The Grammy Awards
Awards season: It’s the most wonderful time of the year for pop-culture junkies like me. My favorite award show so far was the Grammy Awards — the artists were amazing (How had I never heard of Frank Ocean before?), and the celebrities didn’t disappoint in their red carpet outfits.
This year, CBS executives surprisingly decided to enforce a dress code (*gasp* plot twist!). The statement read:
“Please be sure that buttocks and female breasts are adequately covered. Thong type costumes are problematic. Please avoid exposing bare fleshy under curves of the buttocks and buttock crack. Bare sides or under curvature of the breasts is also problematic. Please avoid sheer see-through clothing that could possibly expose female breast nipples.”
The statement specified that celebrities cannot wear clothes with the brand’s name visible or advertise specific organizations. It also cautioned to make sure “the genital region is covered so there is no ‘puffy’ skin exposure.”
Lovely.
I’ll admit, as someone who strives to be the epitome of class and poise, I was at first proud that CBS shared the same aspirations. However, about 10 seconds later, I realized CBS was totally in the wrong for establishing this rule — mainly because it primarily singles out women, not men.
Let us be reminded that musical artists are not conventional people. When music is created, art is as well, which allows people to freely express themselves. That is why the Grammy’s is the show where it is completely acceptable to arrive in an egg.
CBS also must have clearly forgotten that celebrities march to the beat of their own drum, because many women chose not to follow the code. Katy Perry wore a tight green dress with her cleavage fully exposed, My question to CBS is this: Do you really expect Katy Perry — the artist who wears colored wigs, a cupcake bra and sings about girl power — to show up to the Grammy’s in a dress inspired from Little House on the Prairie? I don’t think so.
I appreciate that CBS is concerned about not objectifying women and keeping the show classy, but it needs to understand there is a difference between objectification and a woman feeling sexy and confident.
Jennifer Lopez wore a black dress that exposed her entire leg. Lopez had been criticized for wearing a low-cut green Versace gown to the Grammys in 2000. While interviewing J-Lo on the red carpet about the dress code, Ryan Seacrest said, “these rules don’t apply to me.” Our society has created a culture that, when the words “dress code” appear, we immediately think of hemlines and revealing too much. Did CBS forget when OK Go wore red masks to the Grammys in 2007? Why wasn’t there a dress code for that?
What bothers me isn’t that there wasn’t a dress code specifically addressing men, it’s that it brought attention to the ongoing battle of how women are portrayed in the media and our bodies. CBS, it’s not our fault God gave us boobs, a butt and curves.
