Thursday, June 18, 2009

Calvin Klein is a Prick

This is a long tirade.  It may contain unpleasant words.  I’m sorry to deviate from my little blog of bird art.  But I must.  If you agree, feel free to pass it on.  If you disagree, just sit and think about it for a while.

For those who have not yet seen Mr. Klein’s latest jeans ad, here is a link.  I will not post the photo here without a link as I’m sure that there are children out there in the blog world who would see it.  There are probably moms who blog with their children in their laps.  I think it is important for a parent to chose whether or not their child views photos with sexual content.

 Am I the only one who feels that it is important for parents to be able to prevent their children from seeing photos of young men and women engaged in a threesome (apparently recently down from a foursome)?  I think that other parents would be in agreement with me.  But not Calvin Klein.  That prick!

Yes, I’m angry.

Who appointed him the Minister of Sexuality.  He did, himself!  I, for one, would like to see him removed from this self-appointed position.

Will I get in trouble for calling Mr. Klein a prick?  Possibly.  I don’t think that my calling anyone a prick could possibly be worse than public 50-foot-tall foursome fornication.  Yep, right there in Times Square in New York City.  Those kiddies on their way to see the Lion King and Mary Poppins (substitute any children’s theatre production) can see things that are usually only seen in the pages of adult magazines and in R-rated movies.

For those who do not know me, I am not a prude.  What two (or three or four or more) consenting adults want to do in the privacy of their own homes, hotel rooms, discreetly parked vehicles, is up to them.  I really don’t care.  These consenting adults can wrap each other up in duct tape and flog each other.  Whatever.  As long as I’m not being forced to participate in any way.  I really have no problem with nudity.  We have no locks on our bathroom doors at home.  We all know what each other looks like in my house.  I have yet to go into a museum and be completely offended by a graphic painting or sculpture.  If Mr. Klein’s ad had shown a topless woman in her Calvin undies, I wouldn’t have cared.  If it had been a man wearing only the skimpiest of marble bags, I wouldn’t have cared.  If I see four streakers on the streets of New York, I’m likely to cheer them on.  My 7-year-old daughter would probably have a good laugh.  But have those same four pretending to engage in sex in front of me in the city street in front of children, and yes, I will want to put a stop to it.

There were comments from readers accompanying this article.  There are a great deal of people in favor of the ad.  I seriously doubt that those who approve have young children.  What many said was that nudity is o.k.  But it is not the nudity that is the problem.  These folks do have some clothes on.  No genitalia is on display.  Not the point!  Some cited Europe as a reason to approve of this ad.  “Europeans would not disapprove of this ad,” some say.  So.  And they are right?  Didn’t their mothers ever say, “Just because those kids (countries) do it, doesn’t mean it’s right?”  Perhaps we should pass on our American beliefs to those European countries.  Yeah, they could start carrying guns to movie theaters just because Americans can do it.

Just who the hell does Calvin Klein think he is to force sex “education” on my child?  Anybody’s child?  Everybody’s child who is in viewing distance of one of his ads?  As I type, is he at a local child care center showing soft-core porn.  Is he planning on slipping his ad into Highlights magazine.  Does that sound like a little too much?  What is the difference between that and his 50-foot ad?

Sure, the economy is affecting everyone lately.  Even Calvin Klein.  Instead of putting out a good product to sell, he’s selling sex instead.  Forcing his ads on the innocent just to line his own damn pockets.  I’m not saying that this ad should be banned.  I am saying that it should be displayed in appropriate places.  Inside magazines, perhaps (not Highlights).   If this is Mr. Klein’s fantasy, fine.  Go for it dude.  Just keep it to yourself and those immediately involved.  Once you start inflicting this on innocent children, you are not an advertiser but a pedophile. 

Let’s put it this way.  Say my neighbor is an eccentric, reclusive man.  He waves my daughter over and shows her this photograph.  I think the police should be summoned.  I would classify that as a case of pedophilia (in its budding state).  But Calvin Klein thinks HE can get away with this?

I may have to update my title. . .

Calvin Klein is a rude, obnoxious Pedophile.

Great Christ, what is he going to do next?  Have men dressed in nothing but trenchcoats going throughout the city and exposing themselves.  Flinging open their coats and requesting our children get on their knees and open their mouths wide? 

I sure hope I didn’t give Mr. Klein and his ad agency full of money whores any ideas.

8 comments:

Chris said...

WOW that last line made me squeemish, and that's saying something. (Not much makes me squeemish)Yes, Calvin Klein is a prick. A money grubbing prick. In a few days, he will apologize and pull the ads, but the "damage" is done, eh? What publicity! Reminds me of the artist that made a huge naked chocolate crucified Jesus, and then acted perplexed that he had caused a fuss. Like he had no idea, right? Make some real art, will ya? But, who would notice?

Deidre said...

The sad thing is, I think this is a deliberate strategy to generate publicity. Remember the outrage over the Paris Hilton/Carl's Junior commercial a couple of years back? People were right to denounce it loudly, but the end result was that the big flap just served to get more people talking about it, which made Carl's Jr. very happy indeed.

jason said...

It's a shame. Why can't we let kids just be kids for a while? Why's there always such a hurry to rush them into sexual awareness? It can only be bad...but it makes so many rich, it seems. Sad.

Ellen said...

the whole thing makes me weary. I'm sure publicity is the goal, remember a half naked young Brooke Sheilds in nothing but her 'Calvins' back in the 80's?That was big controversy at the time (seems so tame now). A precident was started.

Having 2 daughters myself it's tough. How to talk about sex that presents it in a healthy, loving way when so much of what i say will be drowned out with media images like this. Some brainwashed woman will say this ad is about female sexual empowerement, where conversely it can be interpreted as a woman with zero self esteem who is just 'servicing' the men (like so many in the sex trade industry).

I was just as pissed after my daughter started to read really well by 6 and there waiting in line at the supermarker was Cosmo magazine for sale with all it's cover articles about driving your man wild with new sex positions, etc . And people made fun of a group of women who were asking for a single checkout line reserved free of that. Nobody says it can't exist but you're right, we should get a choice of WHERE. But everybody cries censorship if you speak up.

Ellen said...

yikes, that would be 'supermarket'. Just mentally correct all the vast typos I made. (I really need to proof read more often)

Fibra Artysta said...

Well, I think its safe to say that the entire point of putting something that could offend people like that up on such a big billboard was to get publicity.

I would say it worked. Got you to blog about it. Got people outraged. Got media coverage.

His advertising bill probably has gone down this year.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your posting on Calvin Klein. I agree this latest ad/billboard is truly tasteless and boring in my eye. But I am happy to live in a country where we have the freedom to look at this or not and even more the freedom NOT to support such advertising.

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