link--this

Let me ask this - My guess is many of us here are mid-20's, early 30's or so. Let's pretend we are out our parents houses, going through some boxes of old stuff, papers, junk, etc. We come to an old manilla envelope, open it up and find some photos and a couple of magazines. The photos are pictures of our mother osing naked. The photos also published in the magazines. These were photos and magaiznes both before and after we were born. We never knew about them until now.

Now, before we go saying "it doesn't bother me, it was her business, yadda yadda yadda" lets take a step back and realize what these magazines are truely for. Call it art, call it whatever, but all they are are masturbation rags. So, in our scenario, there is our mother lying stark naked in provocative poses. Now think about some guy masturbating to a picture of your mother.

Where am I going with this? Well, fast forward to perhaps 15, 20 years from now. The Internet of course will be transformed but such a huge repository for information of all kinds, that it dwarfs todays total number of bits and bytes. Our even go back a bit, 10 years, and our kids are on the Net, decide to do a search for their mother at school and happen to come up on a historical archive that happens to have pictures of your breats (and penis's for the fathers, as to not be biased about this). What do you tell them after they have been embarrased at school and ashamed at what they are seeing?

My point is this - when we become married and parents and professionals, we now have certain responsibilities. We are now part of a society that does have certain rules and moral standards. In our society, it is not morally acceptable to go flashing our breasts or penis's in public (and yes, this site and the penis site is a public place). Whether we all agree with that moral standard or not, that is just the way it is. Do I stand up for it? No. I am all for if a woman wants to walk around bare chested as a man, than it should be fine. We should not be ashamed of that nor should it be taboo, however, this is not what the majority of the judea-christian western civilization thinks is acceptable, so I simply have to accept that. Here is a good example of what I am talking about - a nurse ran a web site where she would poses and have sex with her husband for viewing of members of the site. They of course made money off of this. Her work found out about this and fired her. Do I think that is right? Of course not. But do I understand why they did it? Yes. Because of those moral standards that our society has adopted, I agree that was the right thing to do.
Of course, what we do in the provacy of our own homes is our very own business, and we should not be ostricized for it. However, when we decide to open up your blinds, turn the lights on, put signs up saying "come see me and my husband perform lewd sex acts", do others in our community have a right to be upset? Sure they do. You have opened up what you do in your own home to let everyone, children included to see, with no restrictions. Should we say "if you dont like it, walk on by and don't look. We are doing it in our own home, on the property we purchased in the house that we built, with our money..." I don;t think anyone here will disagree with me that that statement is silly. Why then, is the Net any different when we place web pages that we made, with domain names that we bought, but think we have the right to post anything we want and to hell with the rest of the people who may come acrossed it? Why is the "don't like it, don't come here" any different than the analogy I just gave?
It boils down to this - responsibility. We are no longer 19 or 20 in college and can go get drunk and go to spring break and flash our privates without any thought of who will see it. We are adults with husbands and wives with children we are supposed to be setting a good example for to grow into helathy respectful and responsible adults. The "you can do anything you want and don't worry about what anyone else thinks of you, cause it doesn't matter" attitude may sound good and fine, but it really does matter what people think of you.
Don't beleive me - then go down to the county courthouse in your areas and strip naked and smear chocolate syrup all over your bodies. See how fast you go to jail, make the news and never get another job other than bagging groceries at the local supermarket.

¤ ¤ credit: garbanzabean | 04.17.03 at 05:49 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

As the winner of the popular vote of last year's boobie-thon, I definately have no problem with the penisblog either. My only problem is that I'm bisexual and I don't find looking at the male penis all that stimulating. It's a weird looking thing don't you think? hehe

I did however simply adore the humorous entries. I have a collection of photos of people doing weird things with penii & boobies and it's that creativitiy that made me go and look at all the entries. I have one with a man who dressed his penis up like a doll, little dress, hat, arms and drew the face on the "fireman's helmet". It is really damn funny.

Bravo for those that entered & my hat goes off to Abe!

¤ ¤ credit: Jessica Parker | 04.17.03 at 05:54 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

I have read Playboy on more than one occasion (yes, actually read it). I have never, ever masturbated to it. Next argument, please.

