Super bowl halftime show and culture

[SKL]

Disclaimer - this is not about judging.  It's not really even about halftime shows, which I rarely watch any more because the standard is set so low regardless of who is performing.  It's an honest question about cultural differences.

On facebook, Hispanic mom friends have taken opposite sides on whether or not the halftime show was appropriate for primetime.  Some of them have commented that it's a cultural difference and have no problem with kids seeing what was seen.  At least one Hispanic mom had the opposite opinion.

I am curious.  Is this a cultural difference?  My kids have a friend in a Latino family who is a bit risque as is her mom.  (I like her very much, but yes she pushes it by Midwest standards.)  Is this a Latino thing?  Or is it specific to some Latino populations?  Or is it more narrow and the Hispanic individuals assigning it to culture are painting with too broad a brush?

[SKL]

For an example, a Hispanic mom friend (political conservative if it matters) posted a meme like this:

   "Hispanics" [dad, mom and little girl smiling and dancing on their feet while watching the halftime show]

   "Everyone Else" [dad and mom looking shocked and covering daughters' eyes]

Also, a number of women are calling the moves "empowerment" and saying we prudes need to get with the program.

Remember the push to eliminate the swimsuit competition in the Miss America pageant?  I thought the point was that sexualized performances were degrading to women.  I guess I'm confused.

 

Edited February 4, 2020 by SKL

[DesertBlossom]

I didn't watch the superbowl or the halftime show, but have read a little bit of commentary on it, both about how inappropriate it was and about the cultural aspects of it.

I am not going to comment specifically on the halftime show. But I will say that just because something is part of a culture doesn't automatically make it acceptable. 

Edited February 4, 2020 by DesertBlossom

[mathnerd]

I thought that Shakira was Lebanese muslim? (I checked on that more than a decade ago 😉 )

BTW/ I did not watch the halftime show, but, I did happen to watch quite a few of them before I had kids and I know that race/culture does not matter when it comes to over sexualization of women on these shows. BTW/ any show relating to women on stripper-poles for entertainment is something that is inappropriate to any culture, and is not something I would want my young son or daughter to see.

[prairiewindmomma]

I wasn’t a fan of the costuming or of seeing any part of JLos crotch or of the pole dancing, but Shakira’s dancing looked like belly dancing mixed with some Colombian stuff I have seen—totally nods to her heritage. 

I find it fascinating that the commentary has mostly been about the oversexualization of things and not about some of the political commentary they put into the halftime show—like kids in cages. 

Edited February 4, 2020 by prairiewindmomma

[Sneezyone]

Most people I associate with gave two hoots. It looks like a whole lotta pearl clutching to me. The only people who said boo (in favor of chill out already) were my Puerto Rican friends (who are also religious conservatives). Katie Perry went out there in her signature bustiers without an uproar. Janet was fine until the nip slip. The bigger message (kids in cages, Puerto Ricans are Americans) is so much easier to ignore when costumes and poles get all the attention.

Edited February 4, 2020 by Sneezyone

[SKL]

1 minute ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I find it fascinating that the commentary has mostly been about the oversexualization of things and not about some of the political commentary they put into the halftime show—like kids in cages. 

I have seen some mild commentary about the political stuff.  However, some people felt the kids in cages were inappropriate because the superbowl is the biggest sex trafficking event of the year.  I'm thinking their intended message was lost on many.  And honestly, I personally did not notice the cages.  Maybe my brain assumed bars were an extension of the stripper pole prop ....  Or maybe I was too busy telling my kids what I thought of what went before.

[Hadley]

I so hope that this thread doesn’t roll downhill...fast...

I’m of the camp that believes that the half-time show has always been quite raunchy.  I can remember being at a Super Bowl party years ago when my son was quite young.  I ushered him out of the room at halftime with the reminder that what was about to be on television was inappropriate for young children.  As I was doing so, we ran into a gaggle of tiny girls who had mothers ushering them into the room specifically to watch the event!  This was not the first time in life I have looked up and found myself swimming upstream alone!

I grew up in dance and coached cheerleading in my past life...I spent much time arguing with girls and parents about which moves were okay and which were not ...I hate to see these girls grow up believing that they have to sell their goods, if you know what I mean...Sadly, I don’t think this is a new phenomenon.

Perhaps I was just born an old lady... 

