Saturday, July 16, 2011

Irony

If you don't want people to view your images in a sexual light, it doesn't help to bring up the topic of sexualization in the description for your images. Telling perverts to "stop it" isn't going to keep them from thinking perverted thoughts. And on the other hand, introducing the subject encourages everyone else to entertain those thoughts as well. After all, if I tell you not to think about elephants, what's the first thing you're going to think of?

So what does it accomplish? The perverts see your warning (which also acts as a billboard directing them to your content) and go about their business more secretively than before (which is perhaps the best you could hope for). And yet, the images are still sexualized - except you're the one responsible for it. Good job.

This effect is particularly striking when it is the result of an excessive paranoia over pictures of kids. Just like with the elephants, if you have to follow every "look at this picture of my kid" with a "don't you dare think any sexy thoughts", then what can you expect? You think you're checking other people's compulsion to think sexy thoughts, but you're the one whose mind immediately goes there. In fact, it may not be a coincidence at all, as it's often the people who complain the loudest [link to Wikipedia article]...

Personally, I don't have much time for self-righteous moral crusaders or cowardly hypocrites.