The Last Word on Janet's Boobies

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Two groups of people should be ashamed of themselves. MTV is one of them. The American public is the other. Let's start with the American public. An attractive pop star "accidentally" reveals part of her breast on television and three things happen:

  1. The holier-than-thous start filing lawsuits, pleading "Won't somebody think of the children?!?!" and generally acting like the image of a partially nude female breast is going to be permanently burned into their retinas.
  2. Hundreds of millions of American Internet and TiVo users slobber over Janet's boob like it's the first one they've ever seen.
  3. The rest of the world goes "huh?"

You wanna know what the most shameful aspect of all this is? It's the American public's general attitude toward sexuality in general. We've become so puritanical that we feel ashamed and embarrassed at the mere sight of our own naked bodies. We continue to be taught by our parents, and in turn teach our own kids, that nudity is morally repugnant, that sex is dirty and that sexuality is something we all need to be protected from. On its face, doesn't that seem silly to you? It does to the most of the rest of the world.

Maybe if we stopped treating sex like a morally tainted mystery in this country, we wouldn't have as much of a problem with things like teen pregnancy. Maybe we wouldn't have every company with something to sell constantly barraging us with sexual imagery in order to sell their products. Maybe we'll get to the point where we can watch Basic Instinct with our parents and not get all red-faced and embarrassed when Sharon Stone uncrosses her legs.

Speaking of being barraged with sexual imagery, MTV needs to quit treating us all like sex-starved animals (even if we are). And it needs to get its act together. MTV is feeling shame after the Super Bowl debacle, but for all the wrong reasons. Wanna know why MTV should be ashamed?

  1. MTV treats us like means to an end. Sex sells, so MTV piles it on to the point of forgetting what the hell the content was supposed to be about in the first place. When was the last time you saw a music video on MTV?
  2. For MTV, it's all about publicity stunts and not about compelling content. It pats itself on the back when America goes apeshit over Britney and Madonna making out, or when America goes bonkers over Diana Ross fondling Lil' Kim. It's sad that MTV has to pull off stunts instead of delivering consistently good content.

Maybe we'll get past all of this unimportant crap when Americans learn to be honest with themselves about their bodies and their sexuality. Know of any other inhabitants of the wild kingdom that are embarrassed and ashamed of their own reproductive processes? It's amazing we've come so far as a species.