I read in the paper that they will no longer show the Victoria’s Secret Underwear Show (or whatever it’s actually called) on network TV. This has to be heartbreaking news for the seven pervs in Nebraska that don’t get cable. I actually didn’t know that Victoria Secret was still a thing, I mean, last century if you intercepted one of their catalogs in the mail it meant you were having a pretty good day, but that was twenty years ago. Maybe they’ve been keeping their existence a secret.
Anyway, the article said that ratings were down which makes sense given the worldwide ‘porn’ web, but it also said that the show was considered “sexist” and “out of touch.” Apparently, the president of Victoria’s (well-kept) Secret has been getting an earful from certain segments of society who want to know, among other things, why the TV special did not include, well, fat women. So instead of seeing their underwear being dragged through the mud, the company simply decided to take the show off the air.
I think that sucks and it’s not, as some have suggested, because I wear women’s underwear. Tell me, what’s out of touch with a company that sells lingerie wanting to show that underwear to the public? What’s out of touch with getting the prettiest girls you can find to model it? It’s not gratuitous nudity, it’s the only logical way to show the product! Hot girls playing football in underwear is clearly the result of men being pigs but selling bras and panties by showing actual bras and panties – what else is the company supposed to do?
The whole deal with fancy underwear is that it’s about fantasy (for both the wearer and the gawker) – impossibly beautiful girls in impossibly skimpy bedroom attire. For the vast majority of potential customers, that fantasy involves trim, hetero women, so what’s out of touch with a company targeting the sweet spot of its demographic?
I could give a flying fuck whether there are lingerie shows on TV, but if it becomes sexist and out of touch to advertise your product in its best-possible light than the vocal fringe seizes a disproportionate amount of power, and that means extremist ideas will have the potential to influence markets.
Fringe elements are free to have their own shows, their own companies and their own special products – companies don’t need to serve everyone, they are free to cater to any fuckin’ profitable niche they want. Burger King doesn’t have to serve Mexican food.
In summary, it’s sad that the politically-correct elements of society can bully companies into changing what the sell and how they sell it. Market forces should determine if a company is in touch or out of touch and should any part of the market, say large women looking for unmentionables, be underserved, new businesses will eventually appear. So one day there may be Victoria’s Secret store and right next to it could be a different store called Victoria’s ‘Really Big’ Secret.
Don’t let ’em steal your underwear.