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From: twiss@stolaf.UUCP (Thomas S. Twiss)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Penthouse/Pageant
Message-ID: <1850@stolaf.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 18-Aug-84 19:15:18 EDT
Article-I.D.: stolaf.1850
Posted: Sat Aug 18 19:15:18 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 19-Aug-84 04:09:45 EDT
Organization: St. Olaf College, Northfield MN
Lines: 47

>What on earth does it mean to say that both the M.A.P. and
>P.H.M. are both "pornographic in principle".  Maybe my
>sexual appetite is jaded, but I find the presentation of
>the women in the M.A.P. to be totally asexual.  

What?!?!?!!?!?!?  The pageant is asexual?!?!!?  What do you mean?  They
pick out one sex of humanity, parade them in front of a huge tv
audience, show them in bathing siuts to show off their bodies, and
choose them in the first place for their feminine qualities.  You tell
me that's asexual?????

>Indeed,
>I think that this is the intention of the organizers.
>P.H.M. is, on the other hand, definitely pornographic.
>
>Now, I'm no fan of the M.A.P.  I believe that it attempts to
>present an vapid picture of the "ideal woman".  However, not
>likeing somthing (even hating it) is no excuse for calling it
>something other than it is.

I'm curious as to how you can accuse me of this.  In my article, I gave
my reasons for asserting that the MAP is degrading, you are just doing
exactly what you accuse me of: assuming something about my nature just
because you didn't like what I say.
>
>Let's call a spade a spade, and pornography, pornography.  But
>let's not call everything, which is degrading and/or distasteful to
>women, pornographic.
>
>                         Stanley J. Krolikoski
>                         U of Illinois at UC
>                         ..!pur-ee!uiucdcs!stank
Why not?  Maybe it's not pornographic in the traditional sense (exposing
naked bodies in compromising positions), but the
effect of the pageant and of Penthouse is fundamentally the same: use
women for certain appeals and qualities that are wholly estranged from
human nature to create images that will supposedly be the ideal person
(woman).  The effect of this is to make women feel they have an image
(an unrealistic one) to live up to, and to make men feel like they can
only acept certain women that fill that image.  If you don't believe me,
how would you feel if you walked into a woman's room and saw a poster of
Lou Ferrigno on her wall?  I sure as hell don't look like Lou, and if
this woman expects me to, then I'm out of luck.  Now transpose this to
pornography and you get the gist.  Also, watch the movie "Not a love
story" and I'll bet you would agree with me.  Although it is a very
oppinionated and extremely unobjective film, it is excellent at getting
one to examine ALL forms of societally imposed role images.