Quote:
Originally Posted by teh603
Y'know, has anyone bothered to research romance covers' effects on male self- image?
Although I'd make a case that G.I.Joe has more of an impact, since that's a show actually pointed at boys. Or maybe Spongebob?
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That's an interesting subject for debate, one that's been raging on college campuses for decades and sometimes it turns into, "If it offends somebody, ban it," regardless of the First Ammendment.
But it often turns out that "some content is more equal than others."
Once certain types of speech become "intolerable" it is a slippery slope towards banning anything that the decision makers don't like. That's not a good society to be in.
I guess perhaps I am keenly sensitive to this because as a kid, the things I loved most -- D&D, comic books, rock & roll, etc. -- were criticized as evil, corrupting, "tools of the devil" and there were lots of efforts to ban, remove, eliminate and demonize the fans of these products.
Eventually I came to realize that the people saying these things were
Full of Crap (tm).
The people pushing sexist stereotypes are also
Full of Crap(tm) in their own way. But it's a free world and people are allowed to be foolish and ignorant. Let them...and show the rest of the world a better way to be and live.
I wish we lived in a world where no one felt harmed or shamed or felt anything else negative by a fantasy book cover. I'm a flabby guy who isn't offended by Conan types because I am who I am and I am proud of it; I am comfortable in my (oversized) skin. I enjoy "Redneck" jokes as much as the next guy even though, demographically I am one (and there's a bit of truth in many of them). I am part of Geek Nation and damned proud of it...and yet Shatner's "Have You Ever Kissed a Girl" skit is hysterical -- be yourself and show the world that the some people are full of it.
We can't control what the world puts out there. We can only control how we emotionally respond to the things we encounter.