female chauvinist pigs

Recently I had another one of my famous Amazon fits where I order a scary amount of products from Amazon. Victim to this weeks' shopping haul was the novel Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture by Ariel Levy which, to quote, "critiques the highly sexualised American culture in which women are objectified, objectify one another, and are encouraged to objectify themselves." When it turned up in the suggested section of my account, I was a bit dubious about it would have to say, but nevertheless, my inner feminist threw it into my shopping basket. The book arrived, I started reading it, and here I am today to ask you guys a question or two.

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According to the Urban Dictionary, a chauvinist pig is "an extremely disgusting male gendered human who would use a women as a sex tool" who "also thinks their gender is more superior than the other, usually a man who thinks he can do as he wishes to a women." That's a pretty gender-biased way of looking at it, but that's the simplest definition I could find.

So guys, let me reintroduce myself. My name is Amy-Anne Williams, I live in London, and I am a feminist *someone in the distance gasps*. I personally don't think that it is a massive thing to believe in gender equality, as it is an obvious non-balanced factor in today's patriarchal society. I want equal pay, equal jail sentences and for women to be equally represented within the government (thank you Margaret Thatcher), but when I state this to people on a matter of topic, they don't always agree (and, as someone arrogantly stated the other day, this apparently makes me a 'feminazi'. Yes, this term is awful and unjustified). I'm aware that people have different opinions, and that's okay, but one thing that really annoys me is when females are degraded just because of their gender. Am I so naive as to think that this is a worldwide stance on things? No I'm not, but that doesn't make it right. 

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As much as I would love to rant about how unfair society is, that isn't what I'm here to talk to you about today. I'm here because, well honestly, I'm confused. April Levy brought up a very controversial topic in her novel, and I just don't know what to think of it.

In Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture, Levy talks about a little thing called 'Girls Go Wild', where females expose themselves for something as mere as a logo'd hat. She was saying about how wrong this all is, and how girls shouldn't walk around with their bust out. This, by her standards, is degrading. But then not too long after, I was talking to a friend (male, if that makes any difference), and he said that it is in fact liberating, as men walk around topless so why shouldn't women? And suddenly I'm torn. Should I be outraged? Should I feel pity? Should I just disregard the matter? 

It's a hot Summer's day. Sweltering heat is beaming down on the people of suburbia, forcing beads of sweat through their skin. Males are topless. Women aren't. Women can't. They'll be sexualised. It is unacceptable for a woman to expose herself in this manner. What will the neighbors think?

vs

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It's a hot Summer's day. Sweltering heat is beaming down on the people of suburbia, forcing beads of sweat through their skin, Males are topless. Women are topless. Nobody complains about this show of body parts. Nobody gets aroused by the lumps of fat so blatantly on show. Why should anyone care?

I believe in equal rights, so I believe that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men. Why can't women walk around topless too, and not get sexualised and feel humiliated? But then I suppose it's a whole different matter when women flash themselves for money, right? It's liberating, men go topless vs it's degrading, men don't do this. Which view do I stand behind?

So guys, this all leads down to the one big question - female chauvinist pigs, empowering or degrading?

Also, whilst we're at it, why is 'feminist' so often treated as a swear word?