Fucking Parent Groups (not porn)

I go off on parent groups being shit all the time, this is pretty much more of the same. Same dance, new tune.

I saw this on Yahoo, "Parent Groups Colds TV Shows for sexualizing young girls" which I can agree is not the best thing for shows to be doing, but one of the first thing the article does is list shows that are "popular" with the 12-17 crowd. First, that group is too large, 12 year old and 17 year olds are at different maturity levels and are interested in different forms of television. And second, not very show listed is necessarially for that age group, or for that entire age group. House, Family Guy, Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, Desperate Housewives. I mean, they just went after prime time TV, which is when this age group should be studying or doing their homework.

But I also question how much sexualization is too much? Telling teens that teens don't have sex is a lie, looking around many middle and high schools you see visible examples of teens who are having sex. But I think it's worse when you don't know, those girls could be much worse off, I mean, if they are boning, not if they are virgins. I approve of Glee showcasing a pregnant teen in the first season, hot out the gate with that decision. That little bit of truth shows some of what teens have to deal with in that situation, even if it's over hyped and extra-ridiculous pretty much all the time. My point being, the irl is ashamed and embarrassed, but has to deal with it, that's real-ish.

You know, looking at all the things that cause eating disorders, do girls raised without any social pressures what so ever just not develop eating disorders? I want to see this experiment. Take 300 girls, put them in an isolated location from the age of 2 until 18 allow no outside media, no comparisons, no whatever causes eating disorders and social anxiety disorders and see what happens. I'm just saying.

Response to Two-and-a-Half Men - women have already been reduced to sexual objects in media. This show isn't reducing it, just perpetuating the myth that exists in our society. Case in point: why are women areola and nipples more harmful than men areola and nipples? They're the same thing, modified skin cells and sweat glands, but remember what happened when we saw Janet Jackson's ray encircled nipple? Children were hurt by it. The children were scarred! But that extra fat, hairy, bear of a man at the beach in swimming trunks, or a Speedo, their nipples don't harm children. I mean, maybe they run screaming from the fat, just not their nipples.

Why is there no show of sexualization of men? I mean, that's all Sex in the City did, right? I barely watched any episode so I really don't know. I know this study was on network television and not cable, but why don't people ever talk about the issues boys and men have to live up to societal demands? I personally know two dudes who have body image hang ups. Opposite ends of the spectrum. Where are the studies talking about how overly muscular men or extra ripped guys in television harm boys? What about them? Also, why is a sexual situation in a relationship or to build a relationship the only form of a healthy sexual relationship? One night stands don't necessarily objectify men or women, I'd rather see characters get off than be cuckholds and abstinent. Where are the television shows that talk about proper condom use and the psychological effects sex has on a person? Also, show me the outside of skinny gettin' it on, somebody loves every shape. Showing a bigger person, male or female,  boning, or implying that they're going to or they did will help kids understand that they don't have to be waifs to get laid.


Jasmine P.

Do Something Great This Weekend

Alright, I’m still pissed off over Barnes & Nobel calling this week ‘Black Friday Week’ on top of Black Friday even existing, but my rage from this morning as dissipated a bit and I’m going to do something constructive. I’m going to ask you to donate but in a few different ways that I think are great.

First, I implore you to donate money or blood to the American Red Cross. For some of you donating blood is a bit of a commitment, which is why I point out that you can also donate money to the Red Cross. I ask for a blood donation first because they always need blood, I assume they always need money too but blood and components are more important to me. A few years ago when my mother was sick the donations of blood, packed white blood cells, packed red blood cells and plasma were important and great in helping her. Due to the kindness of other people she made it a bit longer and was able to take care of some things before dying. She encouraged my brothers and myself to donate, as a way to pay forward the kindness of someone else who donated. I have reasons to not be able to donate blood, but will find a chance to donate money to the Red Cross, which is tax deductible for the fiscally minded in the room.
Information on donating to the Red Cross can be found here: Donation information

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If you want to donate money to children, there's Desert Bus for Hope. It's a real time game about driving from LA to Las Vegas, a 6 hour drive or something, but the bus is made to not be able to drive straight so you can't just hold don the button and walk away which the game plays itself. Donations means people play this game for longer periods of time, it's a vicious hellish road or boredom with very little. When you complete the trip, you are awarded with a return trip! Should you crash you get to wait for a tow truck to pick you up! Riveting, isn't it? The money donated goes to Child's Play, an organization that gets video game systems and toys into hospitals to make a child's stay suck a little less. You can straight donate money to DBH, or you can  bid on some of their fabulous auctioned prizes, which currently include Jayne's Hat, a Megaman helmet knit hat and other handmade goodies, a Darth Vader figure in it's original 1996 box and what not. Some Dark Horse merchandise has be put up for auction; there's a replica of Ramona's star bag, a pixel Goomba blanket, Magic cards, a DJ Hero bundle, and more, so you can be selfish and helpful at the same time! What I really like about DBH is that is showed up out of nowhere i 2007, I heard about it then, and it's been growing since.

Desert Bus for Hope Child's Play

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The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society because it's not  all about breast cancer, and which is what my mom had.They have some text message donation and different ways to help, and things you can buy online if you want to help that way.

Donate online right now and How to Help

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I think I've tapped out my writing abilities for now, but please, if you can, donate. If not to these donate to other valid and safe groups that need money or attention. There are national bone marrow donation groups, specific cancers, children, education, homeless, LGBT groups and more out there that need attention. I decided to channel my rage in getting an e-mail calling this week 'Black Friday Week' into sharing information about worthy groups that are always looking for help. So please, do something great and donate. Not just this winter, not just winter but all year round, the need doesn't stop just because the year's over.


Jasmine P.

Seven Words...

