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Monday, September 09, 2013

Bless me, for I have....



I was in the wilds of Lexington, KY this weekend, at a little anime con. In thirty-three years of huckstering at fandom conventions, your Aardvark has seen a lot. Seen a lot. He normally handles it with grace and aplomb, as well as dispatch. Not so this weekend, and I don't know why....

One of the downsides of fannish and cosplay activities in a culture adrift from the moorings like self-control and modesty is the issue of people almost wearing costumes. Or almost wearing regular clothes. The thing du jour this weekend was shorts. Cutoff shorts. Short shorts. One chick wore black shorties with a black studded bikini top.  What is normally pretty much just part of the scenery at a con became Noticeable-Very- and difficult to ignore or turn away from. The sort of thing Warm Thoughts can be made of.

Now, I am married, and faithful. I try to stay away from what might compromise that estate, so I was intensely uncomfortable with this situation. I was thinking about this, and other issues congruent, especially the "slut walk" phenomenon whereby young women parade their non-responsibility for any consequences of their actions, period (Rigel Kent wrote eloquently of this over the weekend). Much bloody ink has been spilled over this point. The bottom line is that there is no excuse for rape, yes? If anyone suggests that a woman might have ANY contribution toward having been raped, ALL the umbrage is taken. "YOU'RE SAYING IT'S THE WOMAN'S FAULT!. YOU'RE BLAMING HER!! You're using SHAMING language."

Again, there is no excuse for a man to rape a woman. (Note: changing one's mind the morning after does not constitute rape.) However, it IS possible to provide a convivial environment for Unlawful Carnal Knowledge to take place, providing an environment for Warm Thoughts. (I do NOT buy the feminist line that  "Rape is just about power". That is just Marxist cant.)

[Allow the assurance for all my Reader that your Aardvark is NOT in stir for making improper advances, or for being anything other than a Consummate Gentleman.]

The young women at the con, and all the innocent slut walkers are guilty of something, however. They are being unkind. Unkind to thoughtlessly(?) titillate the young men, the older men, around them. The "Do unto others" rubric applies. It is not kind, it is not helpful to subject others to unwanted or unneeded inappropriate display. Clear? Of course, in an increasingly narcissist society, this may not be simple to grasp. Makes me unhappy, makes me uncomfortable, makes me think unpleasant things about you, like "You don't care about others.", "You are none too bright.", "Did you even think before you left the house?  Like that.

I want to "keep me only unto" the Dread Dormomoo. I do not appreciate what might skew my vision from that goal, that might cause my eye to wander.

"Oh, that is YOUR problem Mr. Aardvark. You should not oughta look!"

Ahhh, Grasshopper. The marksman does not shoot where there is no target.

It is the stuff of tangos.

9 comments:

Rigel Kent said...

First of all thanks thanks for reading my two cents on the subject.

Beyond that, "Oh, that is YOUR problem Mr. Aardvark. You should not oughta look!", you know what strikes me as funny about this?

It's obvious that woman who act like this are doing it to draw attention to themselves, but if you confront them with this simple fact they'll deny it. They'll say that they dressed in a sexy, not to mention very uncomfortable, fashion for reasons that have nothing to with all the attention they get.

They never really explain what those reasons are, of course. Apparently they do it for reasons beyond the ken of mere mortal men. Color me skeptical.

The Aardvark said...

The shoes, Rigel. The SHOES!

The foot-binding of Asia seems tame compared to the contorting footwear that women seem to favor.

Between the too-loud concerts and the women's fashion shoes, Obamacare will be busy buying deaf aids and back-and-ankle surgery in a few years.

Michael W said...

I dearly love fandom but, at the same time, will be the first to state that there are some severe downsides associated with it.

Doom said...

Oh, I agree. One thing women ought to think about is even if they don't invite rape on themselves (don't get raped) doesn't mean they don't set some other woman up for it. Some men are quite weak, but smart enough not to do something so publicly. No, they wait for some poor woman who is all alone, supperimposing the notions of the slut onto some innocent woman who simply happens to be alone. Sluts really don't think things through.

There are venues for that, and more. I just came back from Burning Man. I actually think there is a difference though. In some venues, what is shown may be quite available. No, I didn't partake, and easily a bit to my surprise if that was my intent. I may not have a Dread Dormomoo, at this point. I am merely saving myself for one last shot at one of my own.

The Aardvark said...

Burning Man...you are a braver man than I!

Congrats on your fortitude. I pray a DD is soon in the offing for you!

Doom said...

"I pray a DD is soon in the offing for you!" I'm going to take that in the positive way. You have no idea how many women I have loved, who while "in love" really wanted to, possibly even plotted, my death. :p Odd, most would still take me back. Women!

As to BMan? Yeah, well, I feel like a used up lemon, left in the sun out there, and sent back home the longest slowest postal way. Still sour though! I got there, did what I could, got back, and... slumbered the good part of a week away. Still haven't fully unpacked. Ugh. At least it didn't kill me. I wasn't sure about that.

Jay said...

If you want to be treated like a nun ... DRESS LIKE ONE!

The Aardvark said...

@Doom- In the offing...in the future. NOT as in "offing you".

Your death has been plotted by chicks? How Hitchcockian!

Doom said...

My last gal? I told her about a dream I had of her and another woman planning to kill me. She shouted "Get out of my head!". I merely suggested she stop thinking about killing me. Others either told me about it later or I figured things out. *grins*

I used to think every guy went through that. Didn't bug me, I'm not dead. I guess I'm a little different.