God's "Looks"

Currently I am reading a book entitled "Looks: Why They Matter More Than You Think". It is a rather interesting social science book that examines the value you and I place on physical attractiveness (PA). I ran across this little bit in the book and could not help but think of a question. Here is the quote:

"What effect does watching an endless parade of such woman have on the psyches of young girls who can never hope to look like Britney Spears? What becomes of African American women, for example, as they grow to adulthood bombarded, almost exclusively, with this "all America" beauty ideal? The "are immediately excluded from what is considered to be 'beautiful,'" writes researcher Karen Perkins of Australia's Key Center for Cultural and Media Policy."

The question that came to me after reading this was:

What effect does watching an endless parade of such God images on the psyches of young girls who can never hope to hear God spoken about as a female? What becomes of of African Americans, for example, as they grow to adulthood bombarded, almost exclusively, with this "white male" idea of God?

This thought comes on the heals of my wife's experience during a lunch in Arlington.

How is Marge Simpson any different from the others?

While I do not read Playboy magazine, there has been a bit of buzz about the recent cover of this months issue featuring Marge Simpson.

If you have been under a rock for the past several decades, Marge Simpson is a cartoon character from the long running "Simpsons".

I have no idea why Marge Simpson was chosen for the cover of the magazine. I probably should do some research, but I have reservations of looking up playboy information on the church computer. Therefore, I may be uninformed and my take on this might be a common thread of thought in this conversation, however I wonder something about this?

How is Marge Simpson any different from the other cover girls?

Some would say this difference is obvious, Marge Simpson is a drawing of a woman. She is not real. And I would agree. But I would also submit the women who usually dawn the cover of Playboy also are so highly airbrushed that they are also 'drawn'. I would also submit the usual cover girl is not real.

So, while I do think it is weird that a fictional character is on the cover of Playboy, I am not surprised.

It happens every month.