Superbowl halftime - scantily dressed women and very covered up men

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the people that are offended for their sexual moves. It's engrained in our soul to move our body this way. I'm a 34 year old woman pregnant and can shake my hips that way on a drop of a dime. My daughter will probably do the same. I love to dance with my husband that way too.
Don't feel sorry for these women this is just how we express ourselves! I do find it empowering and loved their performance!!

It's the context, though. I understand different cultural norms and different personal preferences. I believe women's bodies belong to them and should not be policed and repressed, but I will always struggle to understand what's empowering about these types of performances in such a commercial context. You enjoying moving your body and dancing with your husband is not you gyrating on stage for money.

It's helps the performers earning money and fame, but how does it empower the average woman in any way?

You do realize the "average woman" is relative, right? Yes, all the women you see and relate to in your small bubble on this planet may seem average to you, but there are many women out there in entirely different bubbles and all the women they see and relate to who are similar to themselves are very much their idea of the "average woman". Just because you can't relate to other classes and cultures doesn't mean their impressions and expressions are negligible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We suddenly have lots of armchair experts on Lebanese culture. Most of you had no idea it was a cultural thing during the performance either - until you saw it online. Most of you had never heard the world ululation and couldn't have defined it before yesterday.

Suddenly now everyone is an expert and uses it as though it is a word they use daily and acting incredulous that others didn't immediately recognize it.

Some of you aren't even spelling it right. If you are going to put yourself up on a cultural 'woke' pedestal, at least get the word right.

I've heard it myself in a non-Western part of the world. My spouse is from a culture in which this is done at times of celebration.

PP again. Come to think of it, I've heard it right here in DC, at my kid's school during a special event--people from a certain country were up and dancing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's 2020, these are professional, talented, established women. So why do they need to perform in lingerie?

The outfits were fine, it was the very sexually charged dance moves and Shakira's tongue "thing" she did for no apparent reason that made me question what the hell I was watching.

It was a ululation, a nod to her Lebanese heritage. You DCUMers have no exposure to other cultures, it seems.

I hated how hyper sexualized it was but didn’t read “sexual”‘in the tongue thing she did. It looked more like her being silly than sexual but it’s good to know that it was a nod to her culture.

Get out and travel more. there is nothing sexual about the ulutation. It's about as sexual as jumping up and down and cheering at a celebratory occasion like a wedding. Oh wait, some of you all just sit around in your chair and clap.

It's "ululation" and she doesn't do it well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m angry at these two women. They again reinforced the stereotype that women are just sex objects. They couldn’t even show off their musical abilities without pole dancing. Gross.

I won’t ever watch the super bowl again. I can’t support children watching pole dancing. I would never take my kids to a strip club.

Bye! I'm sure they won't miss you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought it was fantastic.

Same here! Loved it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We suddenly have lots of armchair experts on Lebanese culture. Most of you had no idea it was a cultural thing during the performance either - until you saw it online. Most of you had never heard the world ululation and couldn't have defined it before yesterday.

Suddenly now everyone is an expert and uses it as though it is a word they use daily and acting incredulous that others didn't immediately recognize it.

Some of you aren't even spelling it right. If you are going to put yourself up on a cultural 'woke' pedestal, at least get the word right.

I've heard it myself in a non-Western part of the world. My spouse is from a culture in which this is done at times of celebration.

Yes, if you are part of a culture where it is performed, then it is reasonable you would know about it. I have traveled the world pretty extensively, spent about 8 weeks total in Arab countries, including attending a wedding and large birthday celebration while there. I have multiple friends with Arabic heritage who live here and I have been to events at their house and I have never come across it. I was at a party hosted by a Lebanese family a few months back and it wasn't performed there either despite there being a lot of dancing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great show. So many haters wishing they look this good.

Exactly. I wish I could look that good at 44!!

[Anonymous]

They were more covered than a lot of the teen girls at our HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the people that are offended for their sexual moves. It's engrained in our soul to move our body this way. I'm a 34 year old woman pregnant and can shake my hips that way on a drop of a dime. My daughter will probably do the same. I love to dance with my husband that way too.
Don't feel sorry for these women this is just how we express ourselves! I do find it empowering and loved their performance!!

It's the context, though. I understand different cultural norms and different personal preferences. I believe women's bodies belong to them and should not be policed and repressed, but I will always struggle to understand what's empowering about these types of performances in such a commercial context. [You enjoying moving your body and dancing with your husband is not you gyrating on stage for money.

It's helps the performers earning money and fame, but how does it empower the average woman in any way?

You can twist it however which way you want. You've already contradicted yourself plenty.

Those football players are wearing tights and slamming their bodies into one another for money and fame, right? Why can't they just be content wearing sweats and only playing in the backyard on Thanksgiving with their families?

See the context.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We suddenly have lots of armchair experts on Lebanese culture. Most of you had no idea it was a cultural thing during the performance either - until you saw it online. Most of you had never heard the world ululation and couldn't have defined it before yesterday.

Suddenly now everyone is an expert and uses it as though it is a word they use daily and acting incredulous that others didn't immediately recognize it.

Some of you aren't even spelling it right. If you are going to put yourself up on a cultural 'woke' pedestal, at least get the word right.

