Controlling Body Image

In our discussion this week, we considered Bell Hooks' criticism of media that black women, because of their exoticism, are portrayed as creatures of sexual desire and animalistic behavior. Clearly, in contrast to anglo features, other ethnicities occupy the realm of "other". A piece I believe directly opposes the power of objectification is Yoko Ono's 1965 "Cut Piece". Yoko Ono, a recognizable Japanese face, sits on a stage as members of a white audience approach her and one by one snip off pieces of her clothing. The crowd strips her of her sweater and her tank top and one man finally snips her bra straps. Yoko Ono actively submits herself to this kind of objectification. She sits with a stoic expression as strangers strip her of her clothing. Still, she is in control; she organized the show, she sat silently without moving, she offered herself to the audience. I understand how Hooks sees the forced exploitation of characters such as the slave made a spectacle of for her endowed back-side as demeaning, it was very much so. However, by means of the media . Ethnic groups choose to participate in advertisements and televisions shows as Ono chose to stage "cut piece". No longer is anyone forcing them into this advertising, they have the power to walk away. Perhaps by celebrating their sexuality by choice, ethnic groups empower, rather than devalue or animalize, themselves. They invite the audience to view them, interact with them, because it brings attention to their cause and demonstrates that they can control themselves and their bodies and do with them what they please. 

Link to Yoko Ono's "Cut Piece" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2IgqYiaywU