Let’s talk about ‘rush boobs’

Another great example of postfeminism from the misogynistic, homophobic, classist, racist gem that is Total Frat Move— rush boobs. For those of you who aren’t familiar, “rush boobs” is exactly what it sounds like: college women send fraternity members topless pictures with “Rush X Fraternity” written on their chests. These pictures are used during Rush Week at colleges across the country  as a weird recruitment tool. As the bro-friendly site TFM explains,

“Since the dawn of the internet, fraternity members have been convincing girls to write ‘Rush (Insert Fraternity Here)’ across their chests for promotional purposes. Over the past several months there has been a massive resurgence in the world of rush boobs, and more recently, rush ass. Here are this week’s photos…”

Cue me slamming my head into my keyboard.

Trying to explain why rush boobs is problematic to my fratty friends is about as productive as my letters begging J.K. Rowling to write another Harry Potter book. “But the girls choose to take the pictures,”  they say, “so how can you get mad about it? It’s their choice”.

Personal consent is a huge gray area here. Not only are women “convinced” to promote fraternities via boob pics, these pictures also have the potential to be published on heavily trafficked sites like TFM without their permission. And, of course, once something is posted online, we all know it floats around the Internet forever.

Caption courtesy of our friends at TFM: “Girl in the middle, do me. Other two can watch.”

But, you might argue, what about the women who send these pictures without being coerced into doing so? Maybe some women are happy with their bodies, and aren’t afraid to flaunt it. Why is that a bad thing?

Good question! This is the problem with I have with things like rush boobs: it’s self-objectification under the guise of sexual liberation and agency. In this case, women’s bodies are being used to boost recruits for an institution that often perpetuates sexism, racism, homophobia and white middle class privilege. I’m not down with that.

Rush boobs are pretty horrible, and it’s something we, as feminists, need to start paying attention to. Not only are women’s bodies cut down to their “essential” sexual parts, but rush boobs literally turn women into objects— the body becomes the billboard. For decades, feminist scholars have argued that women’s identities are inextricably linked to the body. (Sound crazy? Check out these examples and see what I mean.) Women are encouraged to conform to unrealistic beauty standards, inscribing cultural values onto their bodies in their efforts of transformation.

Rush boobs are so jarring because, unlike more mundane cultural inscriptions, young women are literally writing patriarchal ideology on their bodies. More problematically, they are rewarded for doing so. The photos TFM decides to post are obviously tailored for the male gaze, and fit hegemonic beauty standards. Heck, most of us probably have wished, sometime or another, to look like some of the girls in TFM’s weekly rush boob roundup. By being selected in a TFM rush boobs post, or even having a fraternity member ask for a rush boobs picture, women receive positive reinforcement that they are sexually attractive. In a society that women’s values physical appearance above virtually all other qualities, is it really surprising to hear women feel empowered when they send these pictures?

What do you think? Are rush boobs degrading, or could they be empowering? Is this something we, as feminists, should be worried about?

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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