feminine-genius

Mother-daughter outing

Spending the day with mother is often unappreciated by teenagers. Most kids prefer to hang out with friends, maybe being dropped off at a mall or some such. But by the time the daughter turns twenty, many mothers and daughters begin to get along much better, to which Megan Lampros and her mother can attest. They stopped into the Westin near their home in Columbus to allow Megan to have some pictures taken and really enjoyed themselves.

She winked and smirked for photos in a blue bikini, then agreed to take off her top.

She wasn't so sure, though, about her next move.

"Do I just throw it away?" she asked the photographer, holding her bra.

(Well, yes, but toss it over your shoulder, like a bride with a bouquet, she was told.)

Next, she was instructed to remove her suit bottoms -- a request she didn't expect.

Her question: "Do I take my shoes off?"

After the five-minute audition Tuesday, Megan returned to the lobby to tell her mother that she had just been photographed completely naked.

"Oh, nice, princess!" the proud mom exclaimed.

There is a competition, doncha know, for the 55th anniversary edition of Playboy, and lots of girls want to make the cover. It seems lots of mothers think it would be a real accomplishment as well. Not much experience necessary, evidently. Win or lose, it's the chance of a lifetime.

If she doesn't become the Playboy model, Whitney Degroat, 22, of Springfield figures she'll at least have a life experience to share: "It's something to tell my grandkids: 'Grandma tried out for Playboy.' "

No doubt, they'll be thrilled.

Baby booty

Michelle Malkin alerts NRO readers about trash for tots, courtesy of a fashion line by Beyonce:

One of the children wears sparkly, killer high heels (more pint-size Pussycat Doll than Dorothy from The Wizard of the Oz) and another slouches, gangsta gal-style, with a neon pink boa, leopard-skin fedora and stilettos. An even younger model is a toddler-aged Beyonce Mini-Me with huge hair, skinny jeans, spike-heeled leather boots, and attitude to match.

Abercrombie & Fitch prompted an outrage a few years ago with its line of thongs for elementary school girls and pedophilia-chic catalogues. And, of course, Calvin Klein started it all with 15-year-old Brooke Shields purring that “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins.” But the House of Dereon photo spread sinks even lower. It’s sick and it’s wrong, and it’s not social conservatives who first said so. Fashion and celebrity websites have been buzzing with outrage over the past week.

“Pimp my kid,” decried one blogger. “Dereon Girls ad too adult,” concluded another. Gossip king Perez Hilton polled readers on whether the ad was appropriate. The overwhelming consensus: Hell, no.

The creepiness factor is heightened by the fact that women were responsible for marketing this child exploitation. I’d ask: “Where was Beyonce’s mother to tell her daughter to wipe all the gunk off the Dereon models’ faces?” But Beyonce’s mother — who has helped manage the “Bootylicious” singer’s career from childhood — is her eager and willing partner in crime.

Sad to say, I don't think these attitudes are confined to ghetto aspirants. Chatting recently with Helen Alvare, she noted that she's considered making a "no cleavage before 9am" rule in her classrooms, and has been stunned to see what the other mothers in her daughter's Catholic school push their daughters to wear. Indeed, her priest insists that quite often the mothers are worse that the daughters.

[FYI, the Derion line is found here. I couldn't get past the music for a snapshot. Enter at your own risk.]

"Exploit" is the right word

Last week, I blogged on a "very successful business;" now we turn to other financial accolades:

"I think the company has a fantastic brand and I think there's a tremendous opportunity to exploit that brand across multiple platforms, particularly on the location-based entertainment side," said RBC Capital Markets analyst David Bank. "The challenge is to rightsize the other businesses, which aren't really growth businesses."

The "fantastic brand" would be Hugh Hefner's glossy girlie magazines, which have been hit hard by the internet.

Adult entertainment publisher Playboy Enterprises Inc posted a quarterly loss on Tuesday because of weaker publishing and domestic television revenue and forecast more trouble during the year, pushing its shares down 8 percent.

Ironically, Hefner and associates see this as being a victim of their own success. Pornography is so now entrenched in western culture that it is one of the largest staples on web servers worldwide, offering up woman flesh for free. How can you compete with that?

"This will be a transitional year as we are still in the investment stage of the retooling process, and results won't be apparent until year-end at the earliest," Hefner said.

Transition from vice to virtue is not an option; rather, Hugh needs to create a market where more money flows from the lust that has always paid his mortgage. Time to roll up the sleeves of that silk bathrobe and lay the lash on something other than his stable of women. They've done their part admirably.

