rio

“Women are not objects.”

Yes, I agree. No one should objectify women.

It is worth pointing out, however, that some women “self-objectify” and/or explicitly allow others (likely someone they trust) to objectify them, maybe as a kink. In these cases, it is done with consent from all parties involved. Most importantly, there is aftercare. And even then, I would further note, they are a minority. Objectifying the self as a woman, whatever her reasons may be, is a privilege that not all women could do or want to do.

Women should have complete autonomy over their own bodies.

“People who sexualize women have no right to be called human beings…”

I could only imagine the emotions that would spur a woman to write such generalization. Women has to endure daily hardships brought by patriarchy we all live and take part in. I know from personal experience how machismo corrodes women’s welfare.

Although a minority, it is worth noting that even women and other non-men can be misogynistic. Patriarchy is affects everyone’s behavior, no matter the sex and gender. This open letter by Yannah Angela comes to mind as an example, in which the author writes about (trigger warning) sexual assault and child abuse as a direct consequence of patriarchy.

Also, are women who sexualize—maybe even objectify—themselves for whatever reason (e.g., for sex work) included in this reduction?

Now, I—as a cis-hetero male, apparently non-human being—wish to argue for whatever is left of my personhood by saying: it is normal to be physically attracted to, to sexualize even, the opposite sex (women) and other femme-presenting folks (if you get what I mean). It is the following actions and inactions that matter more, in my humble opinion. Any actions that lead to, or any inactions that neither prevent nor stop, violence against women (online or in meatspace), including sexual harassment, assault, and abuse, should be condemned and be made accountable in any reality.

Some examples:

Masturbating to the thought of some person one has sexualized in their heads is okay, but masturbating to revenge porn is detestable.

Getting turned on by the idea of having sex with some stranger on the internet is okay, but sliding in their DMs unprompted to let them know of the fact is creepy.

Consensual freaky and nasty sex is great, but if the safeword is uttered, stop immediately and proceed to aftercare.

But what about writing smut on the internet for fun?

does she really need to complete the sentence for u to understand the context? ofc, what she meant was people who sexualize women WITHOUT CONSENT have no right to be called human beings. the post was obviously about women whose photos are stolen, shared, reposted on adult sites & sexualized without their permission, not about consensual kinks, sex work, or women who willingly express their sexuality. idk why u interpreted it that way.

being physically attracted to someone is normal. respecting people’s boundaries should be normal too. but once u reduce someone to a sexual object without their consent, that’s no longer just attraction.

you even started defending ur “personhood” as if the post was personally attacking every cis-hetero man. if ur first reaction to a post condemning non-consensual sexualization is to defend the word “sexualize” instead of condemning the people who actually do it without consent, then maybe u completely missed the point there.