MEDIUM RARE
Once upon a time, the great sex symbol of the Western World was a certain Brigitte Bardot. Men desired her, women hated her even when they admired the audacity of her. She turned into a controversy when an advertisement showing her underarms was pulled out. The fault was not in her stars but her naked underarms.
How times have changed. There’s a gigantic billboard on EDSA showing the model baring her underarms. A congresswoman who’s also an M.D. is advising women to forget their underwear – panties, knickers – at least when they’re home and feeling the summer heat; otherwise they run the risk of fungal infections in the pubic area. Congresswoman Janette Garin did not include brassieres in her beat-the-heat tips. (Isn’t a bra much more uncomfortable to wear?)
Calling a spade a spade, what could be more clinically honest? What’s the problem with baring an underarm or two? And yet, which advertiser would dream of projecting a man’s underarms onto their product? Does the vernacular, “kilikili,” apply to men as well as women?
Sexist? There was a headline in our lifestyle section last Tuesday that screamed at the reader, “Does your vagina need rejuvenation?” You might as well reread the article by Dr. Kaycee Reyes. In the interest of gender equality, we should ask her if there’s a male equivalent for such a desire, such a need, and if such a procedure were to be invented, would any man alive offer himself as a guinea pig?
Speaking of rejuvenation. Don’t you feel old and tired, just looking at military men – cops and soldiers — sweating in their tired, old uniforms under the sun? It would be nice if someone could design a summer look for our men in uniform. The heat index is too high, drought is spreading. The sooner we realize we live in a tropical country, the more refreshing our urban scenery will appear.
Who says cops should wear long pants all the time, anyway? Does the Constitution say so? Ask their wives if they don’t think it’s time to try a new style – short sleeves, short pants. A lighter look would not take away a cop’s air of authority; not only would it look “cool,” it would lighten his wife’s laundering chores.