Sex & Social Injustice

I've had written work published before, but never anything visual. Usually, I think visual artists are uncomfortable having their work published for magazines... at least, that's what I always heard from my professors when I was in college. I've heard woes of black and white photos doing color art injustice, text littering the image, inappropriate cropping, and more. But the opportunity arose and I thought it fitting to accept the offer- not as a sell out moment, but because I thought it was worth supporting. All in all I don't think that the publishers did my drawing injustice because the colors are rich, it isn't chopped up, and the text really isn't that distracting. Smart of them to work with and around the composition of the figures.

The publication is PRISM, put out by the Evangelicals for Social Action. The full article can be found here (PDF), written by Bruce Wydick.


Also worth reading from this month's issue is the cover story, Toxic Culture (link is a PDF, peppered with additional articles so please read it!). Discretion is advised: PRISM takes no shortcuts in this article as it examines pornification of our culture. It is a bit explicit; be aware of photo examples of mainstream advertisements (like CK and fragrances). "Now a multibillion-dollar business, pornography plays a pervasive role in contemporary society. For the sake of our families and future generations, it's time to face the industry head on and take back our God-given sexuality." The pinnacle of the article points out the sexualization of today's children -- 'Girls as Consumables' and 'Boys as Predators' -- and offers insight to approach the issue with a Christ-like attitude, rather than being naiive. Admittedly, a quote from a 14 year old boy was shocking enough to make me realize that things are not the same way they were when I was growing up -- and that was only 10 to 12 years ago. Sexuality is much more prevalent in pre-teens (7 to12) and adolescents (13 to 19) than I realized.

It makes one wonder how things have gotten so permissive in our American, mainstream culture today. I've noticed this in watching television over the past few years, and moreso lately in seeing ads for shows like Swingtown that appears to glorify adultery and promiscuity in our history. True, I haven't seen the show, so I honestly cannot say much about it. But beyond that, even commercials and advertisements are racier than I remember and extremely suggestive, laden heavy with sexual connotations. I mean, really; Why must you sell sex when you're trying to sell deoderant? or jeans? or cars? or yogurt?! Prime example is Abercrombie & Fitch's explicit 2003 Christmas catalog: you really aren't selling clothing when you're really selling group sex. Even their webpage features a sculpted half-naked man in which you can barely even see the top of his jeans. All the more, abercrombiekids.com has a shirtless teen on it.
I'm sorry, what does the lack of clothes have to do with buying clothes? It really makes me queasy thinking about the potential of raising a child - son or daughter - in an environment such as this because exposure is pretty much unavoidable. It makes me queasy just knowing that sexuality is even pitched to children and young-teens, and that parents and manufacturers find the "prosti-tot" look acceptable.

Not just that, but generally speaking women are the targets of the sexualization... rather, girls. While the Dove Self-Esteem program is another topic of discussion, as are Dove products overall, but check out this video about the pervasiveness of body, image, etc completely surrounding a girl's world:

Dove Film: Onslaught

For the most part I try to avoid the things I don't like about media, like these and try not to purchase from stores that promote sex over their product. But as you may be able to tell, it's hard to do and to do so can be a double-edged sword; on the one hand I keep myself safe and protected but on the other hand I think I've lost touch with what's going on outside of my bubble. Where is the balance? How do you approach the issue of over-sexualization without being disregarded as a mere prude? Like the nature of Fair Trade, this is a difficult path to navigate but it's the small steps of choice, voice, and action that can even give us hope of things changing. It also takes a great deal of being informed and carrying that information with compassion. Here are some questions to think about:

• What can you do in your purchases and in your sphere of influence to make a positive impact on our sexually charged culture?
• How will you talk about this subject with your peers, co-workers, or family?
• What small steps can you take to not promote the sexualization of children?
• How can you be better informed? Do you need to examine your influences more closely?
  
• How might this issue affect your own life?
  
• Does your attitude need to change? (are you ambivelent? angry? immobilized?)
• If a follower of Christ, how does your faith and worldview need to impact this area of life more?