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[Carrie McLaren <stay.free AT verizon.net>]

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NEW ON THE STAY F---! WEBSITE

From back issue #22:

Subliminal Seduction:
Did the controversy surrounding subliminals help the ad industry more 
than it harmed it? Carrie McLaren discusses the paradox of 
advertising criticism:
http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/22/subliminal-advertising.html



OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

If you read the New York Times this weekend, you know about the next 
big thing in cosmetic surgery: vaginal "rejuvenation." That is, 
excising fleshy labia and tightening vaginal muscles to make one's 
genitals more "youthful" and "normal-looking." The Times doesn't give 
much space to examining *why* vaginal surgery is taking off, but the 
increasing reach of pornography--facilitated by the internet--is no 
doubt a big part of it. When women with asymmetrical labia say they 
want to look "normal," what they're really talking about is looking 
more porn models. Women's eNews is much less shy about pinpointing a 
cause, quoting one gynecologist who says, "I can't tell you how many 
pages and pages of pornographic material woman have brought in to me 
saying 'I want to look like this.'"
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/28/fashion/28PLAS.html
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2067/context/archive

This reminds me of a documentary that Chyng Sun, a friend of mine who 
teaches at New York University, is working on. Chyng has been 
interviewing consumers of pornography and told me at lunch a couple 
of weeks ago that many of the women she has talked to report that 
their partners are always asking them to imitate sex acts that 
they've seen in porn. (Chyng is looking for more people willing to 
talk about their use of porn for her video documentary. Any takers? 
Email ChyngS AT aol.com.)

Hmmm. Maybe we should add this phenomenon to our stories of people 
imitating things they see in the media:
http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/20/media_influence2.html
http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/20/media_influence1.html

Since I have no clue what constitutes a fabulous vagina (it's been 
years since I've seen my own), I turned to the web and found these 
photos:
http://www.cosmeticsurgery2.com/cs-female1.htm

...and now I can report that the ideal vagina is--surprise, 
surprise--tall and skinny.

::::

HOLIDAY CHEER

No major injuries or deaths were reported among the crowds shopping 
at Wal-Mart this weekend, but on Buy Nothing Day in Lafayette, 
Louisiana, pranksters glued the locks on about 30 stores in and near 
the Mall of Acadiana, forcing store managers to summon locksmiths. 
"Several retailers reported hundreds of customers waiting in long 
lines and thousands of dollars in lost sales as workers drilled 
through the locks and removed them":
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/27/national/27brfs.html


P.S.
Don't forget about Stay F---!'s holiday gift: The Best and Worst of 
Christmas, our terribly good mix CD:
http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/holiday_offer.html