A friend of mine e-mailed me the other day to tell me that she and her husband were watching a television show about a guy getting a sex change operation. While in today’s medical marvel world, a rather blase story, but she pointed out something very interesting.
During the whole process, the show had no problem at all showing a man naked from the waist up. He went through medical procedures, and hormone shots, and therapy, and each time they showed him in a state of undress... no problem showing his chest and nipples.
When it came time for the man’s implants, on the other hand, they showed the surgery in graphic detail, from the cutting open of the hole, and insertion of the implants, but the moment the implants were in place... they pixelated the “breasts”.
Wait a minute. What’s wrong with this? Just because the man has now taken a female form, its not ok to show a breast? I happen to know some men (who are not men trapped in women’s bodies, they’re just... fat) that have WAAY more cleavage than I do, and yet I’m sure there wouldn’t be any problem showing that on television (see “The Biggest Loser” or any of the myriad weight reduction shows on tv). Plenty of naked male boob flab going on there. But throw in the intent that the man wants to be a woman, or perhaps make these flabby guys wear Manbras and we draw the line at showing it on television.
If there’s a baby attached to the breast, that’s fine to show. Show a breast with a lovely piercing during a superbowl, not so fine. Ok, so we’ve ruled out that having something attached to a breast makes it ok to show (baby versus piercing), so baby ok, starburst piercing not ok. Breast reduction or implant surgery... ok to show blood and tissue and gore, not ok to show a nipple. Simply fine to show someone being ripped apart, blown apart, mangled, chainsawed, or hacked... just don’t show any breasts during that.
Do we wonder why our children are messed up?
During the whole process, the show had no problem at all showing a man naked from the waist up. He went through medical procedures, and hormone shots, and therapy, and each time they showed him in a state of undress... no problem showing his chest and nipples.
When it came time for the man’s implants, on the other hand, they showed the surgery in graphic detail, from the cutting open of the hole, and insertion of the implants, but the moment the implants were in place... they pixelated the “breasts”.
Wait a minute. What’s wrong with this? Just because the man has now taken a female form, its not ok to show a breast? I happen to know some men (who are not men trapped in women’s bodies, they’re just... fat) that have WAAY more cleavage than I do, and yet I’m sure there wouldn’t be any problem showing that on television (see “The Biggest Loser” or any of the myriad weight reduction shows on tv). Plenty of naked male boob flab going on there. But throw in the intent that the man wants to be a woman, or perhaps make these flabby guys wear Manbras and we draw the line at showing it on television.
If there’s a baby attached to the breast, that’s fine to show. Show a breast with a lovely piercing during a superbowl, not so fine. Ok, so we’ve ruled out that having something attached to a breast makes it ok to show (baby versus piercing), so baby ok, starburst piercing not ok. Breast reduction or implant surgery... ok to show blood and tissue and gore, not ok to show a nipple. Simply fine to show someone being ripped apart, blown apart, mangled, chainsawed, or hacked... just don’t show any breasts during that.
Do we wonder why our children are messed up?
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