Daily Archive: April 25, 2009

Against pornofication and sexualization – scratching the surface because you have to begin somewhere

Against pornofication and sexualization – scratching the surface because you have to begin somewhere

As in some other countries such as the US there is a debate in the Netherlands about the pornofication and sexualization of Dutch society. In particular feminists have been active in this debate pointing out the objectification of women (reducing women to objects of sexual desire and moulding women into standardized models that fit the general pattern of what is sexually attractive to Dutch heterosexual men) and men (reducing men into objects that are determined by sexual lust and moulding them into standardized models of what a Dutch heterosexual man should find sexually attractive). Now we have one (!) Muslim man who is on a ‘crusade’ against, what he sees, as pornographic representations of women in commercial ads. ***UPDATED!***

"Don't think black and white…think Orange" 0

"Don't think black and white…think Orange"

Queensday is in many cases a celebration not only for native Dutch people but also for migrants and in particular the younger generations. This time it has led to a new initiative called the Louka. A group of students will hand out more than 5,000 orange headscarves on 30 April to promote tolerance in the Netherlands in a ‘playful’ way. The orange headscarves will, according to the students, allow Muslim women to express their loyalty to their faith as well as to the queen. I’m afraid such an initiative, no matter how well intended it is, will contribute to the opposite.