Posted on 12/29/2008 8:05:34 AM PST by NYer
So I took the kids out to the mall to shop for Mom two days before Christmas. I want them to know that Christmas is not just about receiving but giving as well.
Now let me ask a weird hypothetical. If I showed up at the Mall wearing only briefs and say my wife showed up in a minuscule bra and panties we'd likely be dragged from the premises and arrested. And rightly so, especially if you've seen me in briefs. But no matter what, it's bad, right? So why is it OK for some of these stores to have huge window displays of essentially naked people. I mean, are these store owners out of their minds. Walking by Abercrombie or Victoria's Secret is essentially a walking tour of porn for children. Hey kids step on up and peer inside the sick twisted mind of adulthood where we view others as vessels of flesh waiting to be boarded and devoured.
It's lunacy.
So as we're passing a bunch of sex-soaked stories, I do my best to distract the kids from the window display. I start singing a loud Christmas carol and they all become embarrassed by me and try to stop me from singing anymore. So for anybody who saw the fat bearded dad singing in front of a ten foot porn window display with children laughing and climbing all over him, it was me.
But here's the thing. I know my kids saw it. They didn't mention it. But I know they see it. They see it. They internalize it. They think that window display represents the realm of adulthood. They intuit that adults desire 8-pack abs and 38 D breasts. And kids want to be adults.
Here's the truth. If a man was caught showing pictures of topless women in pink underwear holding their breasts or men in wet briefs, they'd be arrested. But when a store does it, it's capitalism.
So a few hours later I'm making the call I never thought I'd make in my life. I call the mall two days before Christmas to complain about the lewd window displays. The funny thing is that while I'm on hold I'm feeling like I'm the crazy one. I'm feeling like "I can't believe I've become the guy who complains about lewd window displays." I didn't think I'd ever use the word 'lewd' never mind call to complain about aforementioned lewdness. I'm feeling like I have to convince this guy on the phone that I'm not one of these crazy religious Jerry Falwell types. But then it hits me. I'm the sane one. Those displays are crazy to have in front of children. So instead of getting into a morality type conversation with the guy I just decide to speak his language. "I'm just calling to let you know that my family which comes to the mall often will not come back unless you guys stop allowing pornographic window displays."
So I make the call and I'm feeling proud of myself. And I walk back into the room where the children are watching The Polar Express on ABC Family. And then comes a commercial about some show about a fifteen year old girl who is pregnant. "Fifteen!?" says my nine year old.
"How can you have a baby if you're not married," asks my six year old.
They all look at me. "Hey guys Polar Express is back on!" And thanks to my amazing powers of distraction I muddled through yet another awkward moment. But I know my kids. Nothing escapes them. Questions build. They never fade away.
And we wonder why are children are ending up sexualized. It's simple. Somewhere between the Merry-go-Round and the pretzels they're seeing and interpreting the adult world. They're unprotected out there. The adults want too much to be like children and the children want to be adults. It's time for adults to start acting like adults.
It’s surprising how many on FR think out of control sexualization of society affecting children is perfectly all right, and anyone disturbed by it is a member of the Taliban.
Children are the next generation. Their innocence should be protected, and they are damaged by sexualizing them at a young age.
You either are ignorant of this fact or you think it’s a good idea.
Sorry but your reply reminds me of the “I don’t have any problems, you fix yours and everything will be just fine” mentality. Show me someone who says they have no problems and I will show you someone who needs a psychiatrist.
Your answer does not explain why in similar “split-cultures” like Moldova, the norm is virginity at marriage, teen-age pregnancy is virtually non-existent, drug usage is relatively rare, and church attendance is steadily increasing especially among young people. It is true that alcohol is a problem, however $3 or less for a liter of vodka and the hopelessness of living in the poorest most densely populated is certainly an influence on that.
>>Aaah the good old “It’s for the Childrun” argument..<<
Maybe you missed the part of my post that said sex is NOT for children.
And perhaps you don’t believe in Free Markets but this is how it works. The author and I do not believe in over sexualizing our children, therefore have no problem with skipping the cash output to said mall.
See?
Prohibition of alcohol has nothing to do exercising some restraint regarding “soft porn” storefronts.
>>It’s surprising how many on FR think out of control sexualization of society affecting children is perfectly all right, and anyone disturbed by it is a member of the Taliban.<<
I so agree with you!
Oh yeah..., I’m sure you can come across many of them (very many) who would say that and agree with what you’ve said.
The thing that comes to mind (when you said that) is “Stockholm syndrome”... LOL..
I’m sure they like the idea of being refused education in these really hard-core Islamic societies, having their women’s schools burned and acid thrown on them, who try to get an education, or a girl who gets stoned to death (on video, no less; “wrong boyfriend” doncha know...) by the culture that has produced this kind of mentality from the Islamic worldview that is established.
But, sure..., they don’t mind getting beat, as the clerics say some of these women need from time to time, because they actually *realize* that they deserved it. So, yes, they realize that they need to be protected like this for their own good...
After one is raised all their life like this, have no other options, face beatings, death, stonings, etc., is it any wonder...?
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[if one lives in that kind of culture and you’re subject to those things, you can’t have “cognitive dissonance” ( http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/cognitive_dissonance.htm ) and expect to “live” in that kind of society, hence “Stockholm Syndrome”...]
Sorry I don’t think we should sanitize every little detail of society in the name of Children..