[Jean in Newcastle]

9 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

I thought that Shakira was Lebanese muslim? (I checked on that more than a decade ago 😉 )

BTW/ I did not watch the halftime show, but, I did happen to watch quite a few of them before I had kids and I know that race/culture does not matter when it comes to over sexualization of women on these shows. BTW/ any show relating to women on stripper-poles for entertainment is something that is inappropriate to any culture, and is not something I would want my young son or daughter to see.

Shakira is Columbian.

[Hadley]

Count me as another who totally missed the children in cages!  But this makes my point...all we saw were women on display.  They totally buried their own message!

 

[mlktwins]

I don't post much on FB, but I posted that night about what a different experience it was watching the halftime show with 14 year old boys.  That I thought it was a little much for primetime - especially the costuming and the crotch shots.  I got a lot of unfavorable feedback (from moms) who said it was good family friendly entertainment.  One has twin boys a couple of years younger than mine.  I told her she should take them to see the Hustlers movie as that would be good family friendly fun too.   I have unfriended some people -- LOL!!!  I have enough going on right now and I try and keep my FB page positive.

 

Edited February 4, 2020 by mlktwins

[Jean in Newcastle]

The outfits were no more risque than those worn by white entertainers. Neither was the dancing. So imo, the main culture difference is between “entertainer in a show” vs “the rest of the world”.  

[mlktwins]

1 minute ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

The outfits were no more risque than those worn by white entertainers. Neither was the dancing. So imo, the main culture difference is between “entertainer in a show” vs “the rest of the world”.  

I agree and I don't want to see that much of any entertainer -- LOL.  I certainly don't have to question J-Lo's grooming habits at this point!!!

[mathnerd]

7 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Shakira is Columbian.

Of Lebanese parentage. Her last name that she officially uses is Mubarak (which is a Muslim last name)

eta: Lebanese ululation in super bowl halftime show: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/amp30751113/shakira-viral-tongue-moment-super-bowl/

Edited February 4, 2020 by mathnerd

[Sneezyone]

5 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

The outfits were no more risque than those worn by white entertainers. Neither was the dancing. So imo, the main culture difference is between “entertainer in a show” vs “the rest of the world”.  

Does no one remember Lady Gaga? Beyonce? M.I.A flipping the bird? The LITERALLY half-naked and fully tatted up Adam Levine? The performers don’t really control the camera angles either. The producers do.

Edited February 4, 2020 by Sneezyone

[Sneezyone]

6 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

Of Lebanese parentage. Her last name that she officially uses is Mubarak (which is a Muslim last name)

 

Her maiden name is of Arabic origin. She’s not Muslim and was raised in a primarily Catholic Latin country. 

ETA: you do realize that ululations are common vocalizations in Latin America, South Asia and parts of Africa, right? It also occurs among Jews. What does that have to do with Islam, her last name, or the half time show?

Edited February 4, 2020 by Sneezyone

[Jean in Newcastle]

2 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

Does no one remember Lady Gaga? Beyonce? M.I.A flipping the bird? The LITERALLY half-naked and fully tatted up Adam Levine? The performers don’t really control the camera angles either. The producers do.

Yes. It bothers me that this is being made an ethnic/racial issue. 

[DesertBlossom]

5 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Yes. It bothers me that this is being made an ethnic/racial issue. 

Is it really though? Or are we just hearing those voices the loudest? Because I think there are a lot of people (including yours truly) who have thought for many years that the halftime show has been inappropriate and not at all family-friendly. 

[mathnerd]

26 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

 

Her maiden name is of Arabic origin. She’s not Muslim and was raised in a primarily Catholic Latin country. 

ETA: you do realize that ululations are common vocalizations in Latin America, South Asia and parts of Africa, right? It also occurs among Jews. What does that have to do with Islam, her last name, or the half time show?

The thread referenced to “Hispanic” culture in the halftime show. I was pointing out that it references very heavily to middle eastern culture (including Syrian, Muslim, Lebanese) as well. A belly dance is most definitely not of Latina origin (so is zaghrouta, and one of her songs had an arabic chant in it and she wore an arabic costume according to half-time show experts). It is very significant because of the current political climate in this country, in my opinion.

