Somebody's Sister

Stop with the naked pictures. She is somebody’s sister. She is someone’s daughter. The young girl or woman in the picture is possibly a person in unwilling bondage, a victim of human trafficking, a sex slave. —- A little murmur is boiling in America. It is a cry out against violence against women. It is a fake cry by most, while a serious cry for those who have begun movements. If we are serious, then the mainstream media needs to stop promoting nudity, sexual provocation and scantily dressed women. Talk is cheap. Print is cheap. The same media outlets, which is pretty much all of them, might have an article or two about violence against women, yet will have some pictures somewhere on their site that are sure to draw the eyes of men. Every marketer knows that sex sells. The color red, the color yellow and near-naked women turn heads on a dime. Hardees, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN (a restaurant chain and two sport “magazines”) are entities dealing with food and athletics, yet the mere mention of their names connect to commercials and certain non-real-sport editions of women being used to appeal to the carnal nature of man. —- The problem is that folks do not like violence against women, and they should not. Yet, the world is missing the connection of marketing (I’m not even talking about the billion dollar porn industry or steamy television). The flashy pictures in mainstream media are there to get men’s attention by using women as a “product” or a “tool” to get them to look at the page, stay longer, and maybe click on another page and so on. The brain is a terrible thing. As we send the brain down the natural lustful trail, it wants more. Where there is a will, there is a way. There comes a time when pictures will not meet the sexual desire. What the brain started, the flesh wants to finish. These luring ads and special editions treat women as objects. Women then become objects that are sold and used. The attitudes of men are warped toward women. I am not under false impression that we will ever change the tactics of Madison Avenue to get your dollars. However, we can appeal to the brain by reminding us all that the woman in the picture is somebody’s sister or someone’s daughter. They are possibly getting paid, but they are most assuredly being used. May we renew our minds by reminding ourselves that these are sisters, daughters, friends of our kids, or women that have been drugged or brain-washed into these schemes. I know, I know some of these women see this as a way to make big money, but “sex sells” is the driving force behind the violence against women. We must get better in our relationships. —- Think about this: who gets mad when a woman is mistreated? Someone who loves them as a person, not someone treating them as a product. So to America’s marketing departments and to the people who pay them: if you are serious about violence against women, then stop the naked and provocative pictures to sell your goods and services. Otherwise, shut up, because we can’t hear you over the noise of treating women as products. For our part, we can quit clicking on the pages or buying their magazines. Years ago, a well-meaning relative bought one of my teenage boys a year’s subscription to Sports Illustrated. One day the annual Swimsuit edition arrived at the house. It had a very attractive cover on it that was very appealing. As soon as it came in, I’m glad I trashed it (without opening it). He never knew. The best thing we can do is trash these immediately, turn the page or turn off the set. Are you serious about violence against women? Then stop it before it starts. Treat women as human beings and not products.