My only responsbility is to my husband. I am a grown adult without children. Period. And if we based every decision we ever made in life on what our kids might think of it one day.....

That said, if I ever am blessed with children -- I would hope above else I've taught them to love and respect the human body. Not be ashamed of theirs. Or mine. Or anyone else's for that matter.

Pity you can't separate art and photography from hardcore porn.

¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 04.17.03 at 06:01 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

When we have kids, mostly everything we do is and should be based on them. They are our legacy and mark on the world. I for one, hope the impression I leave on this world through my son is a good one.

¤ ¤ credit: garbanzabean | 04.17.03 at 06:26 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

I. Do. Not. Have. Kids.

And if I did, they will be raised to be as open-minded, caring, and respectful of their body -- and everyone else's around them -- as I am.

But I refuse to live my childless life as if I have a responsibility to something I don't. You live yours the way you see fit. I'll do the same.

Thank you. Drive through. Enjoy your tour.

¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 04.17.03 at 06:28 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Dan and I do have children yet still live our lives the way we see fit. I think they'll both respect our honesty and learn to be honest and forthright themselves.

And distinctly lacking in the false shame and modesty foisted on them by a 200 year old religious splinter group who got so very lucky.

¤ ¤ credit: Sekimori | 04.17.03 at 06:43 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

I've actually pondered what Garbanzabean there has said before though. I do have a kid, and I posted nude photos on line (not just of breasts either, mind you) after he was born. At the time, I didn't think about archiving. I really don't know how I would feel if my child, or my current boss, or my Mom, found those photos. Not the whole masturbation thing, but more so I just don't really know if I want that much info spread about me. (Bra & wet t-shirt photos, don't care. I'm talking about the nude ones.)

It is a valid point, and one that a lot of us in the blog world don't stop to think about when we are just tossing photos online. However, we are all adults, and we should all know by now that we are making a choice to suffer from the consequences of our own actions. If it keeps me from running for office someday, oh well. I didn't want to be president anyways.

All in all - his comment really addresses a bigger issue. What's happening to the data we are putting out there? And do we think about it before we do it? I normally don't - but should I? In my opinion - yes, I should.

But getting back on topic - gay, straight, I don't care. A hot naked man is a hot naked man. I watch "Queer as Folk" for a reason! Mmmmm... hot meat!

¤ ¤ credit: Christine | 04.17.03 at 06:46 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

If you go have a look at the boobie photos, you'll notice that the most risque photos were mine. I was the only one who really came close to "bearing the whole breast". You should also know that I did this because my blog is anonymous. There are a select few people who know who I really am. My blog is a form of escapism for me. I can say what's really on my mind, flash my boobies without it coming back to bite me on the arse later.

That said, even if I wasn't anonymous, I still would have participated, perhaps not showing quite as much, but I still would have donned a wet t-shirt and helped raise money for charity.

If children or parent in the future came across it and asked about it, I would explain that I'm not ashamed of my body and that I helped raise money for charity, for breast cancer research.

BTW, here in Australia, women have stood on the steps of parliament with bare breasts branded with slogans and have not been put in prison for it. I don't know where you live, but I don't want to visit the place if the laws are so strict.

My blog is anonymous for reasons other than me showing flesh BTW. It's because I talk about bisexuality and I work with children, and I don't want my mother to know I've had a threesome with my life partner, but it sure is great to chat anonymously about it with people.

We all knew what we were doing when we flashed our boobies. We're all proud liberated women who are not ashamed for ourselves or our future children. Can you say the same?

¤ ¤ credit: Jessica Parker | 04.17.03 at 06:48 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Christine, I think putting "full nudes" online is different than "rack shots". There's nothing with my breasts attached to my face that my child would ever have to see. Purposely. Not that there's anything wrong with those who do. It's just a distinction I've made for the photographs I put online of myself.

¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 04.17.03 at 06:56 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Christine,
You would be very very surprised at how much data is archived right now as we speak. And it is all accessible for free. Take google groups for example. Google groups has archives on Usenet news groups dating back to 1981. Usenet is the biggest public discussion forum on any network that ranges from silly irrelevant things to folks discussion criminal issues to psychological issues about themselves. There is also a world wide web archive called the wayback machine that archives web pages dating back to I beleive 94 or 95. Also, google itself archives web pages.

So yes, this information is out there right now and I shudder to think about how much is collected in the next 5 to 10 years. So yes, I am one who is now very careful about what I say and do online for the very sake that it can come right back and bite me or my children.

¤ ¤ credit: garbanzabean | 04.17.03 at 07:07 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

In a way I agree that what you do affects how others see you and that's why I tried to make sure potential clients who visited my own blog didn't know about my boob picture because some of them may not have taken me seriously if they have a hangup about it (or if they liked it too much). It's also an individual choice we have as Americans to decide what is or isn't harmful to our reputations and whether we give a rat's ass. But I also believe that when you have kids, you owe it to them to be a good role model and not do anything that would shame them and again, that is an individual decision based on current social mores and if your child complains about something specific. I don't have kids and probably never will so I consider, to a certain extent, whether any action would put a perpetual stain on my family name because I believe everyone has that overall responsibility to their family. Setting fire to a school, robbing a bank, killing someone, yes that would stain my family name. Having a picture of my boobs on the internet amidst a sea of a billion pages showing much worse, no, worth no more than a momentary "what were you thinking?", if that. Of course, every family has their own set of standards so their "stain potential" would be different. With that said, c'mon. Is just showing some boobs or penii really that morally reprehensible? It would be tough for me to live with a moral threshold that high!

¤ ¤ credit: Lauri | 04.17.03 at 07:10 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Heh! Public caches are for those too lame to block the spiders.

I'm over 30, done tons of silly things, and really don't care if I have to point back to any single one of them as an object lesson.

The fact that we have categorized several million shades of color is somehow lost on the moral absolutists who insist that life is made up of black and white terms.

It is up to each of us to live our lives responsibly - as we see fit. Sure each action has a consquential outcome, but as long as we are prepared for it (or can mitigate it), its all good!

(While I might not readily pose for a straight twig&berries shot, I'm all for a "Blogger Boxers/Briefs Booty Drive") :-)

¤ ¤ credit: Don | 04.17.03 at 07:20 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Actually, I should have said "It's our individual choice as humans...", not just Americans. Sorry to get all patriotic in front of my non-American friends!

¤ ¤ credit: Lauri | 04.17.03 at 07:26 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

I am not ashamed of my breasts. I have a husband that enjoys them and respects them. I have a child that was nourished for the first year of her life by them. IF I had been a participant in the boobie-a-thon to raise money for breast cancer research I would not be ashamed of it, or scared that one day my munchkin would come across it on the internet. I will be raising her to love her body and to not be ashamed of it.
I feel sorry for the people out there that are ashamed of their bodies.

¤ ¤ credit: kimmie | 04.17.03 at 07:32 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Whups, I came back to this thread after seeing Robyn's post up with the excerpt of Garbanza's post...

But my post under that topic still stands.

Here's a funny story. *I* found nekkid pics of my mother when I was about 15. Was I shocked/ashamed? You betcha. But I thought about it for about 10-15 minutes and it quickly changed to admiration and respect. She was in her teens in the 70's, and that's what a lot of them DID during that time. This is a brand new century, and posting nekkid pics on the internet is what people DO nowadays if they're feeling adventurous.

I am lucky enough to have been raised by parents who tried their damnedest not to infuse me with any of their prejudices or beliefs while at the same time teaching me how to decide for myself what is "right" or "wrong" rather than trying to tell me directly what "right" and "wrong" are.

Did seeing these pictures scar me? Nope. High school now, that was a bitch. All those vindictive and menacing girls, hoo-boy, they worked a number on my psyche. I still haven't healed completely from that wreck (I'm 25 now), but I came to terms with those pictures within an hour after discovering them. I understood it. I put the pictures back. Whem my mom came home I gave her a big hug, which puzzled the hell out of her, and then got on with my life. No regrets (about that incident). No Oedipal complex. No emotional scar tissue or seared eyeballs.

