I was going to go on and on about the offensive way the calender's creator, Chad Hardy (the brain behind the controversial Men on a Mission calendar), is supposedly breaking down stereotypical barriers by parading about women who claim to be Mormon in next-to-nothing. I considered discussing all the different ways this is offensive to me, an actual Latter-day Saint mother, and how it drags the morals and reputation of the Church through the mud. Believe you me, I was planning on going on for quite some time.
...but then I figured y'all have already heard my opinion on the over-abundance of sex in the media, especially regarding women, and figured I'd leave the ranting to you in the comments. So, I threw that idea out the the window and instead, decided to share one of my very favorite songs and videos ever, We Are Golden by Mika (thanks Megan!).
I love basically anything by Mika, but this one in particular makes me smile. It takes me right back to the heady highs and lower-than-lows of the angst-ridden teenage years. Who doesn't remember dancing around the house with the music blasting? Whenever I turn this song on, I can't help but bounce around like I'm 16 again, much to my children's eternal amusement. I hope you love it even one iota as much as I do. Enjoy!
Oh - I love Mika. And that song is just great.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first I've heard of the calendar (I do remember briefly hearing about the missionary calendar) - ugh, it's disgusting. And I have a quirky sense of humor, but my femi-nazi side is coming out on this one. The calendar just screams "let me cook your meals and give you great sex!"
Ok - now I'm listening to Mika again because he makes me happy.
good for you Whitney in standing up for your values! I don't care if that calendar was meant to lighten things up. It's wrong and I for one would not like to be pictured that way.
ReplyDeleteNow, I think I'm going to listen to Mika and enjoy my day!
I've never seen or heard of those calenders..where have I been?? Hmmm, maybe under a rock. ;) I think that they attach a sleezy image to the church and I for one do not appreciate the attachment of the Church's name to those calenders. Humph. Makes me quite upset.
ReplyDeleteAs far as that song...very fun. I can picture you turing it up loud and bouncing around while your kids bounce with you. Ahhh, good times, good times. I did fin it odd that he was singing about being a teenager like he himself was one. Ummm, I could be off, but he looked quite a bit older than any teenager I know. Shrug. It was still fun, though. ;)
This video is more pornographic and shows more skin than the Men on a Mission and Mormon Muffins calendars combined. Have you even seen them, or are you casting stones just because they were proud enough to call themselves Mormon and do exactly what your video is doing - showing someone as human. Perhaps the only reason you don't like them is because it challenges the perfectly fabricated image the Mormon Church has created that causes women all over Utah to be hooked on Prozac. If you are such a fabulous self-proclaimed Mormon that upholds the standards above everyone else, why would you post such a pornographic video after the sexuality and the media rant?
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued by the offense you have taken to the over abundance of sex in the media. Clearly, you have taken up issue with Mr. Hardy here and you have invited others to rant with you; but it seems odd that you would end your post with a video that seems to display the very images you object to. Is this how you are "standing up for your values" as you have been commended for in the comment above? You can keep from your coffee and be offended by Mr. Hardy's venture but you should see your own contradiction in judging others.
ReplyDeleteTo whom it may concern~
ReplyDeleteYeah, actually I have seen the entire calendar and a number of videos on the website. I like to base my opinions on hard evidence before I share them with others, thank you very much. Honestly, in my opinion, it was an extremely sexually-based website and I was disgusted by it.
There is a singe HUGE difference between the music video posted and Mr. Hardy's calendar...that would be the artist's intent (and for all you other art history majors out there, you know *exactly* what I'm talking about). The Mormon Muffins calendar's intent is to solicit a sexual response. Everything in it is designed to turn men on. Mika's intention was to imitate a teenage in his room, by himself, in a completely non-sexual manner. While I didn't intend to place the two in a juxtaposition, I appreciate you doing it for me. One, the We Are Golden video, is a healthy expression of the human form in movement. The other, the calendar and the website that goes along with it, is an over-the-top expression of sexual innuendo.
I have zero problem with challenging the perfectly fabricated image of a mormon housewive. Heaven knows, one look at my living room floor and voting ballot will tell you that. What I do have a problem with is the idea that someone who claims to be a member of the LDS church, a church that daily preaches against pornography and about upholding modesty, would turn around and pose half-naked with the intent to solicit a sexual response. What stereotype are they breaking, pray tell? The one where mormon women believe that sexual interaction should happen only between a husband and a wife, not a husband and some sleazy calendar? Personally, that's a sterotype I prefer to keep.
