Apparently Catholic League professional tight-ass Bill Donahue is pissed off at an Equinox ad that depicts nuns sketching a naked man. And, you know, as a good feminist I’m anti-objectification and anti-making-fun-of-nuns and whatnot, but (a) I don’t think this is making fun of nuns, it’s just kind of silly, (b) I am very pro- Hot Semi-Naked Dude, and (c) [insert intelligent commentary about the Male Gaze and the differing feminist takes on gendered objectification here]. Plus, I support most things that get Bill Donahue riled up.
So if you’re interested in hot man-ass, peek below the fold.
[click to embiggen]
I would have liked it better if they showed the stereotypical middle-aged nuns, but God forbid that advertisers should hint that middle-aged and elderly women are still interested in Teh Sex and hot guys.
I might find Bill Donahue’s perpetual outrage entertaining if it didn’t make the rest of us Catholics look like thin-skinned wusses. Fortunately, very few of the fellow Papists I know could pick him out of a lineup.
Waaaait a minute. You mean that women over the age of 25.. have sex? Here I thought they were just around to have babies! You’re totally blowing my mind here.
/snark.
Yeah. Would have been nice (and, I think, funnier) to show some women who actually look like nuns — who I hear are not all 20-year-old hotties, but startlingly resemble “normal” women.
It reminded me of a specific sequence in the movie version of Persepolis when Marjane is in art school, but that comparison is a bit played out, to say the least.
Speaking of which, if you haven’t seen Persepolis, do so even if you’ve read the books. It’s a bit episodic (which is the danger of autobiography) but the animation is wicked cool. Some sequences reminded me of Indonesia shadow puppets, of all things.
This line made me laugh:
“WCBS News asked people on the streets of New York what they thought of the ad and reactions ranged from enthusiasm at seeing a muscular naked man…”
Enthusiasm, eh?
I’m just happy to see an ad providing something for those of us who are attracted to men. I thought the ad was light-hearted and harmless, but then again I’m not Catholic or uptight about peens.
it kind of reminds me of a modern michelangelo… although Bill is probably also the guy who gets upset at school field trips to see naked statues at places like the MET…
I worked with a nun who used to be a women’s prison chaplain and she told me tons of stories about inmates having sex in public and running around naked and even mutilating their genitals and showing her. Celibate doesn’t necessarily mean sheltered.
Plus it’s nice to see an ad with clothed women staring at a naked man.
I am not even particularly interested in hot man-ass, but I could not resist clicking. This ad appears to be more about the nun legs ( and the nun peeking through the window) than about man-ass.
It’s not like the Catholic Church has actually commissioned artists to portray JESUS naked before, for instance Michelangelo’s Cristo della Minerva. I’m sure that was just a huge, huge mistake, right? (Well, the Counter-Reformation apparently thought so.)
It’s pretty clear to me that the nun w/ garter and peeping-tom nun are more problematic than the fact that there’s a naked dude. But those seem kind of minor. I mean, making fun of nuns? Really? Did they boycott the Blues Brothers too? Or Sister Act? The only reason anyone is paying attention to this is the naked guy.
So if you’re interested in hot man-ass,
Meh. I don’t go for the hyper-muscular super-bubble-butt look. If I like any guys at all, it’s the short, slender, rather feminine ones, especially those who don’t try to hide said femininity out of shame.
But I support anything that gets Bill Donahue riled up. It’s so much fun watching him make an ass of himself (but not fun at all to watch him destroy careers and unleash his minions on women, as he did to Melissa McEwan and Amanda Marcotte).
Surely you remember how apoplectic Bill got over Chocolate Jesus?
Ohhhhhhh how I wish I could come across a lovely figure like him; what a physique, nice quads, nice back…ass. Dammit, my gym is filled solely with skinny hairy hipsters who only go in for the treadmills. Not fair!
Maybe I am reading way to much into the art but I read it more as making the profane sacred and the sacred profane. The nuns (typically a sign of the celibate) are hyper sexualized and the naked posing man is stoic and appears in a very classical pose.
though he does have a nice butt…
After a decade of working in a large Catholic hospital, I thought you couldn’t BE a nun until you were over 50! ;)
One of my fave nuns was almost 80 and could dish great gossip; she was a self-described “tough broad”, big sports fan and a love of a person with a great sense of humor. Sister B would have gotten a laugh out of this and Donahue’s outrage. I remember one