Bare Breasted Avatars

This essay is my opinion about the recent dissension on the Cafe over a couple of avatars.

    I am quite puzzled by all the furor lately over something as insignificant as a bare breast.

    The arguments against the avatars seem to be that exposed breasts are s****y and that exposed breasts are, in some way, harmful to the younger writers here on the WC.

    Fifty years ago bare breasts were considered s****y, but so were hemlines above the knee, tight clothing of any kind, and two piece swimsuits. Society has grown up some in the last fifty years and mini-skirts, tight jeans, going braless, and thong bikinis have all become acceptable. So, for the most part, have exposed breasts.

    What is the big deal about a woman's n*****s anyway? Men have that same one inch circle of darker flesh yet no one complains when a man exposes his. It's just another example of the ridiculous double standard we have not yet overcome.

    And what about the argument that exposed breasts are harmful to our younger writers? That's very doubtful at best.

    Most, if not all, of our younger writers have seen dozens of nude breasts by the time they reach middle school, if not up close and personal, then on TV and in the movies. If they've been to the beach even once they have seen at least 99% of many bared breasts.

    I think we need to be much more concerned that our children will be harmed by the blood, gore, and violence they are subjected to. We need to be concerned about their easy access to alcohol and drugs which ruin many young lives.

    In my sixty-two years, including those I spent in law enforcement, I have never encountered anyone whose life was ruined by the site of a n****e.

Reviews

[Gildamare]

Yes, and they are also going over children's shows like Sesame Street with a fine-toothed comb because they have deemed it "inappropriate" for young audiences; I mean, it even has a disclaimer now! The Cookie Monster can't eat cookies anymore because that promotes poor eating habits in a country where childhood obesity is such a problem; Oscar the Grouch can't be green any more or live in a garbage can because he's too mean; and oh the horror! Big Bird was riding bikes with kids without helmets! I think we are trying to over-coddle ourselves & our children & I really wish I knew why.........I kinda think my generation might have something to do with it though :-P

[Jester]

An excellent piece of writing my friend.

My opinion is that no one should be so upset about something like an exposed breast. There was even an instance in a high school in America were a female artists painting of a women with her breast exposed was taken off display and the breast was covered with a sticky note before it was put back on display.

As for the image of an exposed breast being harmful to young readers: If you really think that a young person capable of navigating the internet and coming onto this website and reading stories that are above a young reading level is going to be upset about an exposed breast then you're crazy. There are stories on this sight that a child could have access to that are far worse than a picture of an exposed breast. Let people express themselves however they want, and if that includes exposed body parts, then let them be. Parents should keep their children off this sight if they aren't prepared to read and see some "inappropriate" material. Parents should be responsible for keeping children young enough that they're going to be affected by a picture like that on sites that are children friendly. No offense to anyone moderating this site but this is not a child friendly site. It is a sight for mature teenagers and adults to express themselves and if that involves "bad" language and "dirty" imagery, then parents should keep a closer eye on their children. It's a problem of the parents, not of the site. This site allows authors to put whatever they want up here and parents should be aware of that. Tell your child to stay off of sites like this one that can contain non-child friendly materials and don't go around blaming the site or the person who put the image or story up.

[Fantasyfairy]

Personally I never saw the avatar that caused such a controversy argument. But all I can say is who cares? What was the writing like? After all this is a writers site, not one that shows pictures. So ho cares what the picture was like, this piece of writing caused more arguments than any piece of writing has, so somehow, that just seems wrong to me. Perhaps that is just me, but I thought we were on this site for the writing, not for the pictures that go with it. XX

[Starlit Scarlett]

The human body is beautiful and it shouldn't be inhibited, in my opinion. I think, though, that it would take much more than an opinion to change the conventions of a society that dictates a particular definition of "indecency". That sort of thing takes time; that's something you have to break in slowly (relatively speaking). I don't see how something like a woman's breasts can be considered truly indecent on an avatar. I mean Jesus Christ, there's war going on, human life is being exploited. There are so many better things to become upset about than how a woman chooses to represent herself, sexually or artistically or otherwise.

[Marie]

Excellent write. Thanks for your opinion, it totally counts!

[JC Fox]

I guess I shall say this, who the heck cares anymore, b***s, polluted tap water who cares. I mean come on the polluted tap water deal isn't brand spanking new news lol. I just like the fact that you put this up after the storm and well most of us (I myself have) moved on.

[justjenn_2u]

I know you are serious about this essay but I had to giggle. Personally, I don't pay attention to n*****s on the avatar, so I doubt too many people do. I choose not to put my breasts up as my avatar, but to each his/her own. I have mixed emotions somewhat about the posting of the breasts as avatars. I am not so concerned about the issue to make a statement about it though. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and poetry is a form of art, so we should be a little more open to some things. I don't know what else to say. The essay was firm as far as getting your point across.

[Kasey Klein]

Oh, I forgot.

This reminds me of the "Breastistes" bit they did on In Living Color (David Alan Grier) back in the early '90's

[Legion]

Bravo! And so well stated. I couldn't agree more. This reminds me of an argument I got into with a DJ at a radio station on the air one time. They were playing a song by a singer called either Everlast or Everclear (can't remember). The song was titled something along the lines of "Really Don't Know What It's Like To Sing the Blues". Something like that. I had heard it several times and each time this station played the song they bleeped out the word "w***e" in it. The line of the song it was in went something like this:

"They call her a sinner.
They call her a killer
and they call her a w***e."

That particular part of the song was about this woman who became pregnant and was getting an abortion. What the argument was about was why they were bleeping out the word "w***e". I told him that I would much rather deal with a "w***e" than a "killer". We seem to be traumatized as a society about sex (which is perfectly natural or we would not survive as a species - as all other species must do), but violence (the killer reference) doesn't seem to set off the outrage that sex does. I find it ludicrous (just like the bare breast issue). It all seems so foolish to worry about something so trivial when there are bigger issues out there to deal with. Good rant and well noted.

[Wulfstan Crumble]

As with many things it could be a case of the problem being not with the barer of the breasts but the person seeing them and their reaction to them. The major difference between male n*****s and female ones is that female ones are sexualised. The relative rareness of the bared breast in normal society mixed with its sexualisation leads to a pyschological believe they must stay hidden.

Another possible disagreement on WC, and one that may hold more validity than prudishness, is that bared breasts or sexy photos attract more readers than another avatar. But, that is just the same as the real world, magazines, movies etc...

so, as you say, the whole problem is pretty much as you call it, complaining about a tadpole swimming towards you when a Great White is doing just the same thing.

I would say that with violence on fiction and TV it is not necessarily the violence that begats violence but some people's inability to distinguish fantasy from reality. I would be against all non-medicinal drugs so am with you on that score.