You know, this thread has ALMOST convinced me to go ahead and do that penis project just as a sort of a visual "screw you" to people who think web nudity such as that and the Boobie project is "oh so wrong". (I said ALMOST, people, there's still a long way to go...*cough*).

I'm sorry, but I do not think becoming a "wife" or "mother" or "husband" or "father" means having to change your views or your deeds. Sure, there's always the chance that kids will find stuff like this, but if you raised them well (notice I did not say "correctly"...there is NO "correct" way to raise a child), they will be able to deal with it splendidly.

Case in point: I'm not sure whether she wants to be made an example of, so I won't mention her name here unless she says it's okay...(some of you will know who I'm speaking about)

One of my new friends has this blog. She is married with two kids. She posts semi-nude pictures of herself on this blog once in a while (though they are almost always done with humor). Her husband has no problem with her doing this (and appeared in a picture with her, grinning like a loon and stark nekkid). Her kids are ADORABLE, and all of them seem to enjoy their weekends lying around in various states of undress. I've seen these kids. I've heard them speak. She's told stories about what they do. And I have to say, these are some of the most well-adjusted kids I've seen. These are kids who are going to be able to deal with pretty much anything that comes their way when they get older. Why? Because their parents are very open with them...and raise them well.

I'm not sure what else to say. I doubt very much that you can be swayed to see our side of things, because usually people with such deeply-ingrained taboos have a death-grip on them.

The bottom line is this: These events REALLY are not hurting anyone. People are not being tricked to go see the pictures. In fact in most cases they are warned about what they are going to see before they enter. If they decide to have kids later in life, or have kids now...so what? From what I've seen from the posts these people have been making, they are most likely going to make fantastic parents (if they aren't already). Responsible does not mean boring.

¤ ¤ credit: Mike | 04.17.03 at 07:36 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Oh, I didn't mean mine were "full nudes" with my face attached. Mine were more (MUCH more) along the lines of the "Vagina Monologues" blog that was discussed over at BoingBoing.net. And full nude rack shots, not with bra or t-shirt over them. Fortunately, they were attached to an account that has a username different then my real name. (It was a public site; I couldn't do a thing about spiders of it, or people snagging them - and I really didn't care.)

I agree with Don 100% - "It is up to each of us to live our lives responsibly - as we see fit. Sure each action has a consquential outcome, but as long as we are prepared for it (or can mitigate it), its all good!" I was merely musing on how a lot of people don't think about the consequential outcome when they do things online.

Garbanza, I am well aware of what is already archived on the Net. I've used those archives many, many times.

Don, I think there needs to be a "wet briefs" contest. Frontal, not buns. Heck, I'll even offer up the space to host it! Who is game?

¤ ¤ credit: Christine | 04.17.03 at 07:54 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Hides this comment from Dick... ;-)

¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 04.17.03 at 08:02 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

re: Sian's question about negative responses to the PBP ... what few i've received or read have either been along the lines of "ugh, i really didn't need to see that", or "this is just plain stupid" - which i think say more about the people making the comments then they do about the project itself. i wish i had tuned in for the Boob-A-Thon while it was happening, but it seems from reading about it here that a lot of the negative reactions it received can be looked at in the same way.

Garbanza's concerns about both projects illustrate this point nicely. even if every flash of skin we expose on the Web is being archived and catalogued and will come back to confront us someday ... well, so what? we're posting pictures of ourselves in a friendly and playful context, fer crissakes. that's it. it's a far cry from publicly participating in "lewd sex acts" or covering ourselves in chocolate syrup or any of the other ridiculous false analogies in Garbanza's post.

(and as for our putting things on the Web with a carefree disregard that others will innocently stumble upon it at be shocked, shocked by what they see - well, that's a load of crap too. anyone who managed to look at the photographs on my site had two opportunites to opt out before seeing them.)

in short, we're not hurting anyone. and it's difficult to see how anyone else could be damaged by what we're doing, either now or in the future. as Robyn most excellently put it, " If I ever am blessed with children -- I would hope above else I've taught them to love and respect the human body. Not be ashamed of theirs. Or mine. Or anyone else's for that matter." couldn't have said it better myself. (The last part of Lauri's post above was pretty on the mark as well.)

i don't want to get all ad hominem on anyone's ass, but it seems to me that all this talk about "personal responsibility" to generations yet unborn is taking a certain kind of paranoia, insecurity, and moral judgement a bit too far.