UPDATE: Seems those closest to HH personally are finding disappointment unrelated to the above-mentioned declining revenue:

Since she first laid eyes on the Playboy mogul in 2001, Hugh Hefner's "lead" girlfriend Holly Madison has made it no secret that she wants to get hitched to the 82-year-old. But it seems the busty blonde is starting to give up on her dream. “We are no closer to getting married than we were years ago,” a dejected Holly told Tarts at last week’s “Playmate of the Year” luncheon held at the iconic Mansion. “It’s like a car stalled at the side of the road.”

Marriage is not on his horizon, leading two of his other, um, major squeezes to consider moving on as well.

Speaking of endings, could his other two “Girls Next Door,” Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson, also be getting ready to move on? “My goal is to be hosting my own show and be happily married with children, so I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately,” Bridget said.

Kendra added that her future plans also involve motherhood and marriage while at the same time she aspires to build up her brand name, so with her own label Kdub clothing ready to launch, it seems she’s well on the way to independence.

Who knew marriage was so attractive, even to those in such corners of civilisation? God bless them with their future plans, and may He draw them all closer to true love. [And no, I don't spend all my free time on gossip columns; but you simply have to admit that this is riveting stuff!]

Some parents have odd standards

Winning "Playmate of the Year" hands down for her "amazing body" (sayeth Hugh), was not only thrilling for Jayde Nicole, but for her parents as well:

"Everyone is so excited and my parents couldn’t be happier," the 22-year-old brunette told Pop Tarts at Thursday’s Playmate of the Year luncheon held at the iconic Playboy Mansion. "They’ve come all the way down here from Ontario to support me."

But for a gal who was once "terrified" of being nude, Jayde has certainly come a long way. "I used to just be a regular model; I did runway and fashion," said the Playmate who also owns her own modeling agency. "Going nude seemed terrifying, but I bought a magazine and saw how classy it was and I changed my mind.

"My first shoot was so nerve-racking. I had my robe on and they were just like ‘OK, drop it,’ and I kind of freaked. But everyone was totally professional so it was all smooth sailing. I’m pretty comfortable with it now." Well, that’s just as well, as supersized copies of her nude spread were displayed throughout the lush luncheon.

Yeah, classy all right. I imagine that's how everyone keeps their weight down.

"Consent" must be irrelevant

First Things provides the transcript of an excellent report from NPR on human trafficking. It begins with a conversation in which a young lady is bartered by Florin, a Romanian pimp.

Florin represents the worst of the worst: selling not only a sex slave but an abused, scared, suicidal girl with Down syndrome out of a sewage-infested store, caring little how much she is beaten and raped. All for less than $2,400.

In other places, the price is much lower:

"In 1850, a slave would cost roughly $30,000 to $40,000 — in other words it was like investing in a Mercedes. Today you can go to Haiti and buy a 9-year-old girl to use as a sexual and domestic slave for $50. The devaluation of human life is incredibly pronounced."

While some "invest" in their own slaves, most victims are held in brothels for day-to-day "work."

The average age of a prostitute is now about fifteen. According to Joe Parker, who works with these women: “Survivors usually have some combination of depression, anxiety, and dissociative disorders. Brain damage, psychosis, and suicide are common.” Or consider girls in Latino brothels, “some as young as 12” who, according to Polaris Project’s Bradley Myles, “are forced to have sex with a different man every fifteen minutes, from 30 to as many as 55 ‘customers’ per day. After a few weeks in these horrific conditions, dissociation from reality as a sheer survival mechanism creates lifelong scars.” Needless to say, testimony of coercion against pimps who beat, sadistically rape, and psychologically manipulate prostitutes is sparse.

The critical debate, according to the reporter/reviewer, Logan Paul Gage, is between the author of the book quoted above, A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery by E. Benjamin Skinner, and another abolition effort led by Michael Horowitz of the Hudson Institute, which wants to indict every pimp as an abuser. Horowitz's point is that you must make a sweeping moral case against all prostitution, or else a pimp will simply coerce the girl to say she chose that way of life freely.

Believing that some really do want to be prostitutes, Skinner thinks it ridiculous to prosecute those who are on the level of Eliot Spitzer's call girl. The problem with this sort of "uber-sophistication" is that to defend their choice means to oppress those who have no choice, because the line is very unclear. This point is made by highlighting the physical and sexual abuse of children beneath the radar that so degrades them as to negate their authentic choices in later years.

If anything, let this article open your eyes to the enormity of the problem.

