Another response to El Dorado Ignores Genocide of Natives:

>> All the other stuff aside...why is voluptuously sexy worse than athletically sexy? <<

Whoa! Someone actually addressed the content of my message rather than 1) going off on a tangent for or against Castro's Cuba, or 2) insulting me for daring to comment on El Dorado. Help me, people, I'm feeling faint.

Thanks, Doug.

The "sexy" question is a matter of opinion rather than fact, of course. In my opinion, the Playboy/Marilyn Monroe stereotype of women is worst because it objectifies women the most—makes them into body parts more than whole human beings. Athletically sexy is better because, though the focus is still on the body, it's on what the body can do rather than what it is.

I should add that there's nothing wrong with a woman's being voluptuously or athletically sexy. Problems arise when the male-controlled media use these as the predominant images. If the entire range of women were portrayed equally, few people would protest (or notice) any one type. But our culture (including movies, especially animated movies) has a long history of presenting women as bodies needing a man (for comfort, support, or rescue) rather than as complete, self-directed persons.

>> I heard that when some photos of Marilyn Monroe were shown to some teenage girls, they couldn't understand why she was considered sexy. They thought she was too fat... <<

I heard something like that too. But note a few points:

1) What teenage girls think isn't the same as what teenage boys, adult men, and arguably adult women think. As one can tell by everything from men's mags to video games, voluptuous still sells better than anorexic/supermodelish to the male public. As for what women want, many starve themselves into unhealthy thinness, but many also continue to get breast implants.

2) Any evolution in taste from more voluptuous to less voluptuous women is a recent development. And a backlash already has developed against the ultra-thin-model type.

3) I meant "athletic" to be somewhere between "voluptuous" and "anorexic." I didn't mean it to be synonymous with "anorexic."

All clear?

Related links
"Marriage or bust" for Disney's women

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