¤ ¤ credit: jonno | 04.17.03 at 08:07 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

(the above was posted while Mike was posting his last entry above. so i guess all i really have to add is: yeah, what he said ;)

¤ ¤ credit: jonno | 04.17.03 at 08:12 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

jonno, the chocolate syrup swipe was actually a dig at me and one of my Boobie-Thon entries. I did, in fact, use chocolate syrup in a photo. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat, too. That was one of everyone's favorites -- my husband included -- from the 'contest'.

¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 04.17.03 at 08:16 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

I think, as usual, my posts were taken way out of context. I was not spewing off about what I think is socially responible or doing any such bible thumping act. I can say I am a liberal and damn proud of it. I am all for the "do your own thang" pretext. But I also recognize, as member of this western civilization, that in order to function in it, there are certain behaviors I have to practice and conform to in order to fit in. Or more so, in order to not "stand out." I see a lot of talk going on about "teach our kids to be proud and love their bodies." I fail to see how posting pictures of your body for others to see is teaching them to be proud and love their bodies. Even more so, what if right now they were to see us on these web sites posting pictures of ourselves and we told them it is perfectly ok to do so (as we are saying here). To them, it is perfectly ok to do so then. So what happens if they decide to click a shot of themselves nude on your web cam , and it gets posted to the page. Completely innocent we may think, but I bet that child services will be at your door before you can say moveable type.
Please don't get me wrong. I am a hippie of sorts. I am anti-war, pro-peace, anti-establishment in government, religion, and I beleive highly in the questioning of authority. But with these views also comes experience to know the differences. Will I teach my son at such a oung age to do these things? Of course not. He is not old enough to distinguish what is socially acceptable and question why it is the way it is. I am. However, I will not compromise his social developement because I may not beleive in something. I will not compromise my family's well being because I do not agree with something society does or does not like.
I would love to to plenty of things that if I was not married and had a child, I would do, but when I said I do and took the oath of marriage and when I deicded to conceive a child with my wife, I took into consideration that now I am not living my life "just for me" anymore. I think a lot of folks here do not agree with that and personally I think it is a selfish thing to say you can still live like your single and are not a parent.
I will not raise my children with blinders on or hide them from reality. They deserve and explination for things that we as a society do. Our freedom does not come without responsibility. Our freedom of speech and expression fits that bill perfectly. Just because we can say something, does not mean we should say it, or do it for that matter. I think that point has been made clear on this very blog more than once in the past.
I do not know how many have kids here and I definately know for Robyn and Todd, it is a very sensitive issue for a couple trying to conceive, but unless you have had the expereince and blessing of rasing a child, you do not quite know how much you say and do gets absorbed by these little sponges of joy. Even more so, how much is retained. These kids aren't "in their own little worlds" when they sit in the back of the car quiet while you and your other talk about whatever. The hear this, they retain it, they repeat it, without knowing fully the meaning of it.
I ask this now - what happens when your child goes to school and decides to bare his or hers privates "because mom and dad do it on their web cam and they said it is ok and for me to be proud of my body and not to be ashamed." Please don't say it won't happen because it can and does. I think we all know what would come of that. Kids are masters at imitation. They imitate what we say, what we feel, what we do. Again, without much understanding of the art and/or science of those things. Nor do they understand the social weight it may carry.
Again, this is how liberal I am, I do not like the brainwashing and conformity we put our children through in order to be good little robots. But again, I understand this is they way it is, it is what it is, and in order to survive, we all have to conform to a degree.
Until our kids are old enough to distinguish those differences and understand the intracacies of the aspects of what we are talking about here, we need to revolve our lives around that.
Being a parent is a 24x7 lifetime thing. If we still have the notion that we can live our lives any way we want to with them and damned the consequences, than we need to think twice before we bring a child into this world.

