Sexual Empowerment of Women

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The purpose of my project was to explore female sexuality and empowerment. It is an important topic because women are judged on their sexuality. It is expected that women be sexy but not sexual, meaning to look the part, but do not act on it. We live in a world where women are held to a different standard than men. Men are expected to sleep around with many women; it gives them almost a god-like complex while women are shunned for sleeping around. Women should not feel shamed in having sex or being sexy. Sex is the way we keep the world populated and is a natural part of life. Yes, feminism has been around for quite some time, men and women are still not treated as equals, especially when it comes to sexuality. The activism part of my project was going to a pole-fitness class. Not only was it an incredible workout, it gave me a sense of empowerment and made me feel sexy in my own skin. I have never felt like a very sexy person and this class made me feel that way. It is an activity that can boost a women’s confidence and make her feel more comfortable with her body. Stripping is a profession that pays very well but is looked down upon because women are getting paid to take their clothes off for strangers. Sure for many it is just an easy way to make a quick buck, but after talking to someone who was in this field at one time and she loved her job. She said it made her feel empowered because she felt she had some power over the men she was dancing for, not to mention it kept her body in amazing shape. I personally would not have the courage to get on a stage and take my clothes off for others, but the class I took was a lot of fun and it is potentially something I would like to do again sometime. The instructor was very informative... ... middle of paper ... ...omen‐controlled safe sex: A concept analysis. Journal Of Advanced Nursing, 68(8), 1858-1869 Bradley-Engen, M. S., & Ulmer, J. T. (2009). Social worlds of stripping: The processual orders of exotic dance. The Sociological Quarterly, 50(1), 29-60. Gill, R. (2012). Media, empowerment and the 'sexualization of culture' debates. Sex Roles, 66(11-12), 736-745. Goldenberg, J. L., Cox, C. R., Pyszczynski, T., Greenberg, J., & Solomon, S. (2002). Understanding human ambivalence about sex: The effects of stripping sex of meaning. Journal Of Sex Research, 39(4), 310-320. Irizarry, Y., Kleiner, S., Weinberg, M., & Williams, C. (2010). Pornography, Normalization, and Empowerment. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Peterson, Z. D. (2010). What is sexual empowerment? A multidimensional and process-oriented approach to adolescent girls’ sexual empowerment. Sex Roles, 62(5-6), 307-313.

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