Thank you for your comments, gentlemen, but I'm done here.
Hi Whitney!
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I was wondering the same thing as the two commenters above. However, after reading your comment about artistic difference, I find I agree with you. The video is not pornographic - nudity in and of itself is not pornography. It's good to take into account an artist's intent, what they were trying to capture and the story they intend to tell.
I hadn't seen a Mika video before, but have enjoyed the music. Thank you for sharing!
CarrieMarie
lot of skin in that video. bad choice for this type of blog entry.
ReplyDeletebut hey as for skin, i'm all for it!
Whit- I "got" your post and I TOTALLY agree with what you said and especially with your comment above.
ReplyDeleteI am giggling at the "let me cook your meals and give you great sex". :D
It's all about the intent, people.
Being judgemental? Is that what they teach in your mormon church? For those that are not mormon you are sure giving them an idea that you've learned in your mormon church to be incredibly judgemental and critical.... I'll ask you again, is that how they teach you to be and to live in the Mormon church?
ReplyDeleteI love the Muffin calendar, in that it portrays Morman women as beautiful and desirable, I mean, really, isn't the Mormon doctrine to re-create? Wouldn't all Mormon women want to look this good? It's certainly a far cry from the Mormon women I see in real life, plain, overweight, and painfully submissive, dressed in unbelievably dowdy clothes... while their husbands are quite dashing. I mean, do some Mormon men take on multiple, younger wives simply because their first wives become unattractive from childbirth, constant cooking & laundry? Oh, sorry, it's doctrine... and I know multiple wives are not the norm, however, it raises an interesting point. However, I found the boy gyrating in the underwear video absolutely disturbing, unattractive and the setting to be a messy pigsty of a room... Is this what Mormon women are turned on by? If it were a girl in the video doing EXACTLY the same thing, would you rave about it? Somehow, I doubt it.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a profile - Showgirl in LV
I'm confused...the kid in the video is more than half naked, cross-dressing and aroused. That's better than showing a seductive glance and some cleavage? And what's so wrong with saying, "Let me cook your meals and give you great sex?" From my point of view, it keeps a marriage healthy and keeps Mormons prolific. My only problem with the calendar is that he didn't ask me to pose for it!
ReplyDeleteI noticed that you labeled this post as "pornography." Do you really consider the Mormom Muffins calendar to be pornographic? If this is pornography, then the video you posted is also pornography. Also, how can you responsibly say that Mr. Hardy is only trying to solicit a sexual response? Did it ever occur to you that he may be attempting to open up dialogue with this calendar? It's interesting that you have sided with an artist dancing in his underwear over Mr. Hardy, but then again, what do I know--I'm not an art major.
ReplyDeleteWhew! You created quite the furor with this post! :) The best thing about opinions are just that...they are opinions. I do appreciate when opinions are founded on research,though. So to some of the above commentators, that might be advised.
ReplyDeleteI love that song! It totally gets me smilin' and moving! And-as tired as I feel lately, that is a great thing!
I had to laugh at Aubrey's comment..."The calendar just screams "let me cook your meals and give you great sex!"" Hah! I don't know any man who doesn't have that fantasy. I am just thankful my husband keeps that just between the two of us.
After reading all the comments I had to go back and watch the video. Yes, it does show skin, but I would not say it's anywhere near being sexual. I think some people mistook the fly in his underwear as him being aroused.
ReplyDeleteI will say that I am on the left side of the mormon fence. I find the calendar funny because I don't think it's marketed towards men. I don't know many men that would be interested in a calendar with muffin recipes on it. I think what Mr. Hardy is trying to do is show women that it's okay to be okay with your sexuality. This is something that I think many mormon women don't get even inside their own marriages.
I enjoy the irony of the comments labeling you as judgemental.
ReplyDeleteCarlin, I was thinking the same thing. To all the anonymous posters... pot meet kettle.
ReplyDeleteOh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive! Something to think about. Everyone has the freedom to choose. Choose wisely.
ReplyDelete