Stop Selling Women's Bodies!

I am so sick of seeing commercials and television programs that sell a woman's body, talking about it as if it is just an object.
 Why? Because:

• 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men experience violence from their partners in their lifetimes.

• 1 in 5 women are survivors of rape.

• 1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men have experienced some form of sexual victimization in their lives.

The Hooter's commercial that played during the National College Football Championship Game totally made me angry on so many levels because I have done research on the effects of over-sexualized media and its important role in perpetrating sexual misconduct. I want to ask Hooters: Do you guys really see women as a sex object? How is Hooter's business model any different than a pimp selling a woman on the street? Sure, women aren't being forced into working at your restaurant, but the premise is the same: Hooters is selling women's bodies in their TV ad. How does this affect young girls watching? They only see that their bodies are to be bartered with and used, and men must interested in women's bodies without any attachment or care for their humanity, personalities, emotions, or mental capabilities. I know all men are not like that (for one, my dad and my husband). But those ads tell a teenage girl who is searching for love, "Hey, you can get love by giving your body." It makes them see themselves as so much LESS than the beautiful creation God has made them to be.

I was equally angered by the commercials for the upcoming "Fifty Shades of Gray" movie. How sick are we as a society that we actually applaud and participate in sexual bondage. The commercial for this movie made me sick to my stomach. Seeing a woman in front of a man with a whip in his hand in the scene of a commercial being shown to children during a ball game should make you want to throw up, too. Do you understood the horrendous hell that so many women enslaved in sex trafficking are enduring as we speak? We CANNOT support these degradations of women. You see, these types of movies and businesses only fuel the demonic thirst for sexual violence, which manifests in an ever-growing pornography industry and sex trafficking industry.

Sexual violence such as rape is on the rise, but we shouldn't be surprised by that, now should we? After all, we act like it's normal. Millions of women went and saw Magic Mike and read the book Fifty Shades of Gray. We as women are just as guilty for supporting this trash with our hard-earned money. We are perpetrating sexual degradation when we support anything that objectifies a woman's body or devalues sex into something bought and sold. We are saying it's okay when we support anything that sells women or men's bodies.

Listen up, world! A WOMAN IS MUCH MORE THAN HER BODY! AND WE ARE NOT FOR SALE. We are tired of being treated like objects in your sick, commercialized, greedy grab for men's attention.

Yes, God did make a woman's body to grab the attention of a man—her husband's. It's one of the most beautiful things about marriage, that we can share life together, spirit, soul and body. But when you cheapen it into something to be conquered, lusted after and adulterated, it destroys the beautiful purpose.

Women are to be protected, cherished, loved, and respected. A woman is not the sum of her breast-to-waistline ratio. She is not something to be conquered. She is not an object to fulfill a lustful fantasy on. She is not something to be mastered or lorded over. Her body is not something to be sold. It's something one man should earn and cherish for a lifetime.

Rant over. But the war on women is not.

This problem is a serious one, but it's nothing new. Check out Genesis 1-3. Genesis 3:15 shows us a glimpse of a conversation between God and the enemy of humankind, Satan:
The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; 15And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."

There is a war on women. There always has been and there always will be. Which side are you on? Who are you supporting with your media choices? You're casting your vote with your time and money. Choose wisely, please, for the sake of all who are suffering sexual assault today.

For more information and to support an organization making a difference, check out:
www.thea21campaign.org
www.xxxchurch.com
www.mencanstoprape.org
www.sherescue.org
www.nomore.org

Modesty is More at Golden Globes 2015

Watching the Golden Globes 2015, I was struck by a few things:

1. Are these awards a joke? The Hollywood Foreign Press seems to pick the most bizarre movies out there and overlook the obvious cream of the crop. But maybe that's the point of the Golden Globes. Go for the not-so-obvious.
2. Another not-so-obvious choice was the turn toward modesty by many of the attendees. While you may think sexy means showing the most skin possible, these stars' gowns would say otherwise. In fact, the stars who did wear ultra-revealing gowns seems garish and out of place to me. It cheapened their natural beauty. There were many beautiful styles and dresses to admire, but the ones that really stood out to me as the most flattering did not feature high slits or plunging necklines. The following prove that modesty is more.

Amy Adams looked both feminine and classy in her soft draping gown, channeling Grace Kelly and Old Hollywood eras.

Allison Williams took the award for best dressed in my book, with this effervescent ensemble.

 Amal Clooney looked radiant and ultra classy in her chic side-shoulder-draping gown.

 Lupita Nyongo's playful, feminine ensemble was a taste of Spring!

Motto to the story: You don't have to show 99% of your boobs or legs to make a statement. Modesty is more.