I have been following things closely and kept my mouth shut, but this is my
area of expertise and I have devoted many years of study & debate to this
sort of subject so I decided to chime in. Long before Don Samuels called
The Trendsetter pornographic, many woman in my life have had this exact
discussion about the newspaper and what possible good it could bring to our
people.
Pornography is defined by the Princeton Dictionary as: creative activity
(writing or pictures or films etc.) of no literary or artistic value other
than to stimulate sexual desire - wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
Many people say Playboy magazines have great articles. However, most people
buy it for the pictures despite what they might tell you, because the
pictures stimulate sexual desire.
Everyone is going to define for him or herself what is pornographic
material. To me the Trendsetter has pornographic material in it. I believe
it indirectly contributes to the exploitation of woman, especially African
American woman. Perhaps, I took too many Womans Studies courses at the
University of Wisconsin in River Falls, or perhaps I just believe woman
should be portrayed differently than they are in the Trendsetter. I believe
it is this mentality of exploitation that contribute to keeping Af-Am men in
the clubs, having one night stands, cheating on their wives or girlfriends
or "baby-momma's" that help to contribute to the dysfunction of our African
American families and communities.
Unfortunately, due to concentrated media ownership society is still so
dominated by men who control what people see. As a result, women are
increasingly portrayed as sex symbols as a way for a media companies to turn
a profit. Despite history, that includes great woman like Fannie Lou Hamer,
Ida B. Wells, and Rosa Parks, images of African American women are often
like the exploitive images seen in the Trendsetter. These images run the
danger of perpetuating the victimization of all women.
The Trendsetters April 2005 issue included several sexually explicit
articles. A picture of a beautiful African American woman in a translucent
teddy that barely hits the tippy top of her thigh with a caption reading
Trendsetter Treat Apparently, you can go to more Trendsetter Treats at
www.wetrendset.com. They will even customize the treats. Woman will get
explicit images of men. Men will get explicit of woman. Apparently, there is
not option for woman like who might prefer woman, or men who might prefer
men.
The April Trendsetter Treat was next to a half page advertisement for
Augies Strip Club. This ad featured a woman posing in undergarments with the
word slut printed all over them, the caption, sometimes you feel like a
slut, sometimes you dont.
On this same page, same issue, there is an ad for a Summer Bunnies contest
with 3 African American women in bikini tops, one of the women has her hands
up inside her own top, cupping her breasts, the other woman has a bikini top
so small that it just covers her nipple, with the rest of her breast
exposed.
The July/August 2005 issue has an article titled Can big booties build a
rift between woman? On another page there is a reoccurring article called
Advice Chick often featuring pornographically communicated advice. See the
answer where Advice Chick tells a single woman who goes after
unattainable/married men, you think like a whore...the only thing
connecting you is his meat to your slit.
Sorry for the graphic examples, but since a list poster questioned why it
would be called pornography, I thought I'd provide my opinions & examples.
No one can define pornography for any one but themselves, but the material
displayed in trendsetter is certainly designed to stimulate sexual desire,
and therefore it meets my own definition.
-Kayla Smith
Willard Hay
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