Perhaps it might also be a good idea simply to acknowledge that this is not, in fact, always a women-friendly place. I have winced sometimes at the crude, immature, vulgar comments that have been posted in certain threads. I don't want to call for more tight policing of the board; actually I find the rules that currently exist sometimes unnecessarily restrictive. Just for more awareness and an attempt at greater respect for half the human race.
The kind of comments I'm thinking of are these:
Giggling and finger-pointing over photos with nipples visible through the fabric of clothing.
Claims that a photo makes Alizée look like a penis, or like she has one. (Those left me bewildered; maybe a certain latent homosexuality emerging?)
Actually, doc, there have been a few times when YOU posted some things that I thought were a bit over the line, although at least yours were well-written. (I suspect it was the lure of the clever words themselves, too hard to resist -- I know that one well.)
The worst of it is that I have a feeling most of those posting things like this don't even understand why they're offensive. It's not that the posts have sexual content; there's nothing wrong with that
per se. It's that they reduce a woman to an object to be pawed, or to sneak a peek at the naughty bits. If I were a woman browsing this thread, I would be reluctant to participate in the discussion because some of the same nasty-little-boy energy might be directed at me if I did.
And I'd be right. Remember the reception that Karla got when she posted some pictures of herself a while back? Karla's gorgeous, and those were great photos, so everyone should have clapped. There were so many ways to respond to that gesture in a positive and complimentary way. Say she's hot. Or, hell, ask her out for a date. (She's younger than my age limit or I might have.
)
But instead we got -- vulgar comments about the size of her boobs, etc. Nasty little snips that tried to put her down. She hasn't posted any more photos of herself since then, and who can blame her? And it's our loss.
I would recommend an exercise for all of the prolific posters to this forum, especially those who are young and male. Go back over all of your own posts for the last month. For each one, think: if you were a woman and this was written about you, would you like to read it? Would you find it a compliment? Would it make you want to meet the guy who wrote it?
I've said before, all posts here should be made on the assumption that Alizée herself is going to read them. Odds are that isn't true, but every once in a while it
will be true, and in some of those cases you might be very embarrassed. And even when she doesn't, other people will -- and sometimes you
should be embarrassed.
So in part, I definitely think it's the posters here. Not all the time, and not everyone. But there are some decidedly woman-unfriendly posts that crop up with depressing regularity.
EDIT: LOL well, no sooner did I say that than Karla did post a new pic of herself. Damned good one, too. Bravo, girl!
