Spin Spin Sugar

October 23, 2009

Yesterday, the New York Times ran an article about a Ralph Lauren advertisement appearing in Japan which features an electronically-enhanced picture of a very thin model.

The article debated the merits of legislation, similar to that pending in France, which would require a warning that the image of the model is digitally-enhanced. Typical of the Times, the article blames it on guys:

Yet it’s still worth posting those alerts. … That is how we can move toward a less creepy concept of female beauty than the one promulgated by Ralph Lauren and, more ambitiously, resist the sexist assumption that beauty is a commodity women are obliged to provide to men. This is not to deny the delights of allure, of playfulness, of flirtation, of sexual attractiveness: bring them on. But don’t make it all the woman’s burden only, don’t make it contingent on what she buys and don’t lie to get her to buy it.

I had two comments to the article:

When I read the assumption that the models are skinny to appeal to guys, I have to wonder what century some of you people are living in.

Here in the 21st century, a large percentage of women under 30 identify themselves as bisexual. This past Saturday night, I was out at a club with my 22 year-old sugarbabby who wanted us to pick up a girl, and the one she settled on that she most wanted to join us was the skinniest girl in the club, a fact my sugarbabby repeated multiple times. A lot of girls like skinny girls, too.

Anyway, if we are going to run disclaimers in ads, are we also going to run similar disclaimers in ads showing guys driving expensive cars and wearing expensive watches, when in real life, the model in the ad has so little money he has to take a roommate to share a one bedroom in Bensonhurst?

Since Steve Phillips has ruined the image of 46 YO guys who sleep with 22 year-old women, as well as the image of 22-year-old women who sleep with 46 YO guys,

I hereby rehabilitate those images by showing you an image of my sugarbabby which has not been digitally-enhanced:

[picture of gorgeous girl deleted so as not to risk the good thing I have going on]

Its that Dollhouse pedigree.

Here was my second comment to the article:

I’m a petiteophile. The two most special girlfriends in my life both weighed less than 86 pounds, and I’m rarely attracted to women that weigh more than about 115, and even I think this model is too skinny.

The Obama Administration has set up the White House Council on Women and Girls, which has programs encouraging women to go into math and the sciences since they are dominated by guys.

As the founder of Guyinism (http://guyinism.com), I call on the Obama Administration to set up a similar council for straight guys, to encourage more straight guys to go into the fashion and advertising industries. As this ad demonstrates, these industries, currently dominated by women and gay guys, are desperately in need diversity.

The article can be found at: http://ethicist.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/should-photos-come-with-warning-labels

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