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Before I get into this quick post, let me say that home ownership is going much better (for now) and things are in good shape. It looks like I may not have a lawn to speak of this year, but still better than the house falling apart.
So, after more than 2 months without a post, it's time for something random: nipples on TV.
The commercial posted here (until the link goes missing) is from T-Mobile and shows a man without a shirt, and the ad plays off of the adage "gave the shirt off my back." Anyway, the very apparent and well defined (CGI? makeup?) nipples on this guy got me to thinking. Men can be pictured unrestricted in US media completely topless, but women cannot. The limit for females seems to be nipples, at least that's what I've noticed in print media. I'm not going to get into specific laws and regulations here, especially since it gets a little complicated between laws (over-the-air broadcast vs. cable/satellite) and network expectations relative to advertisers. Regardless of the specifics, I think it is interesting that male nipples can be seen shown freely while female nipples are restricted. Should we cover or blur men's nipples, too? Should we say that women's breasts should be completely obscured? Can a flat-chested women be shown topless, or should a large-breasted man have his man-boobs covered?
My opinion...I'm generally liberal when it comes to this stuff, so I don't see why women's breasts should be covered at all. If we are going to obscure them, though, it seems like the nipple is not the starting point. Heck, if male nipples can be shown, perhaps female breasts should be covered but their nipples could be exposed.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not really attempting a political statement or encouraging action here. I just find the whole thing odd, and seeing this guy's nipples on TV every day just brought it all to the forefront for me.
Until next time...
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I actually read a fairly interesting...I don't know...metaphor, I guess to this very issue as a way of understanding why some Muslim women choose to wear hijab, or even a more full covering.
ReplyDeleteBasically, on another blog someone said something like, "I'm so outraged that Muslim women are forced to cover themselves. How can I understand this? Should I be outraged?" And someone pointed out that in America, all men can expose their chests and women can't. I thought it was an interesting analogy (aha! The word I was looking for).
How far are you from Chicago? Are you ever here on business? And who the heck is running our 20th reunion this year??? (NOT ME!)