”introducing Westerners to the traditional Middle Eastern cry of joy called a zaghrouta”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-life-shakira-tongue-flicking-arabic-meaning-tt-soc-02032020-20200203-wxe5wv5f2jg77jux7xrb75nihu-story.html%3foutputType=amp

Edited February 4, 2020 by mathnerd

[JustEm]

With all the complaining I've heard online I decided to watch it. I don't understand the fuss. It is not a secret that this is what should be expected during the halftime show or any live performance by many performers. It is not something I want my children watching, not necessarily because of the dancing(minus the pole dancing) but because of some of the costumes. Mainly j lo's when she's pole dancing. 

But even the pole dancing was pretty tame and I think it was about as nonsexual as you can get with a pole dance. She showed off her strength quite a bit with it and she certainly could have made it worse.

Part of me is intrigued to see what my 11 year ds would say about it if he saw it. He does not have much exposure to the sexualization in entertainment and he chooses to look away when say we walk passed Victoria secrets even though we've never focused on modesty/etc.

[JustEm]

But I don't think this is a cultural thing. I think it is a societal things. While the women certainly drew from their cultures some of the costume choices and camera views were driven by our societies view on entertainment

[sassenach]

I married into a Mexican family and IME Latinos are much more comfortable with sexy costuming and dance. For sure. That said, pole dancing does not fall into the same category as samba.

My Mexican best friend, who is a bad ass retired cop and not conservative at all, posted a rant about it today because of she thought it was a pretty base example of "empowerment." She was more impressed with Demi and the female football coach. 

I don't actually care about any of it. My favorite part has been the memes.

Edited February 4, 2020 by sassenach

[Paige]

I thought the show was fine. I thought the camera angles, especially on Shakira, were inappropriate, but it was entirely not her fault. The artists' are creating a show for the stadium and considering the optics of the people there as much or if not more than the tv crowd. I think it would have looked a lot different and more family friendly in that setting. I thought whoever was running the cameras was being really tacky and rude and wish that J Lo and Shakira weren't being blamed for that.

I find the pearl clutching to be over the top. Nothing was that different than any other years except that all of the lead performers were female.

 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

The pole dancing was because of the Hustlers movie which JLo was in. She has great core strength!

[Chris in VA]

4 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

The thread referenced to “Hispanic” halftime show. I was pointing out that it references middle eastern culture (including Syrian, Muslim, Lebanese) as well. A belly dance is most definitely not of Latina origin.

”introducing Westerners to the traditional Middle Eastern cry of joy called a zaghrouta”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-life-shakira-tongue-flicking-arabic-meaning-tt-soc-02032020-20200203-wxe5wv5f2jg77jux7xrb75nihu-story.html%3foutputType=amp

She is not Muslim. There wasnxt anything referencing Islam specifically in the show. She is of Lebanese descent and was raised Catholic. Just because a culture shares some commonalities with a religion doesn't mean one is referencing that religion when one showcases a commonality. This is important because there are people who are denigrating Shakira's person and saying she is Muslim like it is some kind of slur. Well, she's not, first of all. Lebanon actually has a high percentage of Christians (about 38%, versus about 2% in Israel/PT). 

I know I am over-making my point and it is not meant to be attacking. Mubarak, incidently, means blessing/blessed and is Arabic but not specifically an Islamic last name. 

[HeartString]

40 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

and I am not sure that it was enough clothing to be considered clothing.

Just quoting this as a jumping off point.  Looking at the costumes, they were both covered from the waist down by flesh covered lycra.  The top part of both outfits actually cover more skin than a typical cheerleader outfit. 

[mathnerd]

1 minute ago, Cnew02 said:

Just quoting this as a jumping off point.  Looking at the costumes, they were both covered from the waist down by flesh covered lycra.  The top part of both outfits actually cover more skin than a typical cheerleader outfit. 

Not knowing the technical terms, I thought that they wore suits similar to what figure skaters wore on the ice. 

[Sneezyone]

4 minutes ago, Chris in VA said:

She is not Muslim. There wasnxt anything referencing Islam specifically in the show. She is of Lebanese descent and was raised Catholic. Just because a culture shares some commonalities with a religion doesn't mean one is referencing that religion when one showcases a commonality. This is important because there are people who are denigrating Shakira's person and saying she is Muslim like it is some kind of slur. Well, she's not, first of all. Lebanon actually has a high percentage of Christians (about 38%, versus about 2% in Israel/PT). 

