If you answered Marge Simpson you are correct! Playboy has decided to feature the animated mother of two on the cover of its next issue and give her a full spread (pun intended).
The strangest quote of this very strange article states that, the staying power of The Simpsons "has been in large part due to its family values...." Um, yeah, that's not how I would describe it. I am a fan, and it's not family values that keeps me watching. Unless a blatant disregard for the physical safety of your reckless, troublemaking son is a "family value".
I agree with the notion that having an animated character on the cover of a nudey mag is misleading, but I also know that Playboy magazines are sold in a plastic
sleeve that makes it so no one can flip through the pages while it sits on a 7-11 rack (Rack! Ha!). Having Marge on the cover of a Playboy, instead of the usual breast implanted platinum blonde peeking over the blacked out part of the plastic sleeve, is probably better than a small child being exposed to the unsleeved Maxim
cover on the shelf next to it. I think what is more troubling is the idea that anyone, child or legal adult, would actually want to see Marge Simpson's animated (and photoshop slimmed) nakedness. Yuck.
This further infantilizing (Miley Mania- Toddlers and Tiaras- Anime porn- Furries- Catholic School Girl costumes- what have you) of sexuality in America is troublesome. And Marge Simpson posing in Playboy is just one step too far in my opinion.
And since when is 7-11 a corporation that "wants to be a responsible member of American society..."? Last I checked encouraging people to eat processed cheese product and bad coffee is not terribly responsible.
Oh, honey. Playboy is tame compared to the Hentai, Disney and cartoon porn out there. trust me. especially Disney porn: snow white and the seven dwarfs...that's all I'm saying.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I guess I don't see how this is infantalizing sexuality? The Simpsons has always been intended for adults, even if I watched it as a kid and learned 80% of what I know from it. "Cartoon," in my opinion, doesn't immediately translate to childishness. Now, does that mean that I would ever, in a million years, take pleasure in reading this article? Jesus no. But of all the bad things going on in our media today, this rates pretty low, if it rates at all.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I'd be surprised if children these days even know what the hell a "Simpson" is.
One last thing: sexualized cartoon art has been produced since cartoons existed. It's just the nature of the human race. Where there's a medium, there's a will and a way to sexualize it.