I don't hate women with good bodies at all; I respect them for keeping in
                   shape and eating well. My boyfriend and I recently rented "Saving
                   Silverman," a typical movie targeted at teens and twenty-somethings like
                   us (you know, the ones that are gullable enough to fall for the
                   advertising).

                   Like most guys, he enjoyed the breast-watching that the movie was
                   based upon. While I am all for freedom of speech, and for women doing
                   what they want in the world, I can't understand how some can still fall
                   into the media trap.

                   "You're just jealous; you hate all the women with good bodies," he said. I
                   suppose that my criticism does come off this way. What I resent are not
                   the curves of female celebrities' breasts that I know way too much about,
                   but the fact that these curves are the subject of almost every movie out
                   there. I can't remember the last time I was able to enjoy a movie without
                   having to sit through at least 15 minutes total of breast footage.

                   I am not interested! I don't want to look at massive cleavage, and I don't
                   want to be 'entertained' by a dumb plot entirely written around
                   mountainous breasts. I don't have a problem with breasts. In fact, I own
                   a pair myself. I just don't care to look at them. Given what's at the box
                   office and the video rental stores, I don't have much of a choice. If you
                   choose a comedy, you've chosen some form of breast-cam.

                   So there we sit on the couch, my boyfriend laughing hysterically while I
                   contemplate the non-outfits of the women in the movies. Of course, if I
                   dress without a bra, it's far too flashy in his opinion and that of others.
                   It's not like the real world of film, is it? Of course, the movie queens are
                   great for constant drooling.

                   I don't understand any part of this society. This is a society in which
                   Britney Spears is totally manipulated by producers and dieticians, yet
                   declares her independence as a woman. She swears she's a virgin, simply
                   to maintain the point that a near-naked role model isn't total slut slime.
                   This is a society where women are clueless as to how their daughters
                   grow up anorexic, while all images on screen portray women essentially as
                   sex toys.

                   Perhaps equality is the answer. Why aren't male nude scenes as
                   prevelant? Maybe it's because some women have an inkling as to what it
                   feels like to have your entire sex exploited. More likely, it is because film
                   producers pander to either males or females. Because most females (like
                   myself) end up compromising, they're stuck with "We are hot chicks," "I'm
                   going to be a nun that dresses like a whore," and "I'm a sex crazed foreign
                   exchange student." (Yes, if you guess the movies, you get a condom...
                   er, honorable mention.) *Hint: If you want equality, rent Magnolia and
                   take a good look at Tom in his boxer briefs!

                   As I said, I don't hate women with good bodies at all. Instead, I have
                   issues with those that accept mainstream film roles that seek to define
                   femininity as sex objects, leaving our boyfriends to wonder why we have
                   image issues.

                   I know that diet pills and eating disorders are bad solutions to this
                   problem. I know that being 25 pounds over makes me 'different,' and
                   that's good, I suppose. I also know that I can't compete with what's out
                   there, and my insecurity is hereby justified.

                   This is me declaring insecurity. This is me, explaining why, to all of those
                   who can't fathom why young women feel this way. This is an author,
                   relating to all the women that have ever known The Yellow Wallpaper. I
                   haven't even begun to stare at a glass ceiling, but I know what it's like to
                   swallow the shattered shards.

                   This is me chopping up my Blockbuster card. This is me turning off the TV.
                   This is an ex-film watcher.

                   This is a female writer.
 

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