I know I am over-making my point and it is not meant to be attacking. Mubarak, incidently, means blessing/blessed and is Arabic but not specifically an Islamic last name. 

It very much feels like a promotion of the theory that closeted Muslims are out to convert unsuspecting American youth to their awful faith using hip shaking and other gyrations.

Edited February 4, 2020 by Sneezyone

[HeartString]

1 minute ago, mathnerd said:

Not knowing the technical terms, I thought that they wore suits similar to what figure skaters wore on the ice. 

That's what it looks like to me.

[regentrude]

I am not watching football or the half time show, but  I seriously wonder how any show can be inappropriate compared to adults giving each other concussions that can lead to permanent brain damage.

Edited February 4, 2020 by regentrude

[almondbutterandjelly]

3 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

I just wish female performers didn't always feel like they have to swing around on a pole, ride naked on a giant wrecking ball, or wear thongs as costumes just to get people to watch their show.  I just don't see so much of that in the male performers

Yes!  I couldn't help but notice the male singers were fully dressed in shirts, long pants and overcoats.  As talented and powerful as JLo and Shakira are, I wish that they would show little girls that you don't have to look like you're naked to showcase your talent.  

[mathnerd]

1 minute ago, happysmileylady said:

I just wish female performers didn't always feel like they have to swing around on a pole, ride naked on a giant wrecking ball, or wear thongs as costumes just to get people to watch their show.  I just don't see so much of that in the male performers

I never understood how projecting a stripper image or pointing to one’s private parts in front of the world stage was construed as “female empowerment” though I applaud JLo for hanging upside down on a pole while singing on a crowded stage in a slippery costume which is what it looks like in the pictures on newspaper sites.

[Lady Florida.]

1 hour ago, mathnerd said:

I thought that Shakira was Lebanese muslim? (I checked on that more than a decade ago 😉 )

 

Her father was Lebanese though I don't know if he was Muslim. Many Lebanese are Christian. His family moved to Columbia when he was pretty young and he was raised in that culture. Her mother is Spanish and Italian. She was born and raised in Columbia.

I don't watch football though I usually watch the commercials online the next day. Sometimes I watch the halftime show as well, and I did that yesterday after reading so much about it. I loved it. I thought it was perfect for the venue/location. It was so very...Miami, says the Florida Girl. 

Edited February 4, 2020 by Lady Florida.

[Sneezyone]

3 minutes ago, perkybunch said:

Yes!  I couldn't help but notice the male singers were fully dressed in shirts, long pants and overcoats.  As talented and powerful as JLo and Shakira are, I wish that they would show little girls that you don't have to look like you're naked to showcase your talent.  

This is revisionist history.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.phillyvoice.com/55-complaints-were-filed-fcc-about-adam-levines-super-bowl-performance-nudity/amp/

[almondbutterandjelly]

Just now, Sneezyone said:

This is revisionist history.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.phillyvoice.com/55-complaints-were-filed-fcc-about-adam-levines-super-bowl-performance-nudity/amp/

I'm not revising anything.  I am speaking about the male soloists in JLo's and Shakira's show.  They wore long clothes and overcoats.  Yes, they did.

[Sneezyone]

Just now, perkybunch said:

I'm not revising anything.  I am speaking about the male soloists in JLo's and Shakira's show.  They wore long clothes and overcoats.  Yes, they did.

It is revisionist in its assumption that this particular show exists in isolation. It doesn’t.

[fairfarmhand]

I think what People are referring to is that when complaints are made about the style of dancing and such the response is “this is Hispanic culture, get over it”

honestly the super bowl halftime show has been gross for years so I’m not surprised about any of it.

(NFL cheerleading is not that different. I hate NFL cheerleading.) 

Edited February 4, 2020 by fairfarmhand

[Paige]

2 minutes ago, perkybunch said:

I'm not revising anything.  I am speaking about the male soloists in JLo's and Shakira's show.  They wore long clothes and overcoats.  Yes, they did.

Some of them wore that but some were also half naked wearing super weird bondage-looking shirts. 

I agree with the sentiment that women or any performer shouldn't feel the need to be half naked to get a crowd. My only disagreement with some is that this year was anything different or somehow worse than other years.

 

[Sneezyone]

1 minute ago, fairfarmhand said:

I think what People are referring to is that when complaints are made about the style of dancing and such the response is “this is Hispanic culture, get over it”

honestly the super bowl halftime show has been gross for years so I’m not surprised about any of it.

