Friday, April 01, 2005

More Kids Today

It must be porno week at McNews. Here's today's offering:


Its all about spring break in Havasu, Arizona. I used to hear about it a lot when I lived in Las Vegas. Havasu is another one of the places where the Mardi Gras beads for flashing caught on. I'm not sure anybody knows why.

The article touches on many dimensions of this behavior, and even raises the "free love" issues I posited the other day (is it possible the author is a "There are no bad ideas" reader?). I particularly liked this bit:

In this era, young adults view sex as an envelope to be pushed in ways that would make a '60s "free love" graduate blush. They also have a consumer-driven view of media, where iPods make anyone a disc jockey and camcorders do the same for aspiring directors. Why wait for reality TV to discover you when you can bring the world a bit of your own reality?

On the other hand, American society is still conflicted about sex. There is more of it on display than ever: Compare the raw sizzle of Desperate Housewives with the buttoned-up innuendo of Dallas. Yet certain boundaries are inviolable.

Last year, a popular Ohio news anchor discovered that her topless strut at a Florida wet T-shirt contest 10 months earlier had surfaced on the Web. Within days, Catherine Bosley, 37, was dubbed "the naked news anchor." A decade-long career ended with her resignation.


I have to admit having this thought when I saw the "collegeinvasion" site the other day. I was looking at the guys in the video thinking: gee I really hope one of these guys runs for Senate one day.

Do you think anyone would care? Or would it be just the poor decisions of a miss-spent youth? My recollection is that our current President really doesn't do too well if evaluated on his college days. Maybe it doesn't matter after all. Do you think the reaction would be different for a guy in a Shane's World video than for a girl in a Girl's Gone Wild video?

I'd like to think it would come down harder on the guy. But I bet it wouldn't.

Everyone. Don't let strangers tape you naked. That's for friends.

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