Who is the more pervy, the perv or the perv who complains
I just read a story filled with moral outrage. That's not unusual as I am a regular reader of Fark. For some reason however this one left me of two minds.
The story is this. Ashley Paige a designer of knitted bikini's who is apparently famous in fashion circles puts on a show and in it, one of models is a 10 year old girl. There is a picture in the article. When I saw the picture I wondered what all the fuss was about. Its a ten year old girl in a bikini.
The article quotes a conservative spokesperson who says that children in swimwear is a "promiscuous image". I just didn't get that. I suppose it is in the eye of the beholder. A perv might see that and see it as a promiscuous image, the rest of us only see a child in swimwear. If that's the case, it doesn't matter where the child is, catwalk or boardwalk. Personally, I imagine that if the fear is that perv's are about, she would be a lot safer on the catwalk guarded by photographers, parents and security, than she would be walking on a boardwalk.
I can open any sales paper in the spring and know what swimwear the normal parents are putting their kids in. I wonder what the perv's and the conservatives put their kids in? Is it odd that a perv and a conservative looks at a picture of a ten year old girl and swimwear and thinks exactly the same thing? The only difference is the conservative feels guilt and blames others.
So is guilt the only thing separating the perv's from the conservatives?
Comments
That reminds me of an incident back when I was working at RCC. I can't remember exactly what the original conversation was about, but basically I was advising a coworker on what the best digital video camera was to buy. She had previously mentioned that her daughter was in an elementary school play that Friday and I said something along the lines of, "If you don't want to order it on-line, I'm sure you can get it a Circuit City for not much more. That way, you'll have it for your daughter's play."
Her response was, "Oh, that doesn't matter. The school doesn't allow us to videotape school functions. You know, because of pedophiles."
"Oh... sure, okay."
Odd.
Posted by: Ike | October 20, 2006 7:13 PM
I have to say, although I understand your point completely - and generally agree with you - after reading the article I do think the bathing suit might have been a bit inappropriate in that situation. (How's that for a run-on sentance.)
Those are knit bathing suits (which means they are basically see through - especially if you've seen one), and the one on that particular little girl was extremely skimpy. It barely covered the parts that needed to be covered.
I wasn't so concerned that the 10 year old was on the catwalk - because really, it seemed that the suimsuit was for a children's line and it didn't look like they were trying to make her look any older than what she actually was (like they do in pagents). (I do realize that there were adult women who were probably nearly naked, wearing see through clothing, or possibly topless also on the catwalk. That seems to be normal in fashion shows these days.)
My issue was really just whether the bathing suit itself was appropriate for a child of that age.
And, no, I don't consider myself a perv or a pedophile.
As an honest question - for those of you who have daughters or might one day have daughters (because at 10, you are still the ones buying their clothes) would you buy your daugthers a knit bathing suit like that?
Posted by: gypsyrdrnnr | October 23, 2006 6:19 PM