Two Day Magazine

....Here Comes Attack of the Cleavage! Oh, the Horror!

In case anyone was wondering, the attack on the feminine in our universe is still alive and well, especially in the good ‘ol US of A! Apparently, if you are built like a 14 year-old boy, you can be in lingerie as much as you want during prime time TV. However, if you are built like a real woman, those curves are are considered dangerous and have been banned!

Brand new Lane Bryant ads (that were supposed to have aired during Dancing with the Stars) were pulled from the ABC prime time line-up due to “too much cleavage” while Fox “demanded excessive re-edits” Lane Bryant complained in their blog post because they were just too much woman, apparently! If Lane Bryant had complied with the edits FOX had suggested, the spot would have shown the model’s face---and that’s it!

It’s funny that the Victoria’s Secret ‘models from the crypt’ ads have no trouble being aired, I guess because their models are so thin, you don’t want to fuck them so much as you want to feed them. What exactly was Lane Bryant’s offense? Were the women showing nipple or other private parts? Watch the video, and decide for yourself. I think it is a really beautifully shot, well done ad that is really sexy and sensual, but not at all offensive or degrading to women.

A post on Lane Bryant’s Inside Curve blog stated that “ABC and FOX have made the decision to define beauty for you by denying our new, groundbreaking Cacique commercial from airing freely on their networks....Yes, these are the same networks that have scantily-clad housewives so desperate they seduce every man on the block---and don’t forget Bart Simpson, who has shown us the moon more often than NASA---all in what they call ‘family hour.’ ”

Basically, this is once again corporate fascism at its best. They are not only controlling what we watch on TV, but now they are controlling what kind of women we are supposed to look like by restricting images of normal, healthy women, in favor for malnourished, underweight women, instead. This is not only depressing to me, as a woman, but it is dangerous to the mentality of millions of young women all over the world. They are now being subjected to not only pictures of women who are “supposed” to be ‘sexy’, but now the media is trying to equate this sexiness to being painfully thin. This is unattainable, unattractive, and undeniably sexist. Gee, I can’t imagine who suggested they pull the Lane Bryant ads? Could it be old white guys in suits? Perish the thought!

This smacks of total hypocrisy and blatant discrimination. There is a prejudice that still exists against women of size. But, I think they should take this banning as a compliment! Apparently, sensual, zaftig women are so sexually charged, so unbelievably wild and untamed that even the great giants at ABC and FOX couldn’t contain their blatant femininity and strength! The boys at corporate have no problem exploiting young, barely-legal, boyish figured women, because they are easy to handle, won’t be a problem, can be dominated easily.

But, these real women? These curvy, luscious women with breasts and butts and soft tummies and pouting mouths begging to be kissed? Oh no, the boys at corporate can’t handle these buxom babes, so they have to be silenced instead. That’s okay, ladies. Real men love curves. It’s just unfortunate that things are run by petulant little boys. Oh, and PS? Is this any more offensive than Viagra or Cialis ads talking about four hour long erections? Yes, that's very 'family hour' appropriate, as well!

For a fun comparison, here is an ad that was released around Christmas time for Victoria's Secret. The different energy between the two ads is astounding. VS's ad is so much more targeted to the male viewer, with the imagery, positions the models are in and music being much more sexually charged. It was directed by Michael Bay (who also directed Megan Fox in Transformers...nuff said!) So, what it comes down to is what men want to see is what ends up on tv, right? Yep, that seems fair!