Beetle Bailey. I don't own it.

 
Shit. Piss. Fuck. Cunt. Cocksucker. Motherfucker. Tits.

Those seven words are George Carlin's original "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television" (1972). It was revised a few years later to remove 'motherfucker' but the rhythm was lost so he reinstated it. It flows, say it out loud. Shit. Piss. Fuck. Cunt. Cocksucker. Motherfucker. Tits.

Wow, Sarge's cursing turned into onomatopoeia...fuckin' a...

This is 1972, it took until the 90s for asshole to really be said on television.  Slowly, almost 20 years later these words found their way to television. I'm not dead and I still have some pretty damn good morals if you ask me. Almost 40 years later A television show is getting hell for having grawlix (@!#$& in place of profanity) in it's title, in a situational comedy that I'll assume is geared towards adults. It's already self censoring so why are parent groups getting pissed over something that gets shows in the daily or Sunday comics? Hell, there's a 'no cursing' sign that's popular around Virginia Beach and possibly other public locations that is a the 'no' circle&slash over grawlix to symbolize 'no cursing.' How is that acceptable in public but having a show title with four grawlix symbols be improper for television?

Grawlix Sign

I'm at the moment raging about these frigging parent groups being worried about grawlix on television. Seriously, they're swirls, lightening bolts and exclaimation points. I've used them mostly because they're funny. And I was it was in a class sketchbook, I try to keep those respectable for my professor.

Hey! I drew this! My character Methvin slipping on ice. Classy slapstick, I know.

I used grawlix here because it was funnier than having him shout 'fuck' and I wanted to be respectful for my teacher when he saw it. I knew what he was saying, but any word can be put in that jagged speech bubble. As for the show's title "Shit My Dad Says" inspired by a Twitter feed, that spawned a book. I dunno, it's a show about a grumpy old man. The only people who'd want to watch a show about bitchy old people are  adults who have to deal with their own bitchy old people so I really don't see why parents are in such a huff over a show that I highly doubt too many children would watch. It's like me watching Seinfeld as a kid. I didn't get why the show was funny. As as adult I can appreciate it being clever and I think it's less shitty then I did when Ibetween the ages of 1-10 during the show's entire run. Children don't get adult humour.

I say 'fuck it' to people who don't curse around their kids. I'm all about them sticking to their guns, but when it gets around to policing other people I rally the First Amendment Brigade. I call upon the late and great Lenny Bruce and George Carlin who were practically martyred for being profane in their stand up. They paved the way for slowing the hell that the FCC made television and movies. I mean think about the fact that Alfred Hitchcock was the first person to not just show a fucking toilet in a movie (Psycho (1960)), but to have it flush and it was a plot device. Some show from 1947 called Mary Kay and Johnny was the first to show a couple in bed at the same time, on television.

Two beds, one couple?

All this amounts to and all my anger is that showing reality on television isn't going to kill a child. Like the book fucking says EVERYONE POOPS! Why are bodily functions so squeamish? Part of the only reason animals work so hard at hiding them is to keep from being found by predators or for sanitation reasons. A child hearing profanity isn't going to grow up to join a biker gang or or have a million kids.

Essentially I'm rallying the troops against people who have issues with words. People assign meanings to them. Words don't mean anything, I could get into that who batch of semantics, but my point is that people need to stop worrying about the children. Fuck the children (in a metaphorical way. If you're fucking children, you out to be apart of a human centipede, so fucking lie, bastards). Why is our world being dumbed down for children? The world of a child is different from the world of an adult I get that. Why are we making such a fuss to make the adult world clean enough for children. Instead society, parents, families should be preparing their children for just how harsh and rough life is as an adult. I've said it before somewhere here, but keeping a child in a bubble does them no good.Teach a child, don't shield them from the world and they will be better prepared for what's out there then if you keep them from ever learning about bad things.

Petitioning sponsors to not sponsor a show you disagree with makes you a bully and an asshole. There's more to American than 'Christian' morals. I'm quite saddened that Swingtown got canceled a few years back because some prudes didn't like a show about consensual extra-marital fornication, even if all four partners were there and agreed with everything. I would have loved to see the show come into it's own and see what topics it would have dealt with. Sex is an untapped and very un-understood vehicle for conversation. It's too fucking taboo.I wonder, is it the mechanics of it that people are embarrassed about, or the nudity? Out society dislikes it's genitals too much. Penis. Vagina. They're words, there's nothing wrong with words. People give words power over them and over their minds, which is how we get to this point that people are pissy over a pictorial representation of 'foul' language. Whatever four symbols are used for the show aren't that bad. I mean, walk through a bookstore, there's profanity on all sorts of book stores. Just look at the documentary Fuck, it takes a fair stance between the liberal belief and the conservative belief to look at how that one word gets used in society, it's actually a really heavy documentary.

I think I've lost my point and half ass ended this about three times four paragraphs ago. Long story short, leave the show's title as it is. Grawlix are everywhere, in the Sunday paper, on public property, and more. It's not 'hurting the children'. The world is made for adults, the smaller population between adults and children, but the side with power and control. Let adults watch a show geared toward what their lives are about, aging baby-boomers (and maybe hippies) who are either pissy at home or pissy in a retirement home. It's life, life happens. It doesn't kill the children.

Censorship.

Jasmine P.

Relevant or Interest Links:
Youtube: George Carlin Seven Dirty Words... Not the original performance, but still great. It gets the point. There are a few great copies and variations
The Examiner
National Journal. (.com?)
Federal Communications Commission - Dated 2008
Lawbrain
A Blog About Swearing Around Children
Twitter: Shit My Dad Says
Snopes: Early to Bed
Snopes: First Toilet on TV(Kind of)
Fuck (film)