letter to the editor of the Valley Morning Star

Dear Sir:

Does anyone even LOOK at the Rio Living page before it goes to press? Did you really fail to see the disconnect (2/25/09) between your rant against “sexting” (the latest teen trend of objectifying their body parts by texting them around) and - RIGHT NEXT TO IT! - the “Body of Work” piece featuring - among other things - close-up shots of Pamela Anderson’s “artificially enhanced” breasts and Gisele Bundchen’s abdomen? Choosing to prominently feature an article that falls over backwards objectifying women’s body parts - we don’t even get to see the rest of the body that goes with those breasts - was tasteless and irresponsible. A new study makes clear the relationship between lurid photos and effects they have on males:

“Past studies have also shown that when men view images of highly sexualized women, and then interact with a woman in a separate setting, they are more likely to have sexual words on their minds, she said. They are also more likely to remember the woman's physical appearance, and sit closer to her -- for instance, at a job interview.” (Read CNN article at http://bit.ly/5w6Pd)

No wonder kids are doing this stuff - their local paper is blatantly telling them that their body parts are nothing but commodities.

For shame, VMS. For shame.

Sincerely,
Lucinda Wierenga