I'll be honest. I've never been able to look at Jesus on a cross the way many people do. When I look at it, I see violence, public spectacle, forced grief and a little temptation in the form of a scantly clad man. And this was just my first impression, not something I've built up over years of being a religious skeptic. The first time I saw a crucifix, I really felt uncomfortable. Hell, I still feel uncomfortable when I see the large ones. I always feel like, "Hey, that's kinda gruesome... does it really have to be that huge and.. graphic?"
I get the reasoning behind it and all, but that doesn't change the instant evisceral emotions that it causes. Now, not to say anything more than the words following, but if you spent your day staring at a naked dude with no dignity but a strategically placed sash, regardless of what it means emotionally, do you think the image itself might bend your brain a little? Think "A Clockwork Orange."
(Warning: The following paragraph contains tongue-lodged-firmly-in-cheek humor. Not to be confused with sarcasm. Be warned.)
In the same way, I admit that working in the porn industry and handling thousands of naked pictures every day really warped my perception of women. By "warped" I don't want to say that I became a chauvanistic sexist... because I was one BEFORE I ever had that job... I want to describe how much importance a physical presence became part of my desires and expectations. I mean, if being raised by 3 women doesn't condition you to be a he-man woman hater, you're a pussy yourself. Add the constant judgement of "that's hot" "that's ugly" to every image you see and your standards change faster than the MPAA's weblog software.
We're already vaguely familiar with this subject, thanks to
Art's Mass Media Mind Control thread, but I'd just like to bring into view the evisceral images we allow into our lives quite intimately. Whether it be a naked martyr-on-a-stick or a gaggle of greased up girls, the more we acclimate ourselves with visual images, the more our lives begin to follow after them.