Does America Need Another “Ubiquitous Pinup?”

The “Features” section of the June 29th newspaper had twin articles in honor of the passing of celebrities Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett.   The title for the article on Fawcett reads, “Farrah Fawcett: our last ubiquitous pinup.”  The author argues that we need a Fawcett-esque pinup who brings consensus to our concept of beauty. But, is this really what we need?

Ubiquitous, yes. Pinup, no.

In a world where there is a tragic surplus of single mothers, abortion, rape, child prostitution and molestation,  and conjugal infidelity, nearly all (if not all) of which is rooted in the mind of a boy who lusts and is taught, both actively and passively, that lust is okay; the last thing we need is a poster that objectifies the body of a woman, dissects her from her person, and allows/encourages/cultivates young boys to freely use an image of said woman in a way that dishonors her and disregards God.

Our thoughts become our words and our actions. Our culture tells our boys that lust is okay, and we are surprised when they grow up to get girls pregnant and abandon them, become rapists, are involved with child prostitution and molestation, or cheat on their wives.  We teach them that they needn’t control their eyes or minds, but are surprised when they fail to control their bodies.

The last thing that we need is a pinup in every boy’s bedroom, teaching him that it is okay to look at a girl as an object for his sexual pleasure.  Allowing and/or encouraging this with a girl they do not know merely prepares boys to do this with girls they do know. Also, this communicates to girls that they have no more meaning than to look good in a bathing suit and be silent, while boys use you for their sexual pleasure.

There is more to women and more to womanhood than to be used as an object for the sexual pleasure of boys (or men).

What we need, instead, is a ubiquitous concept of true, feminine beauty. Physical beauty is part of this, but there is much more. There is love, emotion, intelligence, strength, honesty, integrity, and care- and this list is nowhere near exhaustive!  None of which can be adequately communicated in a poster, and none of which is communicated by a pinup.

So, does America need another “Ubiquitous Pinup?” No! We need a ubiquitous concept of true, feminine beauty, which accounts for all that women and womanhood entail!

(Disclaimer time, baby! I am by no means accusing Fawcett of being at fault for the sexual sins that result from lust.  We have a culture where she was paid to pose for that picture.  She merely donned the swimsuit, smiled, and cashed the check. The blame, and my accusations, rest not on Fawcett, but squarely on the broad shoulders of our deceptive and destructive culture!)