According to the State Department, more than 800,000 people (two-thirds are women and children) are trafficked across national borders, and millions within national borders, annually. But what does slavery mean today? Skinner insists upon the following tripartite definition: “A slave is a human being who is forced to work through fraud or threat of violence for no pay beyond subsistence.”

Remember, for all the slaves exported annually (for years of service) there are the full brothels waiting for the sex tourists to stop in for their fix. Most of these girls suffer the psychological damage mentioned above, and become drug addicts before a grisly, early death at their own hands or those of others. Pray to end this madness. Pray for the victims -- both those enslaved and those who are slaves of their own disordered passions. And pray for those working to end this through legal means. Jesus, mercy! Only grace can bring all of these folks back to life.

UPDATE: Long but excellent article here. To be sure, Stella Rotaru = a unique brand of feminine genius.

Good legislation

Despite being labeled as another indicator of the "nanny state, over at NRO, I firmly believe that Rep. Paul Broun's legislation to ban pornography sales on military bases is a good thing. This is not an effort to ban the consumption of the vile stuff, only not to be a party to making it available. Some good emails have come into the Corner, making the point better than I could:

Adultery is still a violation of the UCMJ, and sexual behavior is a major factor in unit cohesion. We have long forbidden military members use of government equipment (particularly computers and computer networks) and, while I was in the Navy (’95-’07) the NEX and MCX (Navy and Marine Corps exchanges) did not carry pornography. I don’t know about AAFES. This was typically supported by officers and senior enlisted. Mid- to Junior level enlisted did not like it. The fact is, character matters and it matters tremendously in combat. Encouraging behavior that corrupts character (gambling, excessive alcohol, sex) is contrary to the military’s best interests. I know there are those who think these are "manly" vices and indicate a robust military. I did not find it so.

Of course, I was a chaplain, so I tended to see those negatively affected by these vices. Those "positively" affected didn’t come to see me.

And the reality of life in the military:

I have been in the U.S. Navy since 1988 and I wholeheartedly agree that pornography should be banned from military exchanges.  There is no reason for it to be there, as it is widely available elsewhere for those who want it.  The military continually tells us that they care about military families and that fostering stable family lives helps personnel to better cope with the stress of long deployments.   Peddling pornography does not square with the pro-family message.

The military is hard enough on families.  We deploy personnel away from their families for months/years at a time and we station members of the opposite sex together in units, while their wives and husbands sit at home and wonder what is going on.  As a Navy Officer, I did a Mediterranean cruise back in ’93.  When we returned from that deployment, four of the sixteen sailors in our small department (16 in all) filed for divorce from their wives, due to things that had happened while they were gone.  And that was before women served on ships, I can just imagine what goes on now.

Deployments are unavoidable, as is (unfortunately), deploying men and women together and housing them in close quarters during times of extreme stress.  It may be a small gesture, but refusing to sell products that unquestionably undermine marriage, is something the military should do.

Having been a navy wife with husband deployed for very long periods of time, I was grateful not to have to even wonder about distractions -- since he flew jets, which comprised an all-male community at the time. Like all JO's, he counseled enlisted men, many of whose lives were often already a complicated mess. Certainly the authorities cannot provide the very materials that add to the problems.

In the end, those who support this legislation are going to have to use and be comfortable with certain language: duty, honour, sacrifice, dignity, integrity, character and (yes) chivalry. There is a manly code that undergirds a stable fighting force. The warrior cult exists -- and without it, the mission crumbles. These notions may be laughable in the wider world, but the military must make some effort to hold onto them, or it becomes just one more government jobs program.

UPDATE: Lisa Schiffren comes back with a defense of immorality of keeping troops in order:

Back in 1991, during Desert Storm, I worked at the Pentagon. I was, at first, taken aback to see routine message traffic cross my desk discussing explicitly the logistical arrangements for "R&R" for the troops. How were the boys  at bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and how were they going to get action? The problem, I still recall, was that the normal ports of call in nearby Africa were having problems with AIDS, which was still newish. Whichever country was the traditional port was very miffed at losing the business, because those soldiers at the bars and brothels were a big source of hard currency. Almost anywhere in a reasonable distance was under the sway of the mullahs. I bet you're wondering how the military solved this problem. My recollection is a little hazy, since this was something I followed mainly for entertainment (as did my Special Ops colleagues). But I believe the government of Romania made an offer. Eastern Europe was just emerging from the Soviet boot, and a bunch of those countries really wanted the business. Romania was judged to have better resort infrastructure than most. And I also believe that one of the less religious Gulf emirates decided that it would allow a few huge "party ships" to dock just offshore. I suppose we transported our troops to Romania. I don't know who brought the hookers to the ships. Everyone winked and nodded, and the troops carried on.

