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Originally posted by Elusive BiFem
The vast majority of the population place very negative connotations on swinging, as biblonde said...a bunch of perverts, etc. Therefore, the media, in their attempt to sell to the masses, has a vested interest in portraying the most negative aspects of swinging. That is what their viewers want to see. Think about it...if your local newspaper came out with an article touting the fun and "advantages" of swinging, what would be the response of their readers. Sheer outrage. |
The media stereotype doesn't always hold true, EBF, at least not out here in California. Over the past few years, I've read several neutral and even positive pieces, mostly in small and alternative papers, but most notably this one from the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...9/MN242428.DTL
I think it probably depends in large part upon where you live. But I also think that networks like HBO and TLC, while leaning toward the "fringe" as yawanna points out, expect that a large part of the audience viewing shows on topics like swinging will either be participants or those interested or at least sympathetic to the subjects. Why else would they risk upsetting viewers and, in the case of TLC and other commercial networks, advertisers, by airing such shows? I've been quite surprised just how graphic some of the networks are willing to be lately, given how uptight the average American viewer can be. I'd hate to see the boycotts and letter-writing campaigns of the 80s and 90s (over such mild things as "Married With Children") come back.
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| I'd dare say that the majority of us that post here and on other boards feel that we are "average." But my "average" may be quite different than yours. |
On this, I agree with you completely--and the same goes for the use of the term "attractive" in describing one's self. Seems if anything as if those who call themselves "attractive" in their ads, particularly on AFF, tend to be less so, and those who either don't bring their relative physical attractiveness up or call themselves something like "average" tend to be more attractive. Generalizations, yes, but after viewing thousands of ads, I still chuckle over the frequent disparity between a couple's description of themselves and what you see in the photos they provide.