Boobies, oh noez

[tsukinofaerii]

Just in case anyone doubts my fannish opinion on this, here it is in big bold letters:

IF DISNEY GETS INTO THE GROWN-UP ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY, I VOTE KINGDOM HEARTS AS ITS PILOT PROGRAM.

Ahem. Okay, so I have more serious opinions to follow, but I just had to say that. The amount of skin Riku had covered in KHII was a crime.

Disney's Titillation and Litigation

The name Disney used to conjure up the image of family entertainment: a hint of magic, as a twinkling Tinkerbell lit up on the TV screen. But in the past two weeks, the name Disney has come to mean something else: a tawdry corporation stocked with lawyers making ridiculous arguments suggesting that nudity and obscenity on television are to be lauded, not protested.

Now, here I'm going to comment purely on the author's choice of targets here. It's pretty much a red herring of the most obvious sort. The author spends pretty much the whole editorial arguing against Disney. Disney = for children. Disney used to be family-friendly... Disney, Disney, Disney. But the single cited reference refers to ABC's NYPD Blue. Yes, ABC belongs to Disney, but it's a separate entity. Disney still (sadly) is family-friendly - ABC never has been specifically aimed at children. Keep them straight.

To sum up the whole article, it comes down to this: ABC is facing fines because NYPD Blue happened to show 7 seconds of butt cheeks before 10 PM. Disney's-- excuse me, ABC's argument is that it was non-sexual, and therefore OK. The author seems to think that this is a Big Deal.

I thought about arguing the NYPD Blue is an adult show, and therefore a few seconds of buttocks shouldn't be a big deal. Properly supervised children wouldn't be watching it anyways. I thought about saying that the 10 PM deadline is ridiculous, because gods know kids stay up later than that all the time. I also considered the angle that it's not sex.

And then I thought about what I was thinking. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Or, in this case, who watches me? And, ala Sam Vimes, I must say, I do. Damn Third Thoughts.

What was I thinking?

At its base, this isn't about children. Or nudity. Or some stupid idea that a certain section of humanity will be in bed by a specific time-period. This is about the ever-tightening grip on the most basic aspect of us, which is this: our humanity. are we supposed to be ashamed of being human? Male or female? Of our skin tone or hair color? Most "decent" humans will say no -- none of that is something to be ashamed of. So why are we teaching our children to be ashamed of it?

Part of being human, of being simply and utterly alive is having a body. We spend so much time covering it, because skin = sex for so very many people. Skin itself is a Bad Thing To See, though I can't think of a single argument that won't swing right back around to sex. We (USA "we") avoid nudity on TV and in other public locations because it supposedly swings our thoughts towards sex and will make us into horribly raving nymphomaniacs or something like that. Children, who aren't even consciously sexual yet, grow up seeing everyone covered. Mommy and Daddy get upset when they take their diaper off. Big Sis/Bro yells when they walk in while they're changing clothes. "Don't touch yourself - you'll go blind!" All over, people take huge pains to only be naked in private or in sexual situations. And so the wall is built. Nudity is bad. Sex is embarrassing, because it involves nudity. And a whole new generation of children grow up with a negative self-image.

I'm not going step up to the issue of sex not necessarily being bad, because that's for a whole new/old rant. I'm also not going to address the "F-Bomb" that the author keeps referring to, even though language had nothing to do with the article.

I will do one thing though. FUCK. Now, how many people feel like running out and doing it? Who didn't feel like doing it before reading the word, that is. I didn't think so.

What I'd really like to know is why we think making kids think their body is a bad thing is a good idea? We all go to the bathroom in one way or another, and yet most of us have some kind of problem with acknowledging this basic fact of life. Even I do. We eat. We drink. We excrete. We pee. So do our pets. What's the point?