Yes, Kathryn, we want our forces to be honorable and decent. And mostly they are. Even the ones who go drinking and whoring Saturday night, mutter prayers in a foxhole. That is fairly traditional human behavior, which does not bear excessive scrutiny. Whatever Judeo-Christian values we choose to practice and live among here at home, in peace, we are better off not feminizing or Christianizing the military any more than we can avoid.

So chastity is too feminine or Christian for the US Army. Then you have just sided with the enemy, and I don't mean Al Qaida. You've thrown in with the notion that "boys must be boys," that Romanian whores are better than frustration or "going blind," that "traditional human behaviour" is adequate, and that STD's and divorce will simply have to be the price for American military interests.

I'm wading through A Distant Mirror, an account of the 14th century which is full of death, destruction, pillage and rape. I'm no naif, but "God Bless America" means something. Look at the outcry over sexual attacks from US soldiers in the Japan and the Philippines recently.

This has to be thought through better, but I'm discouraged, knowing the mainstreaming of porn everywhere. This reaction reminds me of the Casey decision that said "women have arranged their lives around access to abortion," so it has to remain available. Same with men and access to "flesh."

UPDATE: another very good comment here.

Beyond picketing

Well, Benedict beautifully laid out a game plan for the bishops, emphasising the various areas of catechesis underscored by a strong prayer life, in order to renew the flock here in America. Let's focus on this particular point:

[Considering the scandal, its effects on children and the need for reform] it is vitally important that the vulnerable always be shielded from those who would cause harm. In this regard, your efforts to heal and protect are bearing great fruit not only for those directly under your pastoral care, but for all of society.

If they are to achieve their full purpose, however, the policies and programs you have adopted need to be placed in a wider context. Children deserve to grow up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and its proper place in human relationships. They should be spared the degrading manifestations and the crude manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today. They have a right to be educated in authentic moral values rooted in the dignity of the human person. This brings us back to our consideration of the centrality of the family and the need to promote the Gospel of life. What does it mean to speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today? We need to reassess urgently the values underpinning society, so that a sound moral formation can be offered to young people and adults alike. All have a part to play in this task - not only parents, religious leaders, teachers and catechists, but the media and entertainment industries as well. Indeed, every member of society can contribute to this moral renewal and benefit from it. Truly caring about young people and the future of our civilization means recognizing our responsibility to promote and live by the authentic moral values which alone enable the human person to flourish. It falls to you, as pastors modelled upon Christ, the Good Shepherd, to proclaim this message loud and clear, and thus to address the sin of abuse within the wider context of sexual mores. Moreover, by acknowledging and confronting the problem when it occurs in an ecclesial setting, you can give a lead to others, since this scourge is found not only within your Dioceses, but in every sector of society. It calls for a determined, collective response.

He is reiterating that point in his homily in Nationals Stadium as I type this. My dear readers -- we must take this to prayer and listen to the Spirit for direction on how best to do our part. Obviously the consumers of porn are predominantly men, meaning that the images are predominantly women. (Same-sex attraction disorder provides another challenge that is outside our purview here.) As women, a tremendous responsibility falls to us to raise the bar on purity, modesty, human dignity and respect for the sacred gift of our sexuality.

I am not laying out a game plan (yet!) It is a time for reflection about the nature of this problem in the third millennium. Picketing outside "adult movie venues" may have had its effectiveness at one time, but the internet makes all previous forms of protest obsolete. We have to ask:

• Is there a prayer already in circulation combatting the evils of pornography?
• Is there an effective apostolate in place that we can promote and support?
• Where can we find a source for information about this addiction and how can we disseminate it more widely?
• Are there effective means to limit access or discourage consumption of porn?
• Are there discernable root causes that can be categorised and combatted early?
• Are there testimonies of men (and women) who have been healed of their addiction?
• Are there patron saints dealing with this subject?
• All thoughts are welcome on how to proceed, though priority must be given to prayer.

Let is offer this to Mary Immaculate (Patroness of America and to whom the Basilica was dedicated -- where the words above were spoken) for guidance and support. There is so much we can do, must do, and with the prayers of the Holy Father enjoined to ours, grace will make manifest how to proceed.

I registered my complaint...

Who will join me? This was in my face at the check-out stand at the local grocery store. Family venue. Folks doing their shopping for both Easter and Passover. Soft porn. Unacceptable. I even tried to turn it over, but the back was more of the same. Just pop over to the customer service desk with a copy and make your thoughts known. We can't keep it from being sold, but we can ask that it be removed from this Throne of Visibility.

