Should Subway Ads for Breast Enhancements Be Legal?
Fun-spoiler Governor Andrew Cuomo doesn’t want to see any more ads for boob enhancements on the subway, reports CBS New York. Howard Glaser, Cuomo’s director of state operations, wrote to the MTA requesting that they revisit their advertising standards, which begs the question, in a state where women can legally roam topless, why is the presence of cleavage such a big deal?
Unsurprisingly, it’s clear that what Glaser is most concerned about are The Children. In his letter, he noted that thousands of kids use the subway each day, and that “the public has a right to expect that the MTA will strive for a family-friendly environment.” That’s hard to argue with, considering the MTA already exposes city kids to aggressive panhandlers, urine, rats, groping, sharks, airborne funghi and butt-huggers. Perhaps a little more family-friendliness is what everyone, not just the kiddos, needs.
But here’s the thing: children are exposed to breasts every day, all the time. A woman wears a tight/sort of low-cut/basically any kind of shirt? Boobs. A woman decides not to wear a shirt at all, which she can do legally in New York? Boobs. Any magazine, movie poster or advertisement for pretty much anything ever? Boobs. The ads are crass, yes, (“Made In New York,” really? You’re going to co-opt the cute little tagline of our city’s tech industry and make it about ballooned orange breasts?) but are they more crass than those STILL A VIRGIN? ads, weight-loss ads (which also show unrealistic and objectifying images of women), anything Zizmor-related or most terrifyingly, Venmo? If anything is going to corrupt the children, it’s this guy.
In response to Glaser’s letter, the MTA plan to revisit their advertising standards. Let’s hope they don’t just target boobs, which are literally the least threatening thing in the world to children, and go after, say anti-Muslim hate-speech.
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