I actually am from a culture where we do this all of the time at weddings, festivals, etc. I just never knew the word for it (other than in my native language) so pardon me while I try to get the spelling rate. Actually, in Bengali, we call it "ulu".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So we want class while watching professional football? Isn't that an oxymoron?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great show. So many haters wishing they look this good.

Exactly. Shakira is 42, Jlo is 50.

I do look that good, baby. Maybe that's why their act didn't bother me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shakira is married to Pique (10 years here junior I might add, go Shakira) and they are a huge power couple with probably way more recognition on the international stage than JLo. It was marketing genius to add Shakira to the halftime show. It’s no secret the NFL is trying to add to their market as viewership has gone down. Trying to get interest from Spanish speaking viewers isn’t a dumb idea.

Alex Rodriguez is six years younger than JLo also.

Great but I would take Pique over him any day of week. Plus he’s been with Shakira for 9-10 years, since he was 22. They have 2 kids together. They are completely the bigger couple. The NFL is looking to get interest from soccer (or real football) fans. Not sure if it worked.

Pique is a cule. Nothing but trash.



HALA MADRID!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My main takeaway from the performance is that I need to workout more.

For real!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I was conflicted.

Both women are beautiful and in amazing shape. They have every right to perform as they see fit, and the performance was undeniably entertaining. I loved Shakira and but thought that J-Lo's performance was not as good. I also felt it was too overtly sexual for my taste. But that's just me. I guess I don't see over the top sexuality as empowerment.

The reaction of my 14 year old son was interesting. He found the show to be "confusing" and "uncomfortable." He said that they talk constantly at school about not objectifying women, but he thought that the performers were objectifying themselves. We had the usual "it is never ok to touch"conversation and I emphasized that dress or dance don't mean that a woman is "slutty." Each woman can present herself as she sees fit. He gets that. But his very sincere question was basically why, if women don't want to be viewed for their body parts, do they choose to put them on display in such an in your face way? He said, in not exactly these words, that it was almost like you couldn't see each as a talented performer because the emphasis was on body parts.

This is what you should say to your son... stop sexualizing women, their dress does not cause that. Dancers... ballarinas, trapeze artists, volley ball players... they wear very little/tight/revealing clothes. Stop making the outfit about sex. That is something that he is choosing to do. Belly Dancers move the same way... if you choose to think about sex when they dance that is on you. His reaction is extremely immature.

They are not in your face, it is his choice to sexualize a woman based on how she is dressed. He can choose better and his actions and reactions are his own, not caused by others.

They did not emphasize body parts HE emphasized body parts, he missed the art/athleticism/talent... that is on him.

Seriously??? You are insane. This is why young men can't figure the world out. No way. They emphasized their body parts, they opted to have bare butts, to use a strip pole. J Lo's entire performance was about sex.

It is completely different from athletes and we have had extensive discussions about this. Context matters. Just as it is appropriate for a woman to use pole dancing, it would not be appropriate for an elementary school teacher to demonstrate her fitness skills for her class.

Seriously? YOU are insane.

My kids do not look at them and think sex ... they think athleticism, amazing dancing, great music, fun, entertaining.

Yes, context matters... this was not a stip club, this was a athletic show. She shows how athletic she is, how amazing she can dance and entertain.

Nobody was thinking sex... except for a bunch of boys with moms who have taught them a woman's body is only for sex.

Humans are sexual beings. I highly doubt your teens will never look at a human with any sexual interest or have any sexual desires. The human race would have died out eons ago if men didn't look at women are sexual beings. People can choose to emphasize or not emphasize the sexual side of themselves in how they present themselves. This can be done through words, outfits, dance moves etc. If someone wants to be sexualized and acts in a very sexualized way, there is nothing wrong with them being sexualized. Tons of people were thinking about sex. That is human nature. You seem completely void of common sense. Thinking about someone's body in a sexual way when they are putting themselves out there in a sexual way doesn't mean that woman's body is only about sex it just means that at that moment that is focus they are presenting.

If you don't get it you will not get it. You were socialized to believe that anytime a curvy woman of color moves her hips and wears less clothes... it is about sex.

It is so deeply ingrained in your subconscious you don't even see that is a learned response you can unlearn if you choose to do so.

This is why women can go topless elsewhere and not be sexualized, because their society did not teach people to sexualize everything.

You just will never get it.

My teens do not equate a 1/2 time show with sex. They know J.Lo and Shakira are at a job and doing a damn amazing job. NO. They did not sexualize them.

My kids can appreciate an amazing looking body without making it about sex. Plus J.Lo is f'ing 50 you think teens are sexualizing moms... gross, what is wrong with you and your kid.

JLo was sexualizing herself. Plain and simple. If you don't see that, you really are naive. Any person (regardless of color) wearing next to nothing and gyrating/dancing provocatively is going to make people think of sex. That's not a socialized thing, it's an instinctual thing. We are animals at our base designed to reproduce. Certain cues are going to signal that, that's human nature. You really are dense if you can't see the association.

No. Not everybody is triggered by dancing women. You have serious issues if you can't see dancers and athletes in less clothes without sexualizing them.