(NFL cheerleading is not that different. I hate NFL cheerleading.) 

Part of it was cultural in the ethnic sense and part of it was cultural in the ‘Superbowl’ precedent sense. None of it strayed from either beaten path.

[Lady Florida.]

29 minutes ago, Paige said:

 

I find the pearl clutching to be over the top. Nothing was that different than any other years except that all of the lead performers were female.

 

 

And this is why people are clutching their pearls. They are intimidated by this. It's also why others are discussing female empowerment.

[Garga]

1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I wasn’t a fan of the costuming or of seeing any part of JLos crotch or of the pole dancing, but Shakira’s dancing looked like belly dancing mixed with some Colombian stuff I have seen—totally nods to her heritage. 

I find it fascinating that the commentary has mostly been about the oversexualization of things and not about some of the political commentary they put into the halftime show—like kids in cages. 

I didn’t notice the kids in cages.  And I think that when people use their sexuality to be heard, the only message that is heard is their sexuality.

1 hour ago, Hadley said:

Count me as another who totally missed the children in cages!  But this makes my point...all we saw were women on display.  They totally buried their own message!

 

Exactly.

46 minutes ago, Paige said:

I thought the show was fine. I thought the camera angles, especially on Shakira, were inappropriate, but it was entirely not her fault. The artists' are creating a show for the stadium and considering the optics of the people there as much or if not more than the tv crowd. I think it would have looked a lot different and more family friendly in that setting. I thought whoever was running the cameras was being really tacky and rude and wish that J Lo and Shakira weren't being blamed for that.

I find the pearl clutching to be over the top. Nothing was that different than any other years except that all of the lead performers were female.

I agree about the camera angles.  I was thinking as I watched, that if the camera guy wasn’t beneath the performers and shooting up, it would have a completely different feel to it.

However, that weird costume JLo wore at the beginning with the leather chaps-like pants and most of her bum sticking out was weird.  It was meant to emphasize the naked part of her bum.  I know people like to talk about her bum a lot, so maybe that’s why she did it?  I thought that the fact that her pants didn’t have any cloth in the crotch/bum area was designed to draw the eye to the area.  Very in-your-face-look-at-my-genital-area.  

 

 

34 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

 just wish female performers didn't always feel like they have to swing around on a pole, ride naked on a giant wrecking ball, or wear thongs as costumes just to get people to watch their show.  I just don't see so much of that in the male performers.

I agree. And I don’t find it empowering in the slightest. I can’t imagine ever in my life taking off my clothes and sliding around on a pole (or a wrecking ball)  in front of the men in my life.  How is that empowering to women?  Can you imagine going into work and taking off everything except your underwear and wiggling around in front of your male coworkers?  That is NOT empowering to women.  

 

———

The OP was asking though, about cultural differences.  And while I’m over here thinking it’s tacky to show women pole dancing on prime time TV, the hispanic women she knew thought it was perfectly fine.  

While I was watching it I was thinking the same thing, “This is over the top to me, but I do know that in hispanic culture, the women are expected to be sexier.”  I don’t think it’s seen with the same unease as I see it.  I think it’s considered normal and natural.

ETA:  I know that those last two paragraphs sound like all or nothing.  I am aware there are many different people in each culture that don’t all agree. But from the little bit I know, I’ve been under the impression that it’s more acceptable (not even sure that’s the right word) for women to go all out to dress up and be sexy.  I guess I’m thinking along the lines of Latin dances as compared to things like the Waltz or the twist.  

Edited February 4, 2020 by Garga

[Wheres Toto]

I thought Shakira's costumes and moves were fine.   I did see articles about her incorporating some Arabic in her songs and the belly dancing.  I also thought it was cool that she plays the drums.

I thought JLo's costume and pole dance were a bit over the top.  I also thought the costumes were ugly.     

I didn't even notice the kids were in cages.  I don't know if it was camera angles or just the more in-you-face stuff with the dancing, although again, other than the pole, I didn't really find it different from most other pop culture dancing.    I did find it a little discordant to have JLo in her extremely skimpy (honestly, I didn't even realize she was wearing opaque flesh colored pants, it didn't seem that way in some of the closer crotch shots) outfits followed by a bunch of young girls in cute white sweats.  

