The first time I ever heard of "girl kissing competitions" was a couple of years ago while sitting in a friend's kitchen drinking tea and chatting about our lives. The radio just happened to be on and to this point was being ignored, however an attention getting ad that cut through the senses blurted out a girl kissing competition.
Shocked, I looked at my friend and she said that her just barely teenaged step-daughter insisted on having that particular radio station on at all corners of the house so that where ever she was, she could hear it. But what about the ad, I continued, that's just incredible that "girl kissing" is being touted in public as something acceptable to broadcast. She agreed, that it was incredible, yet it seemed to really appeal to girls her step-daughter's age.
Now in case everyone's been wondering where I've been, I don't listen to popular music radio stations, and when I did while I lived in Australia, I have never heard of "girl kissing competitions". Whether they are a recent phenomena confined to NZ, I have no idea. But I do agree that this sort of thing crosses the line.
What struck me about the latest competition was that the onlookers were largely young men.
Christopher West explains it best in his short discourse on Katy Perry and how she has been wounded by men and by our culture, on how that woundedness comes out in the tune I kissed a girl (used by the radio station here in their competition as background music) and in other music of hers. Just register and listen - it's only 10 minutes. Thanks to Semper Vita for the link.
Related Link: Lip-locking ladies draw crowds ~ Stuff
Shocked, I looked at my friend and she said that her just barely teenaged step-daughter insisted on having that particular radio station on at all corners of the house so that where ever she was, she could hear it. But what about the ad, I continued, that's just incredible that "girl kissing" is being touted in public as something acceptable to broadcast. She agreed, that it was incredible, yet it seemed to really appeal to girls her step-daughter's age.
Now in case everyone's been wondering where I've been, I don't listen to popular music radio stations, and when I did while I lived in Australia, I have never heard of "girl kissing competitions". Whether they are a recent phenomena confined to NZ, I have no idea. But I do agree that this sort of thing crosses the line.
What struck me about the latest competition was that the onlookers were largely young men.
About 40 girls paired up in Cathedral Square yesterday afternoon and locked lips in an effort to win a trip to Melbourne to see pop star Katy Perry, singer of the hit song I Kissed a Girl. Most looked to be teenagers or in their early 20s with organisers from The Edge radio station urging them to be "as hetero or as gay as you like about it".... The onlookers were largely young men.A number of years back I watched a movie about a 70's porn star. I can't remember the name of the movie, I can't really remember much about the movie, but I do remember a scene where a guy goes out to the driveway and finds his wife being bonked by a man with a circle of about 10 men just standing there, watching. That image has stayed with me over the years, and I think of it now as I read the following post on the Hand Mirror.
I see that the male members of the blogosphere have been quick to ridicule the Family Party's drive by morality on a radio stations girl-on-girl kiss contest.What's most bizarre is that a woman cannot see what is wrong with a radio station running a girl kissing competition. I expect liberal men to be right in there with the "right" of women to kiss in public. I expect conservative men to understand why it crosses the lines of moral decency. And I'm not surprised that liberal women can almost see what is wrong with the whole thing, but are stopped by their ideology from really seeing - but I find it bizarre.
I'm not sure what's more bizarre, the Family Party's opposition or the fact that so many straight men have been quick to defend a woman's right to engage in a PDA with a fellow XXer.
I've kissed a girl too so what ~ ex-expat
Christopher West explains it best in his short discourse on Katy Perry and how she has been wounded by men and by our culture, on how that woundedness comes out in the tune I kissed a girl (used by the radio station here in their competition as background music) and in other music of hers. Just register and listen - it's only 10 minutes. Thanks to Semper Vita for the link.
Related Link: Lip-locking ladies draw crowds ~ Stuff
It says a lot about women that while wishing to parade faux lesbianism, I don't see females as a gender lining up and being turned on by a whole load of blokes kissing!