¤ ¤ credit: Garbanzabeans | 04.17.03 at 08:22 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Robyn,
Actually, I completely made up the chocolate syrup thing. I had no idea you did that. I was merely thinking that up based on a movie I saw last night.

¤ ¤ credit: garbanzabeans | 04.17.03 at 08:25 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

And now, Garbanzabeans, I would respectfully ask you to get your own blog and Trackback or link this entry if you have anything further to add on the comments for this discussion. Because you're borderlining on taking over my content with your essays -- which are going beyond mere comments at this point. You've made your point. And again I would point out that I don't have children so many of your concerns do not apply to me personally -- and again, this is MY blog. Thank you.

¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 04.17.03 at 08:27 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

sorry, Robyn - guess i should've done some research first. it's just that every time i hear about chocolate syrup-smearing, i think about the whole hoo-ha regarding the brilliant Karen Finley and the NEA in the early 90s - it's become a sort of catchphrase ignorant people use to describe things they don't understand or feel threatened by, and it was in that sense that i read Garbanza's comment.

sorry for the confusion. you've obviously taken chocolate-smearing to a whole new level, and for that (and everything else you discussed here) you deserve every respect ;)

¤ ¤ credit: jonno | 04.17.03 at 08:30 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

The people who are offended by the boobie-thon and the penis blog are the very last people I care about impressing. As hard as it may be for you to believe, Garbanzabean, a significant number of people are completely unconcerned about what "society" thinks. We don't worship in your churches, we don't participate in your polite little charades, and we don't really care if you think we are unfit for this job or that job.

In fact, the creative, go-for broke moxie demonstrated by the girls from the Boobie-Thon is a much more valuable asset in the real world than anything offered by timid souls who are ashamed of the human form. Hell, if you are too frightened to take your shirt or pants off for a picture, I damn well don't want to count on you to run my company. I want a fearless risk-taker calling the shots, not a Victorian minded mouse.

¤ ¤ credit: ronbailey | 04.17.03 at 08:41 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Apparently, people are just not reading what I am writing. I am hardly a conformist.
And I find it amazing that while Robyn said in her original post to start this forum that this should be respectful, I might point ou that in ronbaily's post he says "I want a fearless risk-taker calling the shots, not a Victorian minded mouse. "

I fail to aee how that is respectful. But of course, I agrees on the side of Robyn, so naturally, it will not be looked down upon.

I however, have posted very respectfully, not trying to offend anybody, or make lewd comments, and of course, I am told to leave.

Someone find the logic in that.

¤ ¤ credit: Garbanzabeans | 04.17.03 at 08:47 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Well, I'm kinda late to this party today, but I think it's up to us, and only us, to decide what our nudity comfort level is. As for "owing" your future children--who says you'll have any. And if you do, this is one of those situations where that little thing called honesty comes into place. You were proud of your body, you did it because it felt right at the time. I think we worry too much about "what other people will say" and not enough about listening to ourselves. *dusts off soapbox* thanks for the space Robyn. :)

¤ ¤ credit: Michelle | 04.17.03 at 09:12 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

There is a difference in being told to leave, and being asked to keep your comments down to comments -- rather than essays. It's called netiquette. Look it up. I never told you to leave -- not once. I told you to get your own blog and Trackback me if you wished to take over MY blog with your extensive content and comments. There's only so many ways you can state and restate your opinions without simply repeating yourself and wasting all of our time.

¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 04.17.03 at 09:25 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Hey... to each their own.

I remember the bigger flak over the "Rack Browser Project", what made that so double-standard-sy is that you KNEW all the male supporters would never have the courage to whip out their peckers for all the web to see.

Some guys now have the courage. And I'm glad they did.

I figured I'd help Jonno out and be the "token straight male", but, uhm... well its kind of cold where I am right now. Uh, hope you understand. You know, it's an "image" thing.

On a serious tip, I wish these guys luck. But in answer to your question Robyn, I would imagine the backlash varies on the level of success too. "Boobies to Florida" was a BIG thing. I'm sure these poor guys will get more crap for being "gay" than being male.

