In a world where people are so eagerly and easily offended by some of the most minuscule and random things (for example: Gay Tinky Winky bad for children ), I have to admit I was a bit shocked by one of the feature stories on MSN.com's homepage today, or more particularly, the feature's picture.
Looking over my girlfriend's shoulder to see if she logged me off my own computer, I was able to eye a fairly large picture of a woman's chest. While the homepage does change frequently, you can see what I am referring to by visiting the actual story here ( Mommy Wants Her Body Back ) or just by shifting your eyes slightly upward.
Now, we are all college students here and we can appreciate a Newsweek article about mothers wanting their pre-pregnancy bodies back and going under the knife to get them, but MSN.com is not only for college students. As a matter of fact, when I was growing up in Lyndhurst, NJ my public school had dozens of computers with MSN.com as its homepage.
While risking looking like a conservative, prudish senior citizen instead of a fairly liberal Rutgers student, I want to ask the class what they think about this design decision. Granted, children can see cleavage by turning to MTV or maybe even some day-time talk shows, is MSN.com (or Newsweek.com, where the article originated from) trying to catch people's attentions (like they caught mine) with exploitative methods? And if so, are they exploiting these elements to the wrong type of crowd?
And on a related note, when I posted this entry the Top Ten Most Viewed stories on Newsweek.com included "Electroshock Therapy" and "The Real Story of the Lunch Hour Boob-job". Does Newsweek have an agenda for perfecting women to some sort of plastic surgery standard? Or is its audience a majority of middle-aged mothers going under the knife?
5 comments:
Dan-O,
I don't know what the publication's motives are (as you question in the last paragraph of your post), but I have no problem with this graphic.
It isn't too revealing and it might attract the attention of those "stay-at-home" moms who are desperately concerned with their appearance.
Another reason why I don't see a problem with it is the photo's context in our society. A woman measuring her chest in a bra is arguably tame compared to other things in our culture. All it takes is a couple flips through a magazine or cable system and you are bombarded with half-naked perfect bodies advertising either themselves or a product.
Some of the women on the blog might think I'm a guy so of course I would accept this photo. But it does go both ways. Similar photos featuring men are published every day.
I don't have a problem with this. And this is coming from a fairly conservative Rutgers student.
I, too, don't find this image to be offensive. I am an MSN.com frequenter, in fact, it is my homepage. My day usually begins and ends with a glimpse at the stories on MSN. I admit that the image caught my attention when I saw it on the site, but I was not offended by it, just curious.
Besides, the images we see on a daily basis are much more graphic. America encompasses a sex-obsessed culture. Just flipping through the channels on TV or watching the billboards as we drive, we are bombarded with images of semi- nude women. And children are not excluded; they see these images too. Many popular girls TOYS (like Barbie and Bratz dolls) are dressed in bikini's and negliges. I honestly think that the average 4-year-old would not look look twice at the image of the woman's bust, because they've seen it so many times before.
I am sure that what MSN intended by the image was to capture the readers attention, and that they did. But did they cross the line in featuring that image? I would say most certainly not.
I don't think the picture is offensive. Like the rest of you said, there are much more "scandalous" ploys that publications use to get attention.
But that's what I think this is, really - a ploy for attention. This story has no real news value.
I've seen stories with more important subject matter, like ways to detect cancer early, but it is almost always packaged with a photo of a woman giving herself a breast exam. I doubt there will ever come a day when a mainstream publication will display a man checking for testicular cancer.
In any case, what MSN is basically doing is saying "hey readers, look, boobs!" And most of us, men and women alike, will undoubtedly give it a second look.
I don't think the publication is at fault in any way. The graphic does not objectify women. It only shows something that women across the country do in various settings. Women measure themselves in fitting rooms and in the privacy of their own homes.
They also step on scales at the gym and talk to their friends and loved ones about body image and weight.
It's really not shocking at all.
I think the publication could of maybe illustrated the story in another way by showing a woman stepping on a scale or looking at herself in a mirror. But it gets the same point across.
If you turn on the television and watch a Victoria Secrets commercial or even Hanes for that matter you will inevitably see a woman in a bra.
I don't know how many people think twice about these images. I'm not sure why I'm supposed to think that this graphic is more provocative than something viewed during day time television when children are glued to T.V. screens.
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