Rule 5 Thursday
Because I figure it’s high time I at least pretend to be making an effort to drive a bit more traffic to the ol’ blog here.
(Admittedly, this week’s issue is mostly…well…of the bad news variety.)
Item 1: Glamour modeling, and clubs/contests which promote and glorify female nudity in a subtly or overtly sexual context would once have been seen as the very antithesis of feminism and women’s liberation. These days, though, at least in Britain, it seems to be what many regard as the fulfillment of those very same ideals:
The narrowing of what it means to be sexy – slender with large breasts on show – arises from the way that the sex industry has moved from the margins to the mainstream of our society.
This is thanks to the resurgence of glamour modelling; to the sudden growth of lapdancing clubs in town centres; from a new fashion for poledancing, to the popularity of memoirs of prostitution that suggest selling sex is a great way for a woman to earn her living; and, above all, to the much greater presence of pornography in the lives of many young people, driven by the internet.
This highly sexualised culture is often positively celebrated as a sign of women’s liberation and empowerment.
It was indeed an aim of the women’s liberation movement of the 1970s that women should be released from conventional morality around sex, which had confined them to idealised chastity on the one hand or contemptible promiscuity on the other.
The fact that women can now be sexually active and experienced without being condemned is a direct result of that feminism – and all aspects of the current ‘hypersexual’ culture are seen as proof of women’s growing freedom and power.
Really? Then how do you explain this:
Aspiring night in the Mayhem nightclub in Southend. About a dozen girls, all in tiny hotpants and towering wedge heels, with dark fake tans and shiny, straightened hair, made their way over to a group of men who were standing by a large, empty bed.
The men’s job was to choose who should enter a Babes On The Bed competition.
Of the hundreds of women selected to pose on beds in nightclubs all over Britain for this contest, one would be given a modelling contract with Nuts magazine.
…
As the display became more sexual, the underwear unpeeling from the smooth skin of teenage women, the men in the club began to chant, heavily and fast, and to press nearer and nearer to the stage.
The men were using their phones to video and photograph the girls as they took off their clothes.
…
The shortlisting was done at top speed — only women who flashed their breasts or their thongs for the crowd were called back for the final four.
‘Come on,’ said Cara impatiently, ‘let’s show some skin, girls. Let me help you out of these.’ She dragged the hotpants off one girl, showing her sequined thong. The crowd erupted, and that girl was judged the winner.
I don’t know about you, good reader, but what I’m taking away from all of this is that the modern feminist ideal really benefits men more than women. Indeed, it seems like little more than an attempt to re-brand the sexual objectification of women as their path to liberation.
Item 2: What sort of documentary could prompt a mother to exclaim “This makes me want to build an ark?”
A new documentary, Oral Sex Is the New Goodnight Kiss, chronicles America’s moral decay. Sharlene Azam, a Canadian filmmaker, says, “If you talk to teens [about oral sex], they’ll tell you it’s not a big deal. In fact, they don’t consider it Sex. They don’t consider a lot of things sex.” In the documentary, teenage girls talk casually about their sexual experiences and even their forays into prostitution.
One girl sums up the new attitudes: “Five minutes and I got $100. If I’m going to sleep with them anyway because they’re good-looking, might as well get paid for it, right?”
But go on: tell me how our enlightened, post-Christian sexual morals are vastly superior to the stuck-up, stuffy, repressive values we used to cherish.
Relatedly, the debate I linked to last week has degenerated to the point that one Protestant lad, in particular, is attempting to argue that masturbation does not satisfy the necessary criteria — whatever those are — to be considered a sexual act.
Item 3: If only Starbucks shift supervisors could marry! If only Starbucks would stop forcing a repressive policy of celibacy on its staff, we could avoid so many of these kinds of abuses!
Item 4: Spike Jonze, director of the recent adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are, has a new short film coming out, entitled I’m Here.
Which is apparently about “robot love.”
I’m not sure if that will delve into the trickier issue of “robot sex,” but it’s Spike Jonze…you never know where the guy is going to take things. I’ll say this much: the trailer is kind of cute.
Item 5: Finally, let’s see what sort of keyword searches are bringing people to the site!
First up, Google’s take on the issue:
Fairly straightforward, no? Okay, item #4 — the circumcision procedure — is a bit odd. But a lot of this is stuff that, y’know, I actually cover (or have covered).
Next up, Statcounter’s take:
Okay, things are a bit weirder here. For one, there’s a lot more Battlestar Galactica keyword searches in evidence, which is odd because I haven’t really blogged about that show in almost a year. Not that it was a bad show, by any means…but it is over and done with. Though its prequel, Caprica, should be running on TV by now, if memory serves.
Then there’s…the one entry just below all the Pic of the Day searches.
Which brings us to WordPress.com’s take on things:
Hutterrite porn? Completely nude uncensored girls at a strip club? What kind of site do they think I’m running here?
And can someone explain to me why there’s such a variance between these results? Although I have to admit, the stats from Wordpress are wonky anyhow; the view counts on the articles are completely off, as well…so it’s possible that the search terms might also be inaccurately reported. Even so…
Someone? Anyone?
