February 4, 2004

  • How the Game's Played


    Monday morning my husband stopped me as I (be-gloved, coated and laden with computer and briefcase) rushed out the door.



    • "Hold on  -- you'll have to know this for the office."
    • "Yeah?"
    • "There was a Super Bowl last night."
    • "Oh -- right."
    • "It was a good game"
    • "Really?"
    • "The Patriots won in the last seconds."
    • "Oh -- okay.  Thanks!"

    Generally my husband's attempts to keep me in the loop on the "everyone-knows-that" side of sports are office-adequate.  But dang it.  Where was the last comment?  "Oh -- and Janet Jackson flashed a tit."  "Yeah?"  "It was pierced."  "Ah -- of course."


    Anyway, I certainly learned it soon enough.  In fact, I even managed to learn it before NPR did a spot on it.


    [SIGH]


    For well over four years, taken in sum, I personally provided the ogling public with unrepentant tit-exposure as a nursing mother.  And not a hair was turned.  Not a question was asked.  Not a glance dared be glanced.  Everyone just walked right on by, withholding whatever comments they might have had (we need make no reference to the fact that I resemble Ms. Jackson in no way whatsoever, up to and including tit-jewelry).


    Not to entirely plagiarize that excellent Xangan Thyrio (what's worth writing is worth repeating?) but we're not really talking tits here.  The issue, if one feels an issue should be made, is the throbbing and the jiving.  The thrusting and the groping.  The blatant sexual content of everything media and entertainment in our culture today.


    But I'm not going to get all heavy and repressive about this one.  I'll just say, frankly, that you can give me a good half-hour's entertainment listening to my engineering staff raking Jackson, tits, piercings, and the Bowl commercials over the coals, with their acerbic geeky wit, in lieu of the actual event, any day.

Comments (21)

  • Oh, MEEEEE, too! I feel the exact same way. (I never saw the tit, but NOTHING could be as exciting as all the "discussion" about it afterward.)

  • Oh yes - listening to all that talk ... PRICELESS! 

  • exactly!

    and yet another part of me thinks there's far more negative and evil things in media (like violence? racism?) than just sex.

    and i do miss the good old days when i had to turn to literature to get myself some r-rated written images .

  • It's a shame that the halftime show somehow became the event.

  • lol..

  • Amen, sistah!

  • yeah, what she said

  • i'm in no way a prude.  the "flash" really didn't bother me.  what bothers me is the fact that no one is mentioning the bump and grind show they put on before the flash.  it wasn't really offensive to me but if I were watching with a child it would have been.  i just don't get the whole "oh my god - it's a breast" thing. 

    I love to read your site..........lora

  • It’s interesting to contemplate if there is a practical limit to the one-upmanship of pop culture.  Social norms change constantly and quickly.  What is shocking today can become passé tomorrow…blah blah blah.  Whether or not an exposed tit is shocking to the social norm is such a fickle thing that one can only discuss the subject after issuing a page full of caveats that take into account settings, times, context, etc.  I doubt that seeing Janet’s tit flashed for a couple seconds caused any lasting harm to anyone, young or old.  I think you hit the nail on the head when you sited the real issue was all of the sex that was taking place during the act.  Our kids are ENUNDATED with sex, constantly.  This is an undeniable (speaking to my own slow-to-catch-on self here) fact.  An unemotional, objective, factual analysis of the net effects of this on our kids, culture, and society is beyond this comment and probably beyond the abilities of this splinter butted fence sitter.  However, I am quickly coming to the conclusion that it can’t be good. 
     
    The aspect of the event that really frosted my balls (would I have written that 20 years ago?) was that these two snot-nosed, spoiled, rich bastards shoved this down everybody’s collective throat.  I am very happy that, at least for the moment, their stunt has blown up in their face.
     
    As far as tits go, I’m a big fan and, owing mostly to gender, quite an expert.  One cannot start in 7th grade taking every opportunity to look down Suzie’s blouse with developing a sophisticated eye.  Having stated my qualifications to pass judgment: I’m not sure why Janet thought anyone would especially want to see her tit. 
     

  • here here and bravo, both to your post and to the comment of WFE above!!  I whole-heartedly agree with each.

    btw, hi... I've been a bit scarce of late.  apologies...

    and hugs,

                   Deb

  • someone started to tell me about this the other night.. i was really surprised at how important it was... my first guess was she had put new words into the song.. and upset some that way....!

    on reflection that might have been better ..!!

  • I had to explain the super bowl to my son as he headed out the door to a super bowl party.  He has no interest in football and had no idea of who was playing or why.  I wanted to at least give him the team names so that he wouldnt' be completely in the dark.

  • har!

    Great to hear the hubby is around still.

  • The tit flash lasted a couple seconds-- I know of other countries that have weather people forecasting naked... I'll leave it at that because it would take too long and entirely too much space for me to elaborate.

  • I totally agree. Let the boob rest!  It was a planned "mistake".  Let them pay their fine and move on!  :)  

    It is funny, I am the one who tells Scott what going on in the world, before he leaves for work... it's groundhogs day....it's now 2004....there is a war going on.  LOL  He is clueless about current events.  He thinks if it is important, I will mention it to him.  LOL

    MAKE a great day! Cathi

  • LOL!  Agreed about the engineering staff (although I don't have an engineering staff of my own, I read a gossip newsgroup and get the same kind of entertainment, LOL).

    I was mulling over the weird state of affairs in this country when people lose their minds over the flash of a tit - a normal human body part, yes? and I say BRAVO!!! to you for being a brave public nursing mother!  There should be lots more of them!  Then maybe people would get over their phobia of breasts and stop thinking of them as something dirty/sinful/etc.

  • THAT puts a whole new meaning to Monday morning quarterbacking, yes?

  • Cool husband.

  • I know I've left a comment here. I distinctly remember writing it, feeling like a thief since I was suppsed to be writing an essay. Now look, it's gone !

    Anyway, I love that entry, and it's adorable that he tries to keep you in the loop. :)

  • I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one.  I could give a good gosh darn rip about the game itself, but when it comes to half-time and commercials, I'm all over it!  Albeit, this years commercials were lack-luster. 

    Perhaps it's my facination with pop-culture, but I feel I have missed out on an american event if I miss the half-time show.  I don't like it all, and Kid-Rock was blah, but I love synchronized dancing and solid vocals and generally it provided me with the little Buzz I need to make it to the next year.

    Once again, I about fell out of my chair with your wit.  I had to read your blog to my husbnad and even he laughed wholeheartedly-especially the breastfeeding scenario.  I was never that bold.  I once sat on a public toilet in a mini-golf bathroom, because i just couldn't bring myself to whip it out in front of the universe.  Funny, though, for some reason I had no problem breastfeeding in the back row of my church, the one place many women would be less likely to do it.  Perhaps I liked the "no-no" essence of it.  I've always been a rebel!

    It's late, I'm tired and I can see by my comment so far, my time has expired here.  Anywho, great post as always!

  • This hit home...the Prof tries to keep me up-to-date on Japanese political and economic news, ("current events" make up the bulk of conversation lessons, no?) while my job is to keep him on top of the latest fads and fashions so he can actually hold conversations with his university students.

    And therein lies the partnership. And the balance.

    And this: when is MyKi gonna tell us more about the topless weather forecasts?

Comments are closed.

Post a Comment