The Industry Ideal

So there I was, as all good summer nights go, standing in line at a 24/7 grocery store at 2:43 in the morning. While attempting to balance multiple (multiple!!!!) pints of Halo Top in and under my arms, my eyes couldn’t help but wander to those tragically dramatic celebrity magazines that they always keep right by the check out. Front and center, one of them (Sports Illustrated or GQ?) trumpeted its special edition featuring, “The 100 Sexiest Women of the Century.” With a laugh, I dropped my pints of low-cal goodness onto the conveyor belt and opened it up to take a peek.

Almost expectedly, the queen Sasha Fierce Beyoncé herself dominated the number one position. She proudly flaunted a tiny, sporty half-shirt strategically raised up to reveal just the right amount of underboob. To most of us, seeing this isn’t terribly surprising; it’s just another highly normalized example of society’s ideal female form. As much as I hate to admit it, this cultural appetite for physical perfection fuels commercialization with a flaming fire. But would it really be too much to provide some more realism. 

Would it be absolutely jaw dropping if I request a demonstration of sexiness beyond a Kim K ass and tiny waist? Like, let’s take a step back...it’s 2018. We freed the nipple, we are women in STEM, and we proclaim body positivity.

We are women with a purpose.

Why doesn’t the bulk of media and Westernized culture seem to understand that the long list of physical features they attribute to “sexiness” should be the smallest contributions to a person’s identity and appeal? Or, more centrally: why are we often so complacent with the way the media likes to portray the allure of women’s “assets?” Why does sexy still come down to numbers and sizes? Why do we as a society constantly proclaim that everyone possesses unique beauty, regardless of shape, size and color, and yet we still don’t see that reflected in the media? And when a brand does include accurate and diverse representations of women, why do they receive such disproportionate amounts of praise, attention, and applause?

Isn’t this what they should be doing to begin with?

Picture this: Beyoncé doing neuroscience research. She’s smart, she’s accomplished, and she sees right through your bullshit. That’s sexy. Kendall Jenner as the CEO of a finance company. She’s kicking ass and breaking the glass ceiling. Hot AF. Alexis Ren taking a statistics final? Yeaaah, that’s what I’m talking about.

Women making a killing in their industry and taking names. That. Is. Sexy. Actually, duh, you know what, let’s get Hillary Clinton on ones of these lists, too. Because tell me something sexier than a woman in a pantsuit dedicating her life to changing this world through political action while simultaneously kicking the patriarchy to the curb? Right, trick question. There is absolutely nothing sexier.   

We know that our own pride and sexiness comes from self-confidence. It comes from good energy, good company, loving others, loving yourself, and just owning who the hell you are.  

We empower each other to praise our strengths and accomplishments, and we build each other up and promote the celebration of the beauty of diversity. But does everyone else? Does the media?

How can we scream it louder?

Going about our lives, we should push each other to constantly step outside of the bubble that we’ve grown so accustomed to. Redefining what beauty and sexiness truly are is just one step in this journey. We should constantly remind ourselves that women have different sizes and shapes, varying preferences, strengths, and personalities, and that’s damn beautiful.

By Sabrina Maciariello

Duke Student, wellness columnist and avocado connoisseur on the right side of the toast trend.