This reminds me of a rant I was spewing today about a British tv show called 'How To Look Good Naked'. Now, we had this brilliant show called 'What Not To Wear' where two wonderfully mad but brilliant women showed women (and sometimes men) who applied for the show what kind of clothes would best suit them, threw out the old clothes, gave the candidate a thousand pounds and let them buy according to their Rules and this was all very empowering. People found that if they dressed in the things that *suited* their bodies, instead of following 'fashions', they would look fabulous no matter what kind of fat, thin, flat, flobby, whatever bodies they possessed.
The show 'How To Look Good Naked', however, not only shows the women (and there are only ever women on this show) what they should wear to feel good about themselves, but it also has them show themselves naked in public. At first they had to model naked for a professional photographer, but the latest series has them flaunting their nakedness in a shopwindow display.
Oh, for some dignity!!!
Look, I don't think that naked bodies are disgusting, quite the opposite. Nor do I think that naked bodies could not be dignified - just watch a documentary about Bushmen or Amazon Indians and you'd see how dignified a naked person can be. What bothers me about this show is the same thing that bothers you about the boob thing; it deludes women to think that they are somehow 'brave' and 'full of selfesteem' and 'empowered' if they fulfill a teenage boy's wet dream. Of course, the presenter of this show is male. He's obviously bent like a paperclip, but still male. And he is fully clothed. There are scores of semi-naked women in the show (his 'naked army' - I kid you not! see: http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/H/htlgn/) but the only male, Gok the presenter, is clothed. Now *who* exactly is empowered in this show? The needy woman who has to flaunt her nakedness or the self-assured, fully-dressed presenter?
Of course, Gok the presenter would never undress on tv, as sure as there would never be a male candidate. The public (largely women, strangely enough) has been conditioned enough to believe that a naked willy is silly and gross and obscene, but that naked boobs are somehow *empowering*.
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sistermagpie's journal
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Date: 2008-04-23 12:11 am (UTC)The show 'How To Look Good Naked', however, not only shows the women (and there are only ever women on this show) what they should wear to feel good about themselves, but it also has them show themselves naked in public. At first they had to model naked for a professional photographer, but the latest series has them flaunting their nakedness in a shopwindow display.
Oh, for some dignity!!!
Look, I don't think that naked bodies are disgusting, quite the opposite. Nor do I think that naked bodies could not be dignified - just watch a documentary about Bushmen or Amazon Indians and you'd see how dignified a naked person can be. What bothers me about this show is the same thing that bothers you about the boob thing; it deludes women to think that they are somehow 'brave' and 'full of selfesteem' and 'empowered' if they fulfill a teenage boy's wet dream.
Of course, the presenter of this show is male. He's obviously bent like a paperclip, but still male. And he is fully clothed. There are scores of semi-naked women in the show (his 'naked army' - I kid you not! see: http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/H/h
Of course, Gok the presenter would never undress on tv, as sure as there would never be a male candidate. The public (largely women, strangely enough) has been conditioned enough to believe that a naked willy is silly and gross and obscene, but that naked boobs are somehow *empowering*.
Arrgh!!!