Saturday, May 14, 2011

Say it isn't So!

Do you suppose that down through the centuries there has always been a tendency to ask, "What's this World coming to?" When Shakespear was seen wearing an earring in his left lobe? When Lady Godiva rode naked through the streets of Coventry, on horseback, to get her husband to abolish heavy taxes? When pregnant women were seen on the streets in broad day light!When Howard Hughes designed a bra for Jane Russell? When the mention of an 'unmentionable' was crass? Shocking, shocking behaviors were whispered in front of children to protect their innocence. We have moved on from that era, big time!

Gradually we entered the "Anything Goes' era. What is considered shocking in this day and age? Women have long since lost any sense of modesty. I am not opposed to short shorts, if you browse through my photo albums you will see many pictures of me in short shorts! I wore them long before "hot pants" became the fashion of the day. My sister ,Mart, once said, "Are there any pictures of Betty where she doesn't have on shorts?" I liked shorts and still do! However, when I wore my short shorts my 'cheeks' did not hang out. When that came into vogue, I thought it was indecent and humiliating.

I also passed on the 'bare the boobs era'. We are still being affronted each and every day by excessive boob exposure. If the girl doesn't have large boobs, she can buy them in any department store. I do remember some of my highschool friends stuffing Kleenex into their bras to help nature along, but even then putting up a 'false front' was frowned on by the guys. Some falsies, as they were called, look like balloons and make the girls look like freaks of nature rather than 'sex symbols'. Some resort to surgery to enhance their appearance. Husbands, willingly pay for some of these enhancements. That is shocking to me! Are men so gullible that they can be fooled by silicone implants that look like jelly fish?

NOW, we are entering another era! Have you heard of Representive Aaron Schock (R) of Illinois? He was the cover boy on Men's Health Magazine this month. He is shirtless and exposing, for all to see, his abs! Also known as his six pac. I shudder to think of all that this could lead to. A few years ago Abakrombie and Fitch crossed the line by displaying, in their catalog, a suggestive picture of one of their male models but this picture of a semi nude guy showing off his abs is a United States Congressional member! He has appeared before in a magazine dressed in a hot pink checked shirt, a turquoise belt and white pants. His picture, at that time, raised a few eyebrows but this is somewhat different.

If this were to set a trend, could we now expect Newt Gingridge, Mitch McConnell,David Williams shirtless and...well I guess, ab-less in their campaign ads? Many of their six pacs went south and turned into twelve pacs. Will the politicians run out and get silicone abs to enhance their torsos? Can they do belly lifts in an effort to find their abs? Could this lead to fake ab vests? Or wait a minute, could they come out with a Kevlar ab vest, since everyone will be carrying? The possibilities are staggering!

On Derby day they interviewed a man on TV that was wearing chaps and when he turned around he had just a pair of red skivvies on besides the chaps. Provocative! One can only hope that there were no Congressmen watching.

Let us hope that the gluteus maximus muscles will stay out of sight. I know the heart is a muscle, what about the brain? Maybe there should be more effort to develop the brain and keep the brawn under wraps.Ciao!

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