While I don't doubt for a second that there's pressure on women to go for a certain kind of image, and that this reflects a basic sexist bias in our society, and this is a significant problem not just for classical music but for society generally, I have to admit that I sometimes find the tut-tutting about album covers and women's appearance to smack of patronising sexism too. Specifically there's the implication that, say, Yuja Wang shouldn't wear "that" dress, a denial of the possibility that a woman might try to look "sexy" because that's the way she wants to look, not because she wishes to actually advertise herself sexually.
Sexualisation of women in the classical music industry
Time and time again people have certainly opined on the presentation of female performers, wether it be Yuja Wang's dress, Lara St. John's CD covers or Anne Sofie Mutter's pose (recently those violinists were pointed out in the worst cd covers thread). Each of these cases, according to different people, have come down to a general conclusion that sexist inclinations of today have influenced their physical appearance (on varying levels). Even on this site there have been debates as to modesty on stage, the importance of appearance, wether women should conduct an orchestra and so on, which all end up boiling down to the same (if not a similar) debate.
What say you, TC, on the topic of sexualisation of women in the classical music industry?
What say you, TC, on the topic of sexualisation of women in the classical music industry?
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I know the artist intended the resemblance to a butt-plug, but I still would have thought it's up to the individual viewer whether they wanted to see the "tree" as such. My first reaction on seeing photos was that it reminded me of either a smoothed-down version of a Lego tree, or an oddly shaped chess piece. Sex toys didn't occur to me until I was informed otherwise by the outraged.Censorship isn't required, but the people who are in charge of public things should be a bit more responsible.
A month or two ago, there was a contemporary art event in Paris. For this occasion, some psychopath from the USA (known for his pedophilic/scatologic/bum centered """""""""art""""""""") was given the right by the city hall to install a giant buttplug on the place Vendôme.
Some concerned citizens, after complaining, decided to remove the piece of """""""""art""""""""". The """""""""artist""""""""" was hit in the face by a passerby.
And the people in charge, from city hall, even the president, took the defense of the """""""""artist""""""""".
Of course, the people who refused to be humiliated by that unacceptable public display of perversion were categorized as "fascists". It's the only type of argument you get when you are against the enlightenments of our epoch.
I absolutely don't mind what people do in they bedroom. Everybody has fantasies, kinks, whatnot. But I hate in the strongest way the pseudo-justifications some half-read people tend to force down everybody's throat, when they want to impose their sickness to the majority. Shocking for the sake of shocking is just something that should be treated by specialists.
Virtuous behaviour is what pulls people higher. But well-educated, well-mannered, self-conscious people aren't good consumers. And that isn't good for business, right ? So it has to be replaced by impulsive, overly-narcissic people, preferably slaves to an obsession, whatever it can be, as long as it will make them buy stuff. A stable family's environment is an obstacle to this.
It has nothing to do with religion, it has nothing to do with being overly prudish.
It has to do with living together, without hurting the others. One's freedom ceases where the other people's starts.
(Actually this reminds me of a story my wife tells of when she was in a museum and saw some kids clambering on some large African wooden carving, blissfully unaware that it was supposed to be a giant phallic symbol!)
Similarly, "whorish" women on CD covers seem to me to be very much in the eye of the beholder.
I remember back in the 70s and 80s people were very worried about teenage sex, premarital sex, even (in Ireland) the availability of contraception.
Weirdly, nobody seemed at all worried about the fact that people in power were able to rape children with impunity.
So I'm not sure what the hell is this decline in sexual mores that some of you are talking about.
Weirdly, nobody seemed at all worried about the fact that people in power were able to rape children with impunity.
So I'm not sure what the hell is this decline in sexual mores that some of you are talking about.
I don't even...inserting chicken heads inside their genitals
But, seeing as pornography is much more easily available these days, particularly very explicit material, doesn't that imply that there was far less rape in historical times? Something I find very hard to believe.I would like to see some statistics on the life history of rapists. I suspect that a large component in rape is a man who progressed though many stages of pornography addiction, likely beginning as a boy. I think if the data were available, we would see a strong correlation.
Here's one review on the topic: http://www.christopherjferguson.com/pornography.pdf
Considered together, the available data about pornography consumption and rape rates in the United States seem to rule out a causal relationship, at least with respect to pornography availability causing an increase in the incidence of rape. One could even argue that the available research and self-reported and official statistics might provide evidence for the reverse effect; the increasing availability of pornography appears to be associated with a decline in rape.
Huh, I always thought it was the prospect of studio-quality classical music downloads.:lol:I will say right here and now that the ability to access free porn is the number one reason for the enormous growth of the home computer.
As someone who's quite socially introverted, though not a phone or tablet user, I'm going to come out and say - not that this is directed specifically at your family, hpowders! - well done to all those young people for finding a way of still maintaining a physical presence in the social interactions they would rather avoid while simultaneously engaging in the social interactions they enjoy!Whether you want to admit it or not and some of you may uncomfortably recognize yourselves in my last post, young people are addicted to these machines. They cannot walk down the street without bumping into each other.
I stopped visiting various young relatives because when we all sit at the dinner table, their heads are buried in their cell phones or iPads. I barely get a "hello" and "goodbye" and all my friends experience exactly the same thing when they visit their young relatives.
There's an upside to all this technology, but those of you who rationalize away the downside are only fooling yourselves.
Kids text. They don't talk. How will they do on job interviews? Deep face to face relationships? Don't make me laugh!
Well I'm glad the thread's come back from the collapse of civilisation and the rudeness of texting, but is there any fruitful discussion left or should we all just hang around judging individual women? 
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