NOD enforces contorted body perceptions

By Johanna Ohm     11/12/09 6:00pm

Okay ladies, NOD is over. We no longer have to worry about fitting into our skimpiest lingerie costumes, and we can once again join the lengthy line for Chef Roger's cinnamon rolls. But was one night's party worth a month's agony trying to pick out a racy Halloween costume that most people, loafing out of post-party hangovers, couldn't recall come Sunday morning?

Why is it that, as women, so many of us feel compelled to fit into stereotypical gender roles that we all hate? Perhaps here at Rice this meant busting out our sexiest Disney-inspired undies for one night of fun, but the statements made about modern gender conventions were far more impressionable.

We complain about society over-emphasizing the need to adopt traditional gender roles, yet not only do we frequently conform to these demands, thus encouraging their social acceptance, but we also promote these ingrained ideals. This point was demonstrated by everything from the NOD decorations - which included a giant display of something obviously more than a genie bottle - to the looks of self-conscious discomfort shared by the sober few.

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Taking the recent "Night of Decadence" into the context of the Rice community, I find it to be in sharp contrast with exactly what so many campus groups and organizations are working against. With recent promotions of the "Consent is Sexy" Week and ongoing programs at the Wellness Center to foster high self-esteem and better body images, I wonder why so many of us willingly attended an event so blatantly opposed to progressive female ideals.

Hailing from an extremely educated community of intellectuals, Rice women need to embrace their femininity, which does not mean following tradition or conforming to a societal concept of "beauty," defined by either youth or physique. Being a woman should mean having confidence in our bodies and embracing one another for who we are, rather than how we look. This may not be an excuse to start binging on the servery's dessert selection, or to join in as a female candidate for No Shave November, or to forgo all attempts to brush our hair and put on some makeup, but it is an excuse for us to become conscious of how our decisions influence our self-esteem and to reexamine our role in promoting or tackling issues of sexism within our community.

According to one freshman NOD attendee, the atmosphere at NOD was "shocking," and not simply because of people's attire. Describing the choice in decorations, she mentioned that she shared in views that they seemed male-centric and demoralizing to the opposite gender, and actually agreed when she heard someone suggest that next year's decorations should at least include "a paper-mache vagina." Furthermore, many others in attendance also mentioned the party's emphasis on heterosexuality and commented in the wake of the night's events that other sexual orientations should have been represented so as to not discriminate amongst members of our community who do not fall into society's older, traditional relationship paradigm.

Since the party's over, I suppose there's no use dwelling on the past and harping on what many nonetheless considered to be an "excellent party"; rather, I hope that those of us who did feel uncomfortable with the night's sexual statements can take our experience as motivation to promote better representation of sex and gender rights. Not only does this mean embracing our own sexual identities, but it also means accepting and encouraging others to feel comfortable with their life choices and body images.

Our time worrying about trivial aspects of our body image may be better spent signing up for one of the courses offered by the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, attending events like yesterday's Open Mic Night hosted by the Women's Resource Center to benefit the Houston Area Women's Center or checking out the new Barbara and David Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center, which can provide positive examples of what it means to be comfortable with our bodies.

With cooler weather finally settling into Houston, we don't have to worry about swimsuit season and bikini-dieting for at least another four months - but then again, why should we come spring?

Johanna Ohm is a Duncan College freshman.

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