Tens of millions of American women and girls, from age 1 to 90+ wear bikinis to the beach. Are they all acting indecently? What, exactly, is indecent about a bikini? It covers the sexual portions of a woman's body.
What’s the point of avoiding tan lines, if you’re not just proposing to show as much flesh somewhere else?
Maybe some women better like the way they look naked with less tanlines? Why do you care? No one is making you wear a bikini. if they are, call the police.
Some women wear bikinis because they think they can “win” the game of female objectification.
Sure. And most wear them for other reasons. You're over-thinking this.
Once upon a time, referring to the sexual mores of the French in a positive way was understood to be a concession of the moral argument in favour of simple hedonism.
You miss the point- toplessness on European beaches isn't about sex for the majority of women who forego their bikini top. Go to a topless beach, even in France, and you'll discover that toplessness is pretty much equal opportunity when it comes to age, body shape, size etc. The context of a topless beach is not sexual.
You said — “Sorry but your reply reminds me of the “I don’t have any problems, you fix yours and everything will be just fine” mentality. Show me someone who says they have no problems and I will show you someone who needs a psychiatrist.”
Ummm..., taking the ole “Soviet Union style” for dealing with dissidents, eh? You need a psychiatrist... (”off to the re-education camp with you...”). LOL...
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Well, I wonder how people are going to do with that kind of idea, when the Kingdom of God is established on earth and Jesus Christ rules and reigns over the nations of the world, from Jerusalem — setting up His “new world order” in which righteousness will be mandated and enforced and in which He rules with a “rod of iron” as the Bible says?
At that time we’ll see if this is true or not... LOL...
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That’s not too far away, by the way...
You are free to be parochial. It is a free country, after all. But, having seen three generations of women in a family all at the beach topless, and nobody giving it a second thought, I don't consider it a bad example to consider.
Maybe if we stopped stressing out so much about sex and nudity, things would go easier for us as a society.
The feminists you cite are political animals first, loyal to their leftist views. They are not truly “for” all women.
In abdicating advocacy for oppressed females in all cultures, they are selecting against themselves and all females. It is an outrage.
The press has given them a pulpit to perpetuate the hypocrisy while denying equal exposure to more balanced fair minded female voices.
When you get right down to it, you can lay about 75% of blame for the disintegration of our society at the vicious village gossip’s ( aka the “press”) door, delirious in stirring the pot—in combination with a comatose populace, easily led.
Clothing which ONLY covers the sexual parts of the body is, possibly, even more sexual than total nudity, since it makes sex the WHOLE point of the garment.
People’s actions in public, especially when they are socially destructive, are indeed of interest to everyone else.
The majority of French wear tops on the street, so even they acknowledge a sexual component to the bathing suit, since they wouldn’t appear that way at a cafe, no matter how comfortable it might be.
The existence of a European double-think on the issue of co-ed European beaches doesn’t mean that European women don’t know that a topless woman in public is generally indecent.
Why is it all about the adults and NO consideration of children? If they want the money of the parents of those children, then they had better make it friendly for the children.
AS IF adults have no clue what A&F or Victoria's Secret sells. Get real.
Personally I don't care if they have pictures of full blown hot heavy intercourse, inside the store. Outside, as long as it's there, I don't go to Clares, Disney Store, OldNavy, or any of the other stores in the mall. Because of A&F.
And trust me, here in MI, mall stores are closing right and left. They would LOVE to have my business.
What a jackass comment.
You, like all of us, are issue of the human ecosystem.
It cycles through—children are key drivers and are precious to sustaining any quality of orderly, cooperative, civilized experience.
Your subatomic DNA should niggle at you to this incontravertible truth, unless your selfishness has eclipsed your awareness of the connection.
Nevertheless, what foolish myopia. Think a little harder.
At our mall this week there is a large advertisement poster by ABC family of this fifteen year-old with her large belly prominently displayed.
There's a fine line between dealing compassionately with 15 year old who gets pregnant and promoting pregnancy as a normal thing for a 15 year old.
ABC with the advertisement for their "Family Channel" show, crosses it.
>>Maybe if we stopped stressing out so much about sex and nudity, things would go easier for us as a society. <<
Ever take a good look at the abortion rates over there?
You can take Europe and hold it to high regard. I’m with Mark Steyn, they are so self-centered and egotistical, they have forgotten what sex is for. Babies. And therefore are “recreational sexing” themselves out of existance.
Who on this thread is saying we should "sanitize every little detail of society".
You rationalize your inappropriate statement by giving us a straw man fallacy.
To you, maybe. How about the minimal swimsuits worn by Olympic swimmers and divers? Purely sexual? Of course, some peole wear skimpy swimsuits for sexual purposes. But, most don't.
The majority of French wear tops on the street, so even they acknowledge a sexual component to the bathing suit, since they wouldn’t appear that way at a cafe, no matter how comfortable it might be.
Some clothing is appropriate in certain circumstances, but not others. You can wear jeans to a ball game, but not to the opera. Going topless is appropriate on certain beaches, but not in restaurants. Different societies have different rules, of course.
The existence of a European double-think on the issue of co-ed European beaches doesn’t mean that European women don’t know that a topless woman in public is generally indecent.
It's not doublethink. It's just an understanding that different clothing is appropriate in different circumstances.
I've never found the naked human body indecent, even in certain public contexts.
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