Interesting story in Washington Post on new beefcake underwear advertisements for Emporio Armani and Calvin Klein:
The advertisements are celebrations of the male physique, the kind of artistic adoration that dates back to classic statuary. Beckham and Hounsou are photographed to look larger than life, with their muscles exaggerated thanks to dramatic lighting or a thick gloss of sweat.
The men are pleasantly objectified. And after you’ve finished enjoying the view, you can’t help but wonder: Isn’t that loving, lustful gaze problematic?
Women, after all, don’t want to be objectified. That diminishes their power and takes away their individuality. And that will only make life more difficult in a world that still does not always treat them as equals. You can’t even call the Miss America pageant a “beauty contest” because that would be demeaning. It has to be referred to as a scholarship competition, even though no one’s explaining quantum physics to win the thing. It’s not okay to celebrate a woman as a “great beauty” and leave it at that. Where’s the rest of the résumé? The part about her talent and intelligence and warm heart? The whole package must be presented at all times because there’s too much to lose if it’s not.
WP writer Robin Givhan concludes that the ads objectify the male models, but don’t in any way diminish them: “They look strong and in control.”
You know, this is three posts in a row dealing with athletically built and scantily clad young men. Seems a little fishy. At least when you used to blog about the red sox the guys were fully clothed (and come to think of it, they weren’t young and in some cases not really athletically built (or at least not aesthetically built)).