Insurgents' Ink: Feminism Under the Knife

Monday, June 28, 2010

Feminism Under the Knife

Does plastic surgery automatically exclude one from the circle of (feminist) trust? That's what some are asking now that major news outlets are covering the story of the so-called Too-Hot Banker.

Her real name is Debrahlee Lorenzana, and she was fired from Citibank, according to Lorenzana, for being too hot. The photos online depict a long-legged brunette who is, well, hot. So what's a pretty girl to do? Citibank says she was fired for not doing a very good job; Lorenzana says she was fired because of her looks.

She also says that she has gone under the knife several times in an effort to look like a Playboy model.

This admission has garnered just as much attention as the lawsuit Lorenzana is bringing against her former employer. Her comment problematizes an otherwise fairly straightforward case of sexual harassment: Does her decision to augment her body through plastic surgery (the goal of her fourth breast enlargement is a 32-DD) make any claim of sexual harassment null and void? Or is this question akin to saying a provocatively dressed rape victim "asked for it"?

It's also worth noting that Lorenzana has sparked a related debate regarding feminism and self-image. What happens when a woman is so concerned with her ability to be attractive to the opposite sex that she is willing to have several surgeries in order to change her appearance, but then she objects to being objectified?

I don't know where I stand on this one. What say you?

1 comment:

AutumnJuly 5, 2010 at 5:45 PM
I LOVE that we are discussing this, but I'm do want to clarify something because, as my father said this seems like a talk show topic--thanks pop :)

The issue here, at least for me, is not the lawsuit. If Lorenzana was fired for unlawful reasons, I hope she receives fair compensation. If she wasn't, I hope she doesn't.

What I think is worth discussing is not really about Lorenzana at all, but rather the proliferation and increased cultural acceptance of cosmetic plastic surgery, especially on women. We are living in an age where it is not uncommon to participate in a botox party, or get your breasts enlarged, or have gastric bypass surgery. Of course the line gets inevitably blurry when we discuss the necessity and virtue of altering our bodies. Should people with severe burns get plastic surgery? What is the difference between a tummy tuck and gastric bypass surgery? Would someone who injects botox into their face undergo more invasive procedures...the list of possible scenarios goes on and on, and we all have our own opinions.

But as feminists living in this type of culture, I think we have to accept this as something that isn't going away, and therefore I think it is very worthy of discussion. If a majority of women are going to have cosmetic surgery, simply for the purpose of being more attractive, what are the repercussions? Do these surgeries really make us feel better about ourselves, as I have heard said? Or is that not why women get them? And of course to get back to Amber's question: if we get cosmetic surgery to become more attractive, can we still say we don't want to be treated like sex objects?

This is a tough question for me, and I'd love to hear some comments on it...Please feel free to jump in this one because I don't think I know enough about it to pass judgment, and of course, that isn't the point here anyway :)
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Amber Dickey- Co-Editor
She received an M.A. in English with an emphasis on literature and a B.A. in English with an American literature concentration from CSU Sacramento. As an undergraduate, Amber won second place in the Bazzanella Literary Awards for her critical analysis of T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland. She is an avid fan of the Lost Generation writers, Héléne Cixous, bell hooks, Judith Butler, and many, many others. Her interests lie in the arts, poverty and race studies, gender studies, queer theory, pedagogy, and the Feminist Movement debate. She credits her mother's strength and perseverance as a single mother of three with inspiring her to work hard for everything she wants and never take shit from anyone.

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