Everyone has a body. They may be different shapes, sizes, colors, weights... but we have bodies. Is that something to be ashamed of? To hide, like a dirty little secret? What's so wrong about being human?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating that we all toss off our clothes and do away with millennia of illogic and shame. For one, it is a long-standing issue, probably going all the way back to the beginning of civilization. (The Greeks weren't known for their general acceptance of nudity for example. Just athletes and other Pretty Pretty Boys. Women need not apply.) There's no immediate cure for that kind of brainwashing. Besides, I like my job, and stripping is not a part of it.

But please, think before you teach your children their values. Think before deciding your own. Teach them what behavior is appropriate for what situations (for example, wanking in public isn't a good idea). And dear gods, don't use shame as a tool. If the best you can come up with as a reason is that it's "dirty", maybe you'd better think a little harder or ask someone else. Society isn't going to change rapidly, but it'd be nice if the argument wasn't "ZOMG, BREASTIEZ ON TV OH NOEZ" and was instead "can we get off the boob shot and back to the plot, plzkthx".

Comments

[tsukinofaerii.livejournal.com]

Mouse Banging
Well, it helps if you understand the origin of the conversation. Somehow we started at how Disneyland is the best place in the world - no work, troubles, death, etc... And then it turned into "what we'd do to get that for our families/loved ones". One lady said she'd marry Mickey... and everything rolled gutter-ward.

Arguments
I've tried. The wall I keep coming up against is the assumption that This Is Bad Stuff. Sex = bad. Nudity = sex. That in and of itself is faulty reasoning. I can't think of any reason why going to the bathroom is Bad, except for the nudity connection and a "ewww" reaction. But sex being immoral/reserved for marriage/whatever is a stance that's usually based off of non-logic (religious beliefs, faulty information, etc). Obviously sex with children is bad (harmful to the child) and therefore children should be kept from sexual things, but that argument needs a co-argument that exposing people (children) to knowledge of a thing promotes their action on the thing. (This is the reason for abstinence-only education.) Most kids don't give a damn about sex or sexual things until someone says "that's bad!" or acts secretive. Then it's the most fascinating thing EVER.

So it all comes down to faulty logic. :/ If you can think of one, I'd be happy to hear it. (And probably tear it apart.)

Atlantica
He did sound pretty good. What gets me is that Roxas had Jesse McCartney for a voice actor, and yet we got to hear his Somebody sing instead of him. oO; Maybe they didn't want to afford him or something. Still, seems like a waste to me.

... singing Sora fic... DAMN IT. x.x (scribbles the idea down to add to her pile) As if rockstar!Draco wasn't enough of a pain... (Lo~ong story there. I wanted to do my very own leatherpants!Draco fic and was wondering how to do it. Then, out of the depths of my brain, I had this vision...

Harry: You found Malfoy? Where?!

Auror: He's the lead singer of [incredibly popular wizarding band]

Harry: ... How did we miss that?!

Auror: The little twit never bothered with a fake name. That's why he was never caught. No one thought to check for his given name.

Harry: .............

Obviously, this has changed. A bit. x.X)

:D Happy to share!

x.x I missed it. I got caught up re-organizing the refrigerator to make room for milk cartons... Gods, that sounds so domestic. o-o Scary.

[blinddeciever.livejournal.com]

I LOVE au fics. SO MUCH FUN. xD I love just as much as real-life fics. *Grins* Possibly more. *Shrugs* Who knows, heh.
Dude, Jesse was his voice actor? I never realized.....(Jesse isn't someone I constantly listen to, but I do enjoy his music when in the mood.)

