First, let me make this clear: I love Mardi Gras.
I love the fun, the partying and the plain old good times.
What I hate, particularly in this day, is that any woman feels the need to diminish herself for any exchange medium, whether it is cash, beads or attention.
Like it or not, "Show us Your Tits!" is a common shout at Mardi Gras time.
Girls Gone Wild has built a business on recording the event annually.
This status prevails despite the fact that public indecency in New Orleans can result in jail time and a fine of up to $1000.
Apparently not enough of a deterrent for the behavior.
Vicki Mayer, a Tulane professor of Communications has studied this social dilemma extensively.
She notes how some women have an uncontrolled need for attention when 'baring all.
' Dr.
Mayer explains the male reaction as: "(They) not only judge women verbally, they also control the beads, doling them out on the basis of how much satisfaction they received.
" Some women break down in torrents of tears when they do not receive a bead count that is high enough for their perceived self value.
This is the 21st century! I get it that some folks like to push the envelope, challenge the norm, get wild by contesting social rules and even hypocritical perspectives on femininity.
But what message are we sending to our daughters when this need is so public and...
well, cheap? The message of this exhibition is that the men who control the medium, the beads (or think, the money) have the power to control others.
So archaic.
So tired.
And the suggestion by a known "bead whore" that you can retain your dignity by flashing with a mask on is downright cowardly in my opinion.
No woman should have to live a lie.
Which leads to my point: Women have other opportunities today.
Even the woman who does not desire marriage and children can find self-worth through other outlets.
The internet is the great equalizer now.
Women can establish home businesses without needing a boss or anyone to validate their self-worth.
Women can earn with the best of 'them' and do it honestly, without a wearing a mask.
According to gaebler.
com: "There are 9.
1 million women-owned businesses in the United States, and they employ 27.
5 million people.
Together, women-owned business contribute over $3.
6 trillion to the economy each and every year.
" No economy should ignore that kind of potential and opportunity.
The skills to build a business are gender neutral and have the possibility of closing the income gender gap once and for all.
The exchange of beads is insulting.
It is beneath anyone, even in fun.
The arrival of the 21st century and all that technology offers should mean that beads belong only in the jewelry store.
Beads or cash, legitimately earned? Women should not bare flesh for dollars but earn it honestly.
No mask, no excuses.
I love the fun, the partying and the plain old good times.
What I hate, particularly in this day, is that any woman feels the need to diminish herself for any exchange medium, whether it is cash, beads or attention.
Like it or not, "Show us Your Tits!" is a common shout at Mardi Gras time.
Girls Gone Wild has built a business on recording the event annually.
This status prevails despite the fact that public indecency in New Orleans can result in jail time and a fine of up to $1000.
Apparently not enough of a deterrent for the behavior.
Vicki Mayer, a Tulane professor of Communications has studied this social dilemma extensively.
She notes how some women have an uncontrolled need for attention when 'baring all.
' Dr.
Mayer explains the male reaction as: "(They) not only judge women verbally, they also control the beads, doling them out on the basis of how much satisfaction they received.
" Some women break down in torrents of tears when they do not receive a bead count that is high enough for their perceived self value.
This is the 21st century! I get it that some folks like to push the envelope, challenge the norm, get wild by contesting social rules and even hypocritical perspectives on femininity.
But what message are we sending to our daughters when this need is so public and...
well, cheap? The message of this exhibition is that the men who control the medium, the beads (or think, the money) have the power to control others.
So archaic.
So tired.
And the suggestion by a known "bead whore" that you can retain your dignity by flashing with a mask on is downright cowardly in my opinion.
No woman should have to live a lie.
Which leads to my point: Women have other opportunities today.
Even the woman who does not desire marriage and children can find self-worth through other outlets.
The internet is the great equalizer now.
Women can establish home businesses without needing a boss or anyone to validate their self-worth.
Women can earn with the best of 'them' and do it honestly, without a wearing a mask.
According to gaebler.
com: "There are 9.
1 million women-owned businesses in the United States, and they employ 27.
5 million people.
Together, women-owned business contribute over $3.
6 trillion to the economy each and every year.
" No economy should ignore that kind of potential and opportunity.
The skills to build a business are gender neutral and have the possibility of closing the income gender gap once and for all.
The exchange of beads is insulting.
It is beneath anyone, even in fun.
The arrival of the 21st century and all that technology offers should mean that beads belong only in the jewelry store.
Beads or cash, legitimately earned? Women should not bare flesh for dollars but earn it honestly.
No mask, no excuses.
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