- The Record Archives
- Volume CXVIII, No. XX - November 10, 2005 - opinion
Consider the impact of provocative posters in dorm rooms
Guest columnist
By Kiersten Gjerstad,
Kailyn Heins and
Dani Delwiche
Guest columnists
Have you ever noticed the number of sexual posters hanging up in college dorm rooms?
We have.
It got us thinking … what is the purpose of hanging these posters?
Is it a proclamation of your sexuality?
Are you telling the world that you are straight or gay?
You can put up a sign that will get the same effect: "I am heterosexual" or "I am homosexual."
If this is a reason, then why does it matter?
We should be comfortable enough with our sexuality that we shouldn't have to display it in this way.
We kept thinking about it and thought that maybe the posters are for pleasure?
If this is something you enjoy looking at, it might be beneficial to keep it more private.
When it's posted in your room, people see it when they walk by.
Would you really want your roommate's grandmother, or even your own family, to see that?
It makes visitors feel uncomfortable.
So why do people feel uncomfortable when they see the posters?
The posters present a false body image.
Men have bulging biceps and women have exceptionally large breasts.
Well of course, all women are a size 0 and all men have six packs.
Yeah, right.
We all know this isn't true.
The models in these posters are products of modern technology, such as airbrushing and plastic surgery.
These images make the people you interact with feel like their own bodies are not good enough.
It puts pressure on individuals to try to fit into these false perceptions of beauty.
And we wonder why there are people suffering from eating disorders, depression, etc…?
These posters also objectify and dehumanize both men and women.
The individuals in the posters are objects that create a false image of beauty.
When these individuals are looked at for pleasure we forget that they are people too.
The people in these posters are someone's mother, sister, brother, father or friend.
We realize that it is your room and your personal space.
You should, however, consider the consequences of hanging these posters and the effects they may have on the people close to you.
Kiersten Gjerstad, Kailyn Heins and Dani Delwiche are student members of a Gender Service Learning project.