vile pornography. Hollywood was no longer bound to respectability and the motto "sex sells" objectified women ever since.

Speaking of movies, the "Fifty Shades" series has glorified a whole new level of sexual exploitation. You know who boosted ticket sales for the first two movies in that trilogy? Women. Next month "Fifty Shades Freed" comes out.

If you used the hashtag #MeToo and you consider all sexual abuse wrong, then show your support by not buying tickets to that movie or any other that glorifies our objectification.

It's easy to wear black. What's harder is not being part of the problem. How? By choosing to be LESS provocative. Part two of the solution is not supporting industries that use our bodies to promote us as sex objects.

We have sisters working in the porn industry. And we have sisters in sexual bondage because of porn. We have little girls imitating Victoria Secret models—who'll soon be the next generation dealing with porn addicts. Enough. Stop feeding the monster you want to slay.

The #TimesUp effort by Hollywood's rich and powerful women gives men a list of expectations. But these same women continue to be part of the sexual provocation through their movies and lifestyle.

Look around, are we better or worse off for the proliferation of porn? Is living in our sex saturated society healthy? Go ahead, tell me I'm so last century. That's okay. Not all progress has been good for women. And we must ask what will happen to today's little girls growing up in its dregs.