I

[tsukinofaerii.livejournal.com]

Did you maybe forget to type the rest of this? (amused)

AU fics can rock so hard... when they're done right. If I see one more AU caused by something completely random with no notable explanation or plot, I will hurt someone. Probably the author. *SIGH* Or at least be original. If Draco's going to be a Veela, come up with something more than "Harry resists for 3 chapters and then there's 200 chapters of sex". /peeve

Yeah - he's the voice actor. The only one I can remember with any regularity. (KH may be one of the few things where I like the English voices.) I only have a few of Jesse's songs, but I think he really pulls off Roxas well. And Roxas is such a complex character too. *SIGH*

[blinddeciever.livejournal.com]

.... I dunno. Did I? *WILL NEVER TELL*

I'm getting all prettied up to go to the opera tonight. My violin teacher's husband is a violinist in it I think. I forgot most of the fancier clothes in my closet were even there. *Snickers* But I like my outfit. :)

Au fics CAN rock so hard. But so many turn out badly too. TT_TT I know a good Veela fic that's 64 chapters and I think still going, not sure; can't remember.... Harry resists for a long time, there's Nice!Lucius and Adorable!Draco (personality speaking, I mean), and Snape....oh, Snape's character is good. And it's got plenty of funny moments in there. :D
But there are just so many fics that go wrong, au or not. D: Poor, poor fics.

[tsukinofaerii.livejournal.com]

LOL

Oh, opera. (longing sigh) I've never been. I demand (request, pretty pretty please?) a report!

AUs I think are hard, in a way, because it's so easy to subsume the original "character" under the identity created. For example, you can have an AU where Harry was horribly raped and abused as a child, but that sort of thing would change the underlying identity a lot unless you were really careful.

I think I know the Veela!fic of which you speak. It's sort of the Mother of All Veela Fics. I gave up on that one when the improbable-yet-welcome MPreg came along. I just can't buy any teenage boy being happy about being pregnant...

[blinddeciever.livejournal.com]

Opera, yes. Well....what do you want to know about it? ^^; (specific, I like specific questions. or questions that give me an AREA to answer in, i can live with those...)

*Frowns* That's true. But AU's can still royally rock, if done the right way. Now, if you completely re-make the character into your own, it will depend on the rest of the story and their development. There are very few fics like that, however, so most i just get annoyed with.

I don't remember any MPreg in it, but then, it's been a while since i read it....*Frowns thoughtfully*

Actually, if it was Harry being pregnant, I could understand it, sort of. Harry always wanted a family; he's the type that would love to have kids. Now, if he was in a gay marriage, I can visualize him having mixed emotions on it--happy that he can have kids, unnerved and apprehensive that HE's gonna be the one actually having the kids, scared that because he'll be getting fat his partner won't want him as much (disregard the fact he's pregnant with their child; it's a typical thing on ANY planet for the preg. person to think that), etc, etc, etc. And, of course, he might be cursing the baby (but lovingly, just in case it decides to take it seriously in some way (he doesn't take many chances with people he loves nowadays, because, really, he's learned his lessons several times over)) towards the end of the pregnancy. Of course. XD

*Shrugs* It really depends on his character, but having him completely happy about it is illogical. NO-ONE is ALWAYS happy about it, no matter what they pretend.

And 'sides. I can't buy a LOT of females being happy about being pregnant, but it happens, a good portion of of them end of keeping the baby and later on thanking whoever it is they want to thank for the kid.

*Shrugs*

[tsukinofaerii.livejournal.com]

Well, gee, "specific" kills most of my questions. How about the plot of the opera you saw?

Yeah. *sigh* Like most things, it depends on who wrote it and what they were smoking at the time. *sigh*

Maybe it was a different fic. Gods know that MPreg Veela fics abound. My only problem was that 16 year-old Harry was glowingly happy about his state, which completely killed the suspension of disbelief for me. Maybe an older Harry, but not 6th year.

