360 degrees opposed
I’m always amazed and entertained by how extremists can be 360 degrees opposed to each other. Here’s the feminist take on why the baring of Janet Jackson’s breast was horrible and wrong and innocents should have been protected from it .
I still think the bulk of the outrage should be aimed at Timberlake. He ripped off a woman’s clothes, and the question we ask is whether she planned it because she was wearing a nipple ornament. How is that different from the jury that refuses to convict a rapist because a girl was wearing a too-short skirt?
(Via Follow Me Here )
I'm amazed that Timberlake is pulling the "innocent younger guy" defense and for the most part being believed. He's the one who was hopping around the stage grabbing his crotch, and afterward he just said something to the effect of, "Oops, sorry, not my fault, that woman tricked me into it". The week after the halftime show, he said, "I’m frustrated that my character is being questioned". Well, actually, nobody who's paid any attention to his performances for the past few years ever thought that he had any character to begin with.
What I found interesting were the reactions of Timberlake's former bandmate JC Chasez, who was told to tone down one of his planned songs for the Pro Bowl halftime show. The NFL decided that it didn't like the words "naughty" and "horny" in one of his songs, and asked to change the lyrics for the performance. (Shades of the Rolling Stones and "Let's Spend Some Time Together". The more things change...) Chasez remarked, "Santa Claus can say 'naughty' but I can't."
Chasez also had some pointed remarks about the hypocrisy of the NFL and TV executives. Noting that he was allowed to sing the national anthem for the bowl game: "They don't think I have the right kind of image for the NFL but they think I could be the spokesperson for the entire nation by singing the national anthem?"
I didn't really know much about JC Chasez before this whole incident came out, but he seems to have a better sense of humor and more functioning brain cells regarding this controversy than Timberlake, Jackson, and all the NFL and CBS executives put together.
Posted by Jimcat on February 16 2004 05:51
You know, I spent nearly a year being a paid member of the domestic violence movement, and I've gotta say, Cindy Richards is kind of full of it.
I think we do more damage to the younger generation by trying to present a homogenized, politically sterile portrait of what sex is supposed to be than could a thousand grabbing Timberlake-mits. And why is it incumbent on everyone who's in a position of influence to be a role model model at all, much less, a role model for the agressively tepid?
--VEG
Posted by Victoria on February 23 2004 23:48