Let the Sun Shine In

By Dwayne Bell

The recent terrorist attacks on the U.S. and the resulting war on terrorism have changed Americans and the world in ways we're only now understanding and appreciating. What would have seemed paranoid to suspect a few months ago now seems only too possible. Considering the horrible treatment of women in the countries that produce Islamic terrorists, and the death threats issued by them against any women who go out in public without covering, an attack on the 5th Annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York City would not have been a huge surprise, at least not to me.

But if anyone in the show had fears like this it did not stop them. Right on time, 25 of the most beautiful supermodels in the world promptly and enthusiastically paraded their marvellously naked bodies up and down the sparkling and glowing runways, smiling white light, posing and primping for every man in TV land, flirting with all the confidence and benevolence of one's own closest lover. All around them there was music. Over and over, each time more exuberantly than the last, a gospel choir sang the chorus from the theme from the musical Hair, "Let...the...sun...shine...in, let...the...sun...shine...in, the...sun...shine in..."

That was the scene under the big tent in New York City. But for the first time the show could also be easily seen from a higher vantage point.

The Victoria's secret Fashion show is the epitome of centuries of the evolution of philosophical sophistication, civilized behaviour and political progress. It is one of our highest expressions of ultimate freedom, the freedom to be beautiful, to enjoy life, to create wealth, and to be sexual. There are millions of women around the world who will never feel the warmth of the sun - or a man's loving eyes - on their bodies because their societies do not value these things.

Yet it is at such a time that all of the major networks have shied away from televising the Miss World contest; that Christian fundamentalist women's groups are renewing their attacks on pornography due to the fact that some recent Anthrax attacks involved mailing pornogrpahic material contaminated with Anthrax spores; that Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli, long famous and respected for its artistic nude calendars, announces it will no longer publish nudes in their calendars; that the New York Post's own reporter, Adam Buckman, says of the Victoria's Secret Show: The arrival of such a program on one of the major networks must represent some kind of milestone, but I'm not yet sure if it's a milestone worth celebrating.; a time when the Afghan Northern Alliance forces take over Kabul and start stick whipping women who are not covered up - revealing their only disagreement with the retreating Taliban was over who would get to brutalize their women; now when the U.S. is no longer in a position to help Afghan women because by choosing to help the Northern Alliance instead of invading Afghanistan themselves (in self-defense) they have lost any military justification for intervening; now when an awakening sense of morality in Americans is being directed more against women than in their defence due to female beauty's classical and tragically unfair association with immorality; it is now, when things are looking darkest for women around the world, that instead of a self-righteous celebration of female beauty our country and the world is tetering on the brink of an actual backlash against beauty!

I'm sorry, but the contrast could not be more extreme, the symbolism could not be more obvious, and the meaning could not be harder to miss:

Last night in New York City, in spite of what the world thinks, and in the name of all the women who have been made to suffer for their beauty and sexuality, 25 Victoria's Secret models took off their clothes and let the sun shine in.

Victoria's Secret Show Photos

Once again this year the best photos of the Victoria's Secret event are on The Look Online website. It seems veteran photographer Randy Brooke has outdone himself again this year. See them at The Look On line.

Model Search

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