Surprisingly, this is the second time already this year I am mentioning the President’s daughters. This time, instead of commenting about how President Obama and the First Lady will tackle a conversation with their newly minted teen daughters about the possibility of being drafted into the military under the new Women in Combat rules signed into effect this year – I can only wonder how they will tackle the inevitable conversation called “Show Me Your Boobs.” This mother daughter conversation, as you know, spawned by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane’s “uber hip” song about female celebrities who have shown their breasts in film during the 2013 Academy Awards.
As a female who has ‘shaken’ it on the NFL stage in skimpy costumes, I am not suggesting that women zip up their sexuality like a over-sized ski parka, but I am trying to figure out which producers at this black tie, cream of the crop, Hollywood event thought it was appropriate to take an awards ceremony about talent and degrade it by objectifying women as sexual objects?
Now don’t get me wrong, I am a huge Family Guy fan, and I think Seth MacFarlane is probably one of the great comics of our time weaving pop culture with a political incorrectness that is oh-so-wrong and yet still brilliant at the same time. If I saw this musical number performed by my faves Brian and Stewie during a Family Guy episode, I would have been rolling on the floor, but is there not a time and place for crudeness anymore? Is there any sense of decorum in the public arena? According to a female reporter at the United Kingdom’s Telegraph “Women have boobs America, Get Over It.” Even our own liberal minded “Daily News,” downplayed the song calling it “poking fun at celebs.”
So should we just give in to the constant sexualization of women? Accept the fact that 70% of all teenagers have now either sent or posted a fully nude or clothed in underwear picture of themselves through social media? Think it’s no big deal that the respected position of the First Lady was associated with this drivel? Michelle Obama whom I’m sure like millions of other moms across the nation, allowed Sasha and Malia to watch the glitz, glamour, and now debauchery of what was the Oscars. Come on people, even Jane Fonda aka Barbarella was offended, and that’s something.
Recently I watched this great documentary, “Sexy Baby,” which is where the sexting stats up above came from. The movie is a huge eye opener about how “the cyber age is creating a new sexual landscape” in society especially for young girls. To paraphrase a line by a pole dancer featured in the documentary, “ if females have the control over their sexuality and present it on their own it’s ok, but when a man is coaxing her for it and she gives it away, it becomes sleazy.” Not completely sure if I agree, but she sites Lady Gaga as an example and ironically I have also used Lady Gaga as an example of female empowerment.
If it’s not “Girls Gone Wild,” Janet Jackson costume malfunctions, Lil’ Kim pasties at the Grammys, American Apparel clothing ads and female ho’s in rap videos, it’s pornography images by the millions online. (How accused child pornographer and jailbird Joe Francis became mainstream is still a mystery to me. The company is still in the media spotlight, most recently being sued for publishing topless pictures of a 14 year old.) Just try typing “Show me your Boobs” into the Google search bar. Let’s just say the Oscars blunder is not the first thing on the list. In fact I gave up looking for the Oscar clip under that search at page five – and I can’t imagine all of these websites are blocked for teens to see. Then there are stories like this that surface, “Skating rink worker arrested for asking teens to show him their boobs.” How are teenagers exploring their sexuality supposed to decipher when is it OK to show their boobs? Sounds like a ridiculous question, but sadly enough, it’s valid when you think about all the mixed messages they are bombarded with among today’s social media culture.
Now you may think the Oscars is just another awards ceremony designed for rich movie stars and even richer industry professionals to pat each other on the back. But just like I pointed out last week, entertainment does have its value in the scheme of things; 40.3 million viewers tuned into the 83rd annual Oscar ceremony this year, up 19% from last year. So, why CAN’T it just be about nothing? First it was ‘throw women back into the stone age’ – yes, I can just imagine the caveman in a monkey suit with his arms outstretched, “Aughah, me like woman, show me boob.’ And then we have the First Lady trying to spread some convoluted message about gun control – News Flash – no one cares, we just want to see movie stars dressed up in designer duds. Escapism is at its finest only when it doesn’t make people feel bad about themselves – And both of these stunts did both.
Here’s a list of actresses who haven’t shown their boobs on film, at least for now. Poor Kate Winslet.
