I continue to be baffled by this country’s obsession with sex. If you are pretty or shapely–especially both–you aren’t required to have much talent to become the internet’s latest cause celeb. A well placed photo and you’re on your way to 15 minutes of every horny man in the western realm doing a websearch for topless (and sometimes bottomless) photos of you. Sites like WITHAG and playerwives.com perpetuate the hunt for the next new pretty face. The interesting aspect of all this is that the hunt ends in nudity. I’ve observed the furor over most of these fly-by-night beauties intensify right up to the point where someone nabs a photo of them naked. Then their star begins to fade. The public has what it wants–the woman exposed and vulnerable whether by choice, pressure, or otherwise it doesn’t matter.
Part of me looks at that obsession as a reflection of a male-dominated society needing to exert power over female subjects. Part of me sees it as desire being quenched in the lightspeed modern world. All of it sickens me to a certain extent. I do think a smart woman can build herself a career off of such desires. Edward Bernays is noted for coining the phrase ‘sex sells’ and I think he was slightly off base. Sex corrupts and absolute access to sex corrupts absolutely.