Brainshrub is one of the latest additions to the Blue Gal blogroll. Paul -V- has the intelligence (aphrodisiac), presence of mind, and technical know-how to create his own community within his blog. One can actually "join" Brainshrub and log in so you can edit your own comments. Doncha wish some talking heads could do the same? Besides, code editing makes me hot.
In addition to Paul's post, make sure to click and read his counterpoint article linked below. This is a feature of his own blog and always worth the time.
Thanks for the props, Paul. - BG
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Panties and self esteem.
"You spent $150 dollars on this?" I asked incredulously.
"They make me feel sexy" said Kathy (Not her real name) as she snatched the blue laced panties from my hand.
"Baby, you're sexy no matter what your underwear looks like," I said following her from the bedroom into the kitchen. "Why did you spend so much money on panties when I'm the only one who is going to see them regularly?"
"You're a man so you wouldn't understand," she snapped back while rummaging through the junk-drawer for a pair of scissors to remove the Victoria's Secret price-tag.
She was wrong, I did understand; but I also understood her well enough to know when to drop the subject. If she wanted to spend $150 of her own money on frilly panties, who was I to argue?
Besides, she did look look great in them.
The need for people to feel good about something no one else can see is a powerful force. You can't spot a college diploma, a happy childhood or a good credit rating from across the street. However, these attributes have a profound effect on the way we interact with one another.
The interesting thing about attitudes toward our hidden features is that they are so arbitrary. Dropping out of high school may not affect one person, while to another it will become a source of secret shame.
The important thing to keep in mind is that, ultimately, you are the only one who gets to decide how your hidden attributes affect your life.
So, if a $150 thong makes you feel good about yourself: Go for it! Just remember that you could get the same feelings from a $20 dollar pair of panties from Target if you would allow them to.
Read counterpoint here.
Hmm...most interesting set of commentaries one Both side.
ReplyDeleteThere is the Sex-i-fication of the girls tweenagers and the compression of all that to ever increasing younger ages. (and having 3 daughters - I've seen this all first hand.)
But while I CAN be dressed and attractively - I tend to follow Blue Gals tag-line:
"Men who think intelligence is an aphrodisiac find me attractive. "The New York Times Crossword in bed is sexy" type. But nevermind, I'm the married with three kids type, too."
And I'm more often found in a cotton camisole and matching 6-packer white undies than anything close to Pink Hotties from Victoria Secret...but that is because I prefer my own comfort than the imaginary one of pleasing the Wall Street marketeers with all that hot (and $$$ expensive) underware!
;-)
i too am worried about the pressure on young girls to be sexy and all the baggage that comes with it. that said, i love victoria's secret. yep, i've said it, it's true. that's because up until the past 5 or 6 years there was no way i could justify the expense. so, a few years ago i saved up and bought my first fancy bra there. amazing! i was hooked,(ha) now i buy quite a few things there, not everything, but a lot.
ReplyDeletei feel sort of like a super hero with my "super hero" costume hidden under everyday alterego clothes. i guess buying some sexy bras and panties for me, means i'm a little bit better off financially now. i will say this, i buy a lot of turtlenecks and jeans from there. (not the ultra expensive ones) they are priced really well, especially the sales and they last and last.
I have to admit, lingerie is not a psychic trigger point for me, but the point of your post is well-taken. We all have our little hidden insecurities. Lingerie for women is an apt metaphor, but is there something equally pertinent for men?
ReplyDeleteWhat's most disturbing to me is the overt sexualizing of young girls. If it were taking place in the context of openness and a generally healthy approach to sexuality, it wouldn't be so offensive. Sadly, that's not the case.
Retailers, advertisers, television, movies and, yes, many parents, promote the "tarting-up" of girls only to dole out whiplash messages of the importance of sexual abstinence and the "dirtiness" of sex.
It's perverse.
Natural fabrics breath. Karen McL has a good point. If more women wore them there would be fewer yeast infections. Vinegar is a healthful choice.
ReplyDeleteI'm still waiting for the "no panty" post! I say they are nothing so you might as well not wear them! Give thepoetryman something to inspire an erotic poem outside the confines of panties...
ReplyDeleteI think what concerns me most is the way that the ideals of first-generation feminism have been cleverly twisted by the evil forces that are marketing and advertising.
ReplyDeleteIt speaks volumes when young women hold people like Paris Hilton or Britney Spears to be role models. I somehow don't see how dressing like a whore makes one empowered, no matter what you might think to the contrary.
The emperor has no clothes on.
It is no wonder that so many kids--regardless of gender, are so confused and aliented. We teac them that sex is a thing to be ashamed of, and then bombard them with sexual images in ads, television, and movies.
Our culture is schizophrenic in many ways, but this one, to me is the most troubling.
I think what concerns me most is the way that the ideals of first-generation feminism have been cleverly twisted by the evil forces that are marketing and advertising.
ReplyDeleteIt speaks volumes when young women hold people like Paris Hilton or Britney Spears to be role models. I somehow don't see how dressing like a whore makes one empowered, no matter what you might think to the contrary.
The emperor has no clothes on.
It is no wonder that so many kids--regardless of gender, are so confused and aliented. We teac them that sex is a thing to be ashamed of, and then bombard them with sexual images in ads, television, and movies.
Our culture is schizophrenic in many ways, but this one, to me is the most troubling.