April 29, 2006
Lost Innocence (mine)
I will admit to being a little shocked. As I write, I am crotch-to-face with a Nair ad in Seventeen Magazine. The photo in the ad features the body of a teenaged girl, from belly button to the first six inches of thigh. There is a black and magenta flowered bikini bottom just covering her mons. Along the top of the bottom, on the flesh, is printed (thank god it's not tattooed). "Nothing can ruin a $60 bikini, like a $4 razor. " Forget about the bikini, what about Nair to the nethers - that sounds pretty ruinous to me.
Of course there's more. On the cover of this Seventeen, we are told that the contents of the issue include, "The Best Bikini for Your Body", "Sexy Hairstyle Ideas", "Hot Makeup, Hot Bodies, and Hot Styles "-- and, over in the corner, in somewhat smaller print, a "Sex Report: Shocking Stories That May Save Your Life".
Inside , The Sex Report begins with "All About Hook Ups" -- a survey of the pros (to have fun 68%, to get pleasure 49%, to feel wanted 48%) and cons.(guilty feelings 57%, risk of STDs, a bad reputation 55%.) Should you do it? One in four felt BAD after their last hook up - 82% prefer a long term relationship.
Then, Sara, age fourteen, asks the question, "What is the right age to remove your hair from 'down there'?"
And finally, "Shocking Sex Stories. Here's an excerpt, written by a fifteen year old girl: "Pretty soon, I was sitting on this guy, Mark's lap. Then he and about six other guys took off my clothes and were touching me as Mark held me down. One of the guys carried me into the bedroom, laid me on the bed and raped me. This guy didn't wear a condom and ejaculated all over my vaginal area After that, he carried me into the kitchen and they put a beer bottle inside of me and took pictures with Mark's cellphone camera"
Are we surprized?
Really, the only mixed messages my generation had to contend with from ladies magazines were about food -- twelve rich desserts and two new diets on every cover. Looks like were lucky. We only got eating disorders, not STDs.
Seventeen? The audience is more like fourteen. When I search my heart, I would rather sexual issues be addressed directly, but I am profoundly saddened to think that our fourteen year old girls are facing questions and situations like these at such a tender age.
Objectification is just another kind of oppression, on the opposite end of the fashion spectrum from the burka. Let's face it, Seventeen does nothing to honor the sacred feminine, at least in this issue.
I suggest that Seventeen get some hot actor to encourage girls to develop their characters and their minds -- to warn them about exploitation, and let them know that they are precious and beautiful, and do not need to prostitute themselves to get the loving attention and admiration they deserve. I bet Brad Pitt would do it.
Photo note: This is as close to a crotch shot of an underaged child that I have in my archives.
Posted by Dakota at April 29, 2006 05:52 AM