ReplyDeleteHow many blokes would turn up to watch men kissing men in Christchurchs Cathedral Square? Yuck Tim would attend.
ReplyDeleteGreat promotion for a drop kick radio station, and as the father of teenage daughters they can get stuffed.
I kissed a man and I chundered. Sorry Peter D.
Agree Lucyna, and it's worth noting that ex-expat is certainly no feminist - she is one of the feminist 'spice girls' who spend all their money on shooz and body waxing to keep their man on the porch.
ReplyDeleteSo anything to keep men titillated is ok.
Next they will be saying porn and prostitution is empowering to women...hang on...they have already said that.
I think the interesting thing here is that the radio station decided to use a public venue to create a controversial advertising campaign to promote their station.
ReplyDeleteJust like Boobs on Bikes, this isn't really about freedom, it's about commercialism and encouraging the kinds of behaviour that is legal, but guaranteed to raise their profile.
Once people become inured to this, we'll see some creative efforts to push the boundaries even further. The calculation will be if a simulated rape scene (between consenting actors pretending to be members of the public) will create positive or negative publicity.
Or is there no such thing as bad publicity?
Lucyna - I really think you've made too much of this. You too Zen with the speculation it will lead to simulated rape scenes. I can't see the big deal, just a bit of a laugh that will be forgotten about tomorrow by the vast majority. Doesn't deserve the attention really.
ReplyDeleteAs for the movie about at 70's porn star, that was Boogie Nights. One that has to be in my all time top 3 for its humour and great filmmaking. Directed by PT Anderson, the same guy who did There Will be Blood, a movie I just watched recently and enjoyed immensely.
People can treat this activity in the ways they wish:
ReplyDelete- Be disgusted, express that and turn away;
- Ignore it;
- Enjoy it.
That's life, and funnily enough no one is hurt by adults kissing. No one. It is the most innocuous thing in the world. It doesn't cause unwanted pregnancies, abortions etc, like the hysterical Family Party press release implied. That's just bizarre.
Some conservatives recently fought for the right to smack their kids. I've seen people do this in public, hard, including once a slap across the face. Interesting how this "right" is something to get heated up about, but kissing is to be opposed. In fact I find it perverse.
Liberty, I don't oppose kissing. I oppose the crass commercialism that continues to ramp up.
ReplyDeleteFor example, hiring some-one to queue 24 hours in advance of the iPod release as if this was a genuine fanatic is just pure lies.
The other thing is that this form of advertising requires a public venue for maximum effect. They could always hire a community hall to host their event, but they are more inclined to see the value in capturing unsuspecting public passing by and leveraging media coverage from that.
Sean: Perhaps I'm 10 years ahead of the times. Have you ever seen the Sydney Mardi Gras? That is as much a challenge to the public as a celebration of sexuality. My crazy suggestions would not look so out of place there.
PS: Just because some conservatives fought for the right to discipline their child, without going to jail, and without being judged an abuser with no evidence, doesn't mean they are the ones engaging in excessive physical force.
ReplyDeleteThe challenge you make to me, you could apply to your own logic. I'm not against smacking, but I am against public displays of brutality. I am not against nudity, but I am against commerically driven boobs parades to promote porn shows on the public's roads and shopping areas.
It's not so inconsistent as you make out.
I heard that song recently on some show. it actually sounds pretty good, but then when you stop and think about it, when you look at the effects of constantly pushing and redefining boundaries, you realize the ills that the first steps lead to.
ReplyDeleteFor decades people have been told that marriage is not that important, free love, promiscuity and all that. Two girls kissing is not going to get them pregnant and all that, but this sort of attitude has consequences.
it might be cool to mock the 20 year-old virgin and pretend that it's cool to have lost count of the number of people you've slept with and even cooler to do it with a member of the same sex. You don't see the effects of it immediately, but in my immediate sphere of life, i know of more that 2 children who are growing up without their fathers at home thanks to the culture of anything goes.