¤ ¤ credit: -e- | 04.18.03 at 03:17 AM | link--this ¤ ¤

Just to reiterate - I think we've all marked our calendars for 2003! :)

Let's raise some money (and some shirts!) ;)

¤ ¤ credit: Kevin | 04.18.03 at 07:12 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

heh, the first `dirty whore' post. I was wondering how long it would take before someone worked him/herself up to that point.

On the Internet, we'll never lack for mental midgets such as these. It's nice to see that there will always be people who are wonderful guardians of their neighbors' morals.

Surely, within the context of the Boobie-Thon, there are some odd bits to be gleaned about just how much free time and disposable income we actually have and what we choose to do with these. I was a little bemused by it all myself. But mostly I just thought it was fun, and even philanthropic, especially considering how much money came in after it was publicly announced that further donations would go to charity.

Oh, and btw I myself have seen a nude photo of my mom. Not very revealing, but unmistakably nude and equally unmistakably my mom. And that brings up a point.

At the risk of committing an essay here (your pardon, lady Robyn), I'd like to note that I found a nude picture of my mama in a box in her own house. If instead it had been shot on a digital camera and subsequently posted to a remotely-hosted blog and copied fifty or a hundred (or even a thousand) times by people who especially liked her looks, it would therefore have survived the eventual erasure of the camera's memory and (let us postulate) the erasure of the web site by a now-repentant Mom.

But! Twenty years pass. I grow up to the age where I'm surfing the Internet, or browsing the Web, or Immanentizing the Eschaton or whatever they'll be calling it in twenty years. With the hojillions of pieces of information howling into the Internet every day of those twenty years, the majority of which are probably pictures of naked women, what are my chances of actually running across the God damned thing? Nonzero, but trivial.

Even if I suspected there existed a photo of Mom on the Net, and wanted to find it, how would I do that? By Googling for "Mom"? Or even "Jane X. Doe", her full name? Even if I knew what was in the photo and Googled for "young woman on camping trip crouching in icy cold mountain stream"? Not bloody likely!

People who worry about nude photos on the Internet eventually popping up to cause trouble decades later probably know plenty about nude photos and moral opprobrium and fuck-all about the Internet.

Thank you and good day.

¤ ¤ credit: Luis | 04.18.03 at 07:49 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Bodies are bodies, and they're beautiful - men and women alike. I personally enjoyed both ;) I'm guessing a person's discomfort with those things generally comes from something they're uncomfortable with about/within themselves. It's representative.

That and there'll always be someone out there who needs to criticize, contradict or control anything that doesn't fall neatly into their own comfort zone.

Your site, your choice. Period.

¤ ¤ credit: Tonya | 04.18.03 at 10:26 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

I'm coming in to this late, but I have to say, "Hooray for Penii as well as Boobies". I mean, who cares? They're not attached to faces, it's interesting, provactive, expressive (and heh...sometimes impressive -- enough that I wonder who belongs to which...lol).

More power to whomever is comfortable enough with his/her own body and own sexuality to do something like that.

And fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.

¤ ¤ credit: Joelle | 04.20.03 at 07:02 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

This is going to be weird, but my mom DID pose for soem of those "Naturist" magazines in the 1960's. She did both before and after I was born. It was strange to see what she looked like before I was born and before I remember her.

For her it was one part Women's Lib and one part personal necessity. She told me, many years after the fact, that the photos "in this magazine were for rent, in this one for medical treatments for you adn this one for a bus ticket to California." Where she met my dad.

SHe gave me those magazines and a lesson that has stuck with me. All of thsoe women that pose or do what ever, are someone's daughter or sister, possibly wife or mother. They do it for a variety of reasons, sometimes out of presevation.

I still have those magazines, hidden away, partly beccause they are valuable, partly because it is a part of my family history. My mom went on to raise two well adjusted children and teach elementary school for 35 years.

Honestly, this is a tempest in a teapot. I hope it blows over, quickly.

Oh, and Robyn, Illegetimae non carborundum. (Modified for gender here...)

¤ ¤ credit: MunDane | 04.21.03 at 05:38 PM | link--this ¤ ¤