L'Ombre de l'Olivier

The Shadow of the Olive Tree

being the maunderings of an Englishman on the Côte d'Azur

17 July 2007 Blog Home : July 2007 : Permalink

Western Civilization Needs Ladies Dessed Like Tarts

[ If you know the song "British Grenadiers" it may help if you consider the italics below as alternative lyrics as you hum that tune.
I like the girls who say they will,
And I like the girls who won't.
I hate the girls who say they will,
And then they say they won't.
But of all the girls I like the best,
I may be wrong or right,
Are the girls who say they never will,
But look as though they might.
]
In Europe it is summer. Summer means the ladies wear less clothing. In some cases sufficiently less that they prove the rule that some people look better with more clothes. In many cases, however, the skimpiness of the attire is appreciated by the heterosexual males (and homosexual females) that they meet on the beach, in the street etc. It is my belief that those of us who think that Western civilization is a good thing should appreciate the display even more, and even appreciate those cases where what is displayed falls into the "Too Much Information" category.

Why? Because this display is a barometer of the health of western society. A number of people, even ones I respect, are upset with the whole harlot look, and when the look spreads to the preteen set I have to admit I have reservations too. However, while it worries me that some parents let their little girls dress this way, I'd far rather live in a world where 12 year old girls dress to attract padophiles than the most likely alternative. Why? because the freedom to dress like a whore, even when you shouldn't is a litmus paper of whether Western civilization is surviving or not. Something that seems to escape the majority of media liberals is that the alternatives to Western civilizations mostly prefer to keep their women covered up if not chained to the kitchen. I am sure there are some societies where unclothed women are paraded as trophies by their owners but I think it is rare. The only society where women can walk down a public street in little more than underwear and expect neither rape nor censure is this one and however you look at it this has to be a good thing.

PS Of course the fact that women can do this thing does not mean they should do it. In addition to the aesthetic issues involving the display of unsightly bodies (and IMO that applies just as much to the excessively thin as the overweight) there are other drawbacks. For one the simple fact that out and ou dsplay isn't effective as a tactic. Women dress the way they do to attract attention via titilation, however as practically any experienced advertising/marketing person will tell you, you get more attention from hinting and partial display than you do from flaunting it. Sure there are places where brash statements and displays are OK, think Aldi or Lidl (or Walmart I guess in the US), but if you want to be more valued you make the client do some of the work. The same applies to displays of feminine flesh.

Oh and while I'm really skeptical about the "bad example for the kiddies" arguments, I do think that excessive debasing of sexuality is a bad thing. For one thing it makes it far easier for the woman to be considered like a piece of meat instead of a person, which puts us right back to the treatment of women in other cultures.