What's the "Purpose," really?

There are names in the protestant world that most people know, such as Billy Graham, Dr D James Kennedy, etc. because of their enormous media impact. Bully for them if they can take the Gospel as they know it and try to make a difference. Of course few have not heard of Rick Warren (who wrote The Purpose Driven Life) which has even been studied by Catholic books clubs to parse the good from the theologically unacceptable. The book has spun off into many other derivatives in order to bring meaning into a cluttered and materialistic world.

Rick Warren is also the pastor of a mega-church in Orange County, CA called Saddleback. Being such a success, it's no surprise that he has the ear of other influential people, but what is beyond troubling is the fact that one of his parishioners is Rupert Murdock.

Mega-pastor Rick Warren is being challenged by other Christian leaders for not disciplining a prominent member of his California Saddleback Church flock for being one of the world's leading pornographers.

That would be Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp., which, in addition to building a media empire on the chests of topless models and edgy, pushing-the-envelope Fox TV network shows, recently began building a stable of hard-core porn channels for its BSkyB subsidiary.

"Rupert Murdoch is a born-again Christian and Rick Warren claims to be his pastor," says Chris Rosebrough, head of the Christian Accountability Network. "As a Christian, Murdoch is committing an egregious sin by owning, expanding and profiting from pornographic channels, and Rick Warren, his pastor, has a biblical duty to call Murdoch to repentance and/or put him out of the church."

Now Warren has pressed his case that there is common ground, he is carrying on a conversation, and that pastorally he is working with this stray to bring him into fuller communion with Jesus. Of course this is complicated by the fact that Murdock is the publisher of Warren's books. Tricky. Rosebrough notes the difference between "working" and "pastoring," beginning with a comment from Warren:

“I don't have to agree with 100 percent of what another person does in order to work with them on the 20 percent that we do agree on.”

[Rosebrough responds] But, “Working with a person” is a completely different issue than “pastoring a person”. All of us work with people who have different religious beliefs than we do or have different moral values than we have. That is just part of the reality of the ‘working world’. But when it comes to our pastors we expect to share the same values and same morals that they do. In fact, I can’t imagine going to a church where I only shared 20 percent of the same beliefs as my pastor. One could easlily argue that if you disagreed with 80% of your pastor's beliefs you probably don't even share the same religion.

This mirrors the debate in Catholic circles about whether pro-abortion politicians should be able to maintain good status in their Catholic parishes -- something about which prominent cardinals have said they're "keeping lines of communication open" as a pastoral plan. We can attest to the fact that many prominent Catholics seems to have little in common with the Magisterium if their own Church. Sure, Jesus came to call sinners, but He was also quite adament on how people were to be treated, especially concerning the young and vulnerable. He also had strong opinions on sins of the flesh.

What is known is that Murdock's wealth provides enormous leverage, and it was created in large part by his total disregard for ethics -- especially his personal ability to trade on the flesh of women. Now it seems that Warren has backed off his claim that Murdock is a member of his flock, but he's not talking otherwise. What we do know is that yearly the body count rises, pornography proliferates, and families are shredded. Conversions happen, but likewise the darkness intensifies. Scandal is scandal is scandal. We cannot saddle Rick Warren with the proclivities of his publisher and friend, but it would seem that he has chosen to fiddle while lust burns.

Shell shock

What's in a name? Shell is playing a game with words as it creates a semantic loop-hole to protect the sale of Playboy and Penthouse at its stations. How nice to hear that Florida Family Association has an ongoing policy to keep such pornographic magazines out of the convenience stores. Their site marks a record of 148,000 retails stores who comply (!), but now Shell has created a new moniker for lad mags.

Shell Oil Co. has determined "Playboy" and "Penthouse" no longer are pornography, but instead are "adult sophisticates," according to a company statement.

One cannot take seriously the proposition that "sophistication" drives men to look at naked women. Neither the puerile boys nor the morally-dead adult men who consume these and similar products are associated with that profile, and to attribute them with sophistication requires a rewrite of all relevant dictionary entries.

The story is not completely straight-forward, because it seems that the was a bulk purchase of Shell stations by Circle-K convenience stores, which has led to the shift in policy. Neither Shell nor Circle-K inhabit any moral high ground in the decision -- rather it was a combination of factors. All-in-all, whether you write to them or boycott either one, we should be heartened that chivalrous men have undertaken such a stellar campaign for purity. Kudos!