Friday, April 17, 2009

Do 'Pretty Packages' Make It Okay?

Often our media is packaged in a way that makes them seem not as sexual and inappropriate as they really are. Take this song for example. If you just listen to the music and don't pay much attention to the lyrics, the song could be classified as a love song, something anyone can listen to. But once you take a second look, listen a little harder, pay a little more attention, you understand why this song should be classified as raunchy.

And here is a link to the lyrics-please take a look at these, they are astonishing:
http://artists.letssingit.com/david-banner-lyrics-touchin-69gn2p7


What about sex wrapped in a humorous package? This next song is called
"Jizz In My Pants" by The Lonely Island. While it is not one you'll hear on the radio, it is an internet sensation. Any child with access to a computer, especially those with unsupervised access, can easily come across this video. It is one of the most popular videos on Youtube right now, with over 40 million views. The video features supermodel Molly Sims and music artist Justin Timberlake.

(I would like to make a positive comment about this video-near the end of it, they do say "I wear a rubber at all times its a necessity" )

So does wrapping a sexual message in humor make it okay for our children to see? Young teenagers are seeing advertisements in magazines that are extremely sexual. Perfume ads showing nude bodies, and clothing advertisements that show a whole lot of skin and about an inch of the clothing it is advertising. Take these pictures for example:
This one, I believe, is advertising the jeans:

This picture is an advertisement for Abercrombie’s brand of cologne:

What does that picture have to do with cologne?
This picture is advertising a brand of alcohol, and the one next to it is advertising a fragrance:

Here's another one for the same brand:

And this one is advertising a clothing company:

The allusion here, for those who don't understand the many levels this is wrong on, is of a gang rape. One man is holding a woman to the ground by her wrists while other men look on.

The idea behind these advertisements is beauty. This product will make you pretty, that one will make you sexy. If you use our brand of soap, girls will jump into bed with you. Take this commercial for example:

Even at the end of the commercial, they flat out say that their body spray was designed just for that kind of thing. Come on, do people really believe that if they use a product then hot chicks/dudes will show up at their door and approach them sexually?

While children of young ages might not have the ability to recognize what these adverts are saying, seeing them over and over again will cause imprinting on the mind. When they get old enough they will understand what they are saying. Would you like your children raised in an environment constantly bombarding them with sex? If they are consistently being shown ads that promote sex, as well as bad body images, shouldn't they also be shown advertisements promoting safe sex and good body images? One of my favorite advertisements right now is for Playtex bras. In this commercial they show women with real bodies, no airbrushing and no examples of unrealistic body expectations. They show bigger, older, younger, and smaller women. Here is one of many videos they have:


So what does everyone else think? Does pretty packaging make it okay for our children and teenagers to constantly be exposed to sexual innuendos and sexual situations in every aspect of their life?

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