To be more pracise boobs are things governments squeeze tax out of…then get voted back in to keep doing it.NZ….Moooooooooooooooooooooo!

Some years back my partner’s Polish cousin stayed 6 months with us. We spent much of the summer in the SI and as we were all keen outdoors types, we spent a lot of it tramping. Frankly we had trouble keeping clothes on her regardless of who was around. But what became clear was that because SHE was so unselfconcious about it, then everyone else we met quickly accepted her toplessness or full nudity as ok. Well yes she is a very striking woman in her 30′s and yes she was quietly admired often, but no-one made a fuss or leered at her crudely. Because she was relaxed, so was everyone else.

I realised from this experience that immodesty is a behaviour, not a lack of dress. From this perspective question the Boobs on Bikes parade looks quite different. It’s purpose was to promote a commercial expo. The fact that it gained ANY public attention at all, and has been a major success for it’s backer, is the aspect that tells us a lot about ourselves. It was not the boobs per se that I think was the problem, but the fact that they were publically exposed in such a clearly sexual context that is the root of the discomfort.

Humans are genetically wired to do sex in private. It appears to be a very old evolutionary habit. I recall the first few times I saw other people having sex in real life as quite confronting, yet it is like a fear of heights, it is one of those primitive brain reactions that can be overcome. Ask any rock-climber. The fear of exposure is initially very strong, but very quickly the mind adapts and learns to function in the new environment.

Sexual privacy (or fear of sexual exposure) is an innate primitive fear. Throughout our history this fear has been exploited (like all our fears) for the purposes of social control, resulting in immense tracts dysfunction, shame, jealousy, guilt and plain old misery disfiguring our relationships. Kept hidden, behind private doors this misery multiplies, festers and distorts our emotional lives.

Yet I guess the world nowhere near ready for us to all trot about naked and happily copulate in public just yet. Nor am I am actually advocating that….no more than I am advocating that we all take up rock-climbing in very high places to overcome our fear of heights. But collectively our “fear of public sexuality” is rather like our new found “fear of terrorists”….much hyped beyond the reality.

the part i liked was the o/s porn star telling all the waiting (mainly) men…that in about five minutes she and the others would “..be getting their puppies out..”

phil(whoar.co.nz)

Rosemary McLeod’s SST column was particularly amusing: Steve Crow is a filthy, perv and hypocrite. Let’s not mention the media that were all over the Boobs on Bikes parade like flies on shit – or the ‘About Time’ gossip insert in the same paper full of photos and banal gossip items about bimbos whose sole achievement is acting out in trendy bars. But, hey, it sells newspapers. It’s selling dirty DVDs that’s really evil.