[blinddeciever.livejournal.com]

How does "specific" kill most of your questions? I said the answer area to a question could be broad, I wouldn't mind quite so much, which isn't too "specific".
The plot was more or less....:
Girl was basically a social butterfly, very beautiful and well-sought-after and all that, but OH NOEZ--she had tuberculosis! And what is the meaning of such a wonderful life without someone to love, because it is so very empty, but no man has been able to steal her heart away!
Boy has been after her for a year, and finally manages to run into her alone at a party when she says she will join the others to dance in a moment, and they all leave to the dance-room (*Imagines glowing disco ball and modern music in the 1800's.* XD). He sings (they only sing, after all) his love and devotion for her, and finally manages to convince her he truly loves her, and, in the end, manages to win her heart, because DUDE IT'S LYK JUST THAT E-Z! (Remember that, fella's!)
But trouble brews on the storm front! His father, after six months of their being together, has come to tell them he does no approve! *le horrified GASPE!* He meets first alone with Girl, and manages to spin a story that convinces her to leave Boy. He then leaves, to return shortly to console Boy, because this is all part of The Plan! Not knowing what else to do, Girl pens a note to Boy saying she has gone back to her previous lover!
They meet again at a party, and he manages to embarrass her completely and make a bit of a fool of himself in the making. Will they NEVER get back together? Will their love not be true?! (*GASP!* Let it not be so!)
A few months later, and she has had no contact with him or, indeed, any of her past acquaintances, save her maid and the good Doctor. She is on her deathbed now, and has but hours to live. But ALL IS NOT LOST! Boy comes back! He comes back to her, and they ing of how wonderful their future shall be, for He Does Not Know of The Sickness and of how Utterly Fatal it is!
She dies shortly after singing of their wonderful future.
They end.

I explain things so wonderfully, don't I. *Smirks* Go look it up; it's called The Strayed Woman (actually, it's called La Traviata, I believe is how it's spelled. But in English it's, The Strayed Woman. So. Yeah.)

Maybe it WAS a different fic. But who knows. *Shrugs* I think it was.
But yeah. Most 16 year olds would be a bit upset with getting pregnant, I should think. *Roll eyes*

[tsukinofaerii.livejournal.com]

My first was going to be, "Tell me everything?" so...yeah. Too broad. XD

That sounds like a really, really bad fanfic. Written by a thirteen year old girl with too much Tragic Angst and not enough common sense. o.o; Was it that much drama? Because I honestly don't think I could buy a story like that. At least partly because I hate sad endings. Was it ever explained why her father Disapproved? Especially after so long? oO

Most 16 year old muggle-raised boys would probably exceed even normal 16 year old mother-to-be standards of panic. "It's going to come out where?!"

[blinddeciever.livejournal.com]

*Snickers* Hon, it was nothing BUT drama. It's opera, what did you expect?
Well, at times I was impatient. But the costumes and their voices made up for that, I suppose. THe costumes were LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry. I adore costumes. ^^; My first thought upon hearing them sing was, "My god, but they'd make great swimmers." XD

Not HER father, HIS father. And of course; you knew from the very beginning. However, I didn't give you NEARLY all the details. That was the overall. *Laughs*

[tsukinofaerii.livejournal.com]

Good drama? It's like the Schwartz, really... Drama can be good, but that doesn't sound like it...

Costumes? (perks up) Describe? Pretty please? The plot may have been pain from my perspective, but shiny clothing can make up for a lot of that.

[blinddeciever.livejournal.com]

*Shrugs* Eh. Not, perhaps, my favorite opera, but that'd lean more towards Swan Lake, or The Nutcracker. *Grins*

Check out some info --
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_traviata

LOTSA shiny clothing. Imagine -- 18th century French clothing. *Grins madly* The height of fashion. Well, it said it was 18th century, but it looked more 19th century-like to me, except for perhaps one or two of the dresses. *Skeptical*
GORGEOUS dresses for the females; and oh, but I mean GORGEOUS! Beautiful. Spectacular. They looked like the real thing, which meant, of course, they were. I have an eye for clothing, for all you'd never guess it if you saw me IRL. ^_~
I mean....really, how do I describe it? D: You can't generalize clothing like in an opera! It's nigh 'mpossible!

[tsukinofaerii.livejournal.com]

Wow. Talk about hectic weekend. x.X I live and haven't been ignoring people!

