Through A Cathode Ray Tube Darkly

On This Day In History
1981: M.T.V. is launched

Quote Of The Day
"The baby sits in front of M.T.V. watching violent fantasies, while Dad guzzles beer with his favourite sport only to find his heroes all coked up."
(Lou Reed)

"This chick has three boobs!"

Empowered, Body Positive Plus Size Female Singer, 1983
Nobody's Diary

Empowered, Body Positive Plus Size Female Singer, 2014
Anaconda

Is this a change for the better, or for the worse?
Is M.T.V. responsible for this?
I don't know, I just woke up one morning on the other side of the T.V. screen in a twisted Wonderland where most things made no sense anymore.
It seems to me, though, that being body positive doesn't mean stripping down naked and shaking your private parts in front of the camera lens while referring to them intimately with lurid lyrics.
Being body positive means respecting yourself, and nobody who respects themself would do the things Nicki Minaj does in the video linked above. She may honestly believe she is control of her body, but I'm pretty sure she isn't. Now who might have a vested interest in getting a beautiful woman to strip naked and gyrate in front of a T.V. camera? Hmm, there's a puzzler.
No doubt I'll be called an out-of-touch old fuddy-duddy, or a sexist and told that a woman should be allowed to do whatever she wants to with her body. Fine, go ahead, I can take it, I know I'm an old-fashioned square and I'm fine with that. 

Tanita, what do you think?
"I don't care about their different thoughts,
Different thoughts are good for me.
Up in arms and chaste and whole,
All God's children took their toll.
Look my eyes are just holograms.
Look your love has drawn red from my hands.
From my hands you know you'll never be
More than twist in my sobriety."

R.I.P., Paul Reubens. A proper tribute tomorrow.