There is no conspiracy.

[daphnep]

Okay, after a fair amount of interest in my "Improving Aphrodite" post from the other day, I made it public, and I'm happy to see so many people as piqued by the injustice to art and anatomy as I was

Comments

[agent_mimi]

indicative of our silly, brainwashed culture full of people who don't even know how naked women actually look. But not responsible for that culture.

That's a great point. I agree, but I also think many people feel that changing art to reflect a desire to see women more skinny simply because it's more marketable can be a form of malicious intent. Personally, I'm torn on the matter. It's hard to determine where the line is drawn between desire to make money and actual maliciousness for the sake of extra profit.

Also, to a point you made below, I think that the reason attempts made to show "real women" fail in the marketplace has little to do with what people want. Our culture shows airbrushed, young, white, skinnified, bleached blonded women on every magazine and poster, in every fashion show, in all movies and TV shows with only a very few exceptions. And these exceptions are singled out as being odd and different. They're in shows called "Ugly Betty", they're made fun of on "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" and Leno, they're interviewed not because of their talent but because they're fat, old, of color or otherwise "unconventional."

We can't completely ignore the power of conformity in media, or deny our culture considers a woman's body public property.

(Here from apocalypsos)