Wikipedia is so useful. :D Now if my brain would stop hruting from the "oh noez!" of it all. (stares) No wonder Soaps are called operas. Sheesh.

omg, 18th century French. (dies) The height of uncomfortable, yet also the height of fashion. Men in heels. (All really well-known vampires seem to have been frozen there, for example.) Could it have been turn-of on the dates? Around the century mark fashion blurred a lot. Mid-18th was really the distinctive period, I think. (is behind in her historic fashions)

[blinddeciever.livejournal.com]

*Laughs* Good for you. I went to the Renaissance Fair yesterday (sunday) and I'm going again this Saturday...except this time, full costume, hair, and makeup. *Smirks* Oh, this'll be good.

Yeah. XD "oh noez!" defines it perfectly. *Snickers*

*Laughs* The 18th century, especially French fashion, was MAD. I can't believe the things some of them wore. I mean really; those hoops/baskets got crazily long. *Grimaces* I know entirely too much about historic fashion. *Laughs*

[tsukinofaerii.livejournal.com]

I now have RenFest envy. I wanna go! ;-; I haven't been in ages. Enjoy it! It's one of those "you have to experience it to understand" things.

There is nothing stranger than panniers and corsets combined. What's the point? Make your waist tiny and your hips huge? Huh? Logic people!

[blinddeciever.livejournal.com]

Well actually, back then it was quite an attractive thing, to have large hips. Nowadays, for all that women try to force their bodies into shapes they will just never be, it's been proven that most men actually gravitate more to more shapely women, then very skinny women. Subconsciously, it signifies fertility, which is a primal instinct to go after, really; although most nowadays are quite unaware of this existing at all.

*Laughs* Ah, I know odd things.

Heh; you should look it up online, see if they'll be near you anytime this year. ^_~ It might've been to your area already, if it goes there, earlier this year.

[tsukinofaerii.livejournal.com]

Or it's just that the extra layer of fat indicates health to the chimp part of our brain. At one point, women who were actively chubby were considered beautiful, since it was a sign of easy living. Short used to be popular too. I was so born in the wrong century. Well, except for the short. oO;

I probably should, but I know I can't afford to go and really do anything, so it'd cruel. (wibble)

[blinddeciever.livejournal.com]

Aye, I know about the actively chubby=beautiful=easy living; I laughed with delight when I heard of it first. I'm not really chubby, I'm just muscular. Any fat I do have, I owe to my lovely arthritis. *Hisses and swipes fake claws at the word* Which, by the way, is acting up. And I have a sinus infection. *Grimaces* Why couldn't I get these things over spring BREAK.....although I'm worried about the arthritis. It's been pretty quiet, so a flare up isn't good....
The "chimp" part of our brain. The CHIMP part? x3 Well, if you say so, lol. That reminds me of the latest national geographic.....*Laughs* There was an article on intelligent animals.

What on earth is "wibble"?!

[tsukinofaerii.livejournal.com]

Urrrrg on both parts. You must be feeling particularly miserable. I hope it gets better soon - infections of any kind can be serious.

Well, it beats saying "the monkey part". Chimps are so much cuter, and we're closer genetically.

I think I saw that one. The chimp that walks upright, ne?

Um. Good question. I've always used it as sort of a "puppy-eyed lip-tremble" thing. Let's see what urbandictionary.com has to say.

Wibble (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wibble)... Hey, I was right! Score!

[blinddeciever.livejournal.com]

Yeah, very miserable. Dude, I've been sick for A MONTH!!!! And it's getting worse, too; my sinus infection was a result of whatever I have...*Grumblegrumble*

"the monkey part". Er, yes, I agree with you; chimps ar emuch cuter. ^^;

Upright....? *Confused* Saw one what?

From the usage, that's what it sounded like. nevertheless, just wondering. *Shrugs*

Urbandictionary.......*Grimaces* Wonderful.

[tsukinofaerii.livejournal.com]

Clearly we did not, indeed, see the same episode of Animal Planet.

Well, it beats wikipedia as far as slang goes.