 

 

[Garga]

16 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

This is revisionist history.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.phillyvoice.com/55-complaints-were-filed-fcc-about-adam-levines-super-bowl-performance-nudity/amp/

Overall, when a female singer performs she is wearing considerably fewer clothing than when a male singer performs. It’s not revisionist history.  It’s taking all of the pop music culture as a whole. One guy with his clothes off doesn’t balance out huge majority of women who dress in tiny, sparkly body suits.

[Garga]

2 minutes ago, Where's Toto? said:

I thought Shakira's costumes and moves were fine.   I did see articles about her incorporating some Arabic in her songs and the belly dancing.  I also thought it was cool that she plays the drums.

I thought JLo's costume and pole dance were a bit over the top.  I also thought the costumes were ugly.     

I didn't even notice the kids were in cages.  I don't know if it was camera angles or just the more in-you-face stuff with the dancing, although again, other than the pole, I didn't really find it different from most other pop culture dancing.    I did find it a little discordant to have JLo in her extremely skimpy (honestly, I didn't even realize she was wearing opaque flesh colored pants, it didn't seem that way in some of the closer crotch shots) outfits followed by a bunch of young girls in cute white sweats.  

 

 

I thought the exact same things you thought.   It was a bizarre juxtaposition.

“Just wait, little girls, in a few years you can shed those sweats and wear your underwear in front of everyone and dance on a pole.  Won’t that be fun?”

[Sneezyone]

8 minutes ago, Garga said:

Overall, when a female singer performs she is wearing considerably fewer clothing than when a male singer performs. It’s not revisionist history.  It’s taking all of the pop music culture as a whole. One guy with his clothes off doesn’t balance out huge majority of women who dress in tiny, sparkly body suits.

Most super bowl performances are women these days. They appeal to both genders where men tend to dislike seeing other half naked men. I distinctly recall watching Prince perform in ass-less chaps and heels but maybe that was the grannies (pun intended). ETA: It was the VMAs.  Steven Tyler was usually shirtless too. Skintight body suits were practically de rigeur for male and female performers in the 70s. So, yeah, I don’t get it. The skirts my mom wore in the 70s would probably give people the vapors and they were considered respectable.

Edited February 4, 2020 by Sneezyone

[Terabith]

It wasn't really my taste or style, but I thought they were covered decently.  I didn't like the camera angles, but I thought the dancing showed incredible athleticism and strength.  I thought they made important comments about children in cages and the way Puerto Rico is part of the US but has been neglected in recovery efforts from hurricanes and earthquakes.  I didn't think it was any more inappropriate than any other major performance.  

[SKL]

I thought the costumes looked fine in general, except when they were purposely bending in ways to display the nether regions.

The show overall might have been a much bigger success if they hadn't decided to go to that extreme with the nether regions.  Was it worth it?  It depends on how you define "worth it."

But my post wasn't really about that.  I was asking whether Hispanic culture generally finds that kind of performance more family-friendly compared to how the average American sees it.  From the perspective of moms of kids watching.  I wasn't talking about the cultures of the performers.  And again, this was brought up by Hispanic mothers I know.

Edited February 4, 2020 by SKL

[HeartString]

Someone mentioned the performers touching themselves.  Not to dive off into a political area, but I have seen several people interpreting that as being political commentary on, hmm, a certain phrase a high powered individual was recorded saying.  

[Sneezyone]

Don’t anybody watch the ladies ( or Mens...where is Johnny Weir when you need him?!)  figure skating finals lest you be distracted by the flesh colored fabric and miss the athleticism and talent.

Edited February 4, 2020 by Sneezyone

[fairfarmhand]

49 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

Not knowing the technical terms, I thought that they wore suits similar to what figure skaters wore on the ice. 

And you know that kinda bothers me more particularly when so many ice skaters are 15-17 years old. So the idea that it should be okay for women of any age, young or old to just walk around with their bodies seeming to be only covered by a little glitter really kinda bugs me. My dh doesn’t watch figure skating because it makes him feel weird to see that much implied skin on a 1. young teen 2. Woman who’s not his wife.

Whether it’s not actual skin showing is beside the point.

so our family tries to be consistent whether it’s a prom dress on my daughters, figure skater/gymnast on television, or singer at halftime. we turned the channel at halftime like we always do because it’s seldom worth watching.