Chan'ad Bahraini

With all this talk of boys getting aroused by lingerie-clad mannequins I was reminded of a movie that explores the logical possibilities of such a situation. If you were around in 1987 then you will surely recall a movie by the name of Mannequin. In this 80s cult classic a young man by the name of Jonathan Switcher actually falls in love with a beautiful shop display mannequin. I won't spoil the rest of the story for you, but I will tell you that the tagline for the movie was:

Just because Jonathan's fallen in love with a piece of wood, it doesn't make him a dummy.

Very appropriate. (This film is second only to maybe Ferris Bueller in the genre of retarded 80s movies).

Movies aside, I think that Muharraq councillor Majeed Karimi (Al Wefaq), who wants a ban on the mannequins, raises some important points. He says, according to the GDN:

These mannequins look like real women with exactly the same features.

Mr. Karimi is not the only person who has been pondering over this. Just a few weeks ago Tunisian blogger MMM (of Subzero Blue) raised some related though-provoking questions:

The other day while walking by some store windows, the question hit me:
"When the hell did they start putting nipples on mannequins?!"
Is it that the stores are really cold?
Are the mannequins excited by the fact that people are staring at them?
Are they implying that the clothes are made for chilly days only?
Or maybe they're saying that whatever the weather, nipples will show through these clothes? (Continued)

Okay seriously... seriously... I don't think that Mr Karimi's argument is a complete non-issue. Here in Bahrain where most females dress conservatively, it doesn't surprise me that mannequins in lingerie might "offend" some people. It's all relative. Just think back to the scandal created when Janet Jackson revealed her breast during the Super Bowl halftime show in the much more liberal United States. So maybe Karimi has a debatable point... I just don't think that the municipal council should be wasting its time or resources dicussing this now when there are far more pressing issues to be dealt with.

Now go watch the movie and remind yourself of how cool it was to wear white trousers.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 12, 2005 at 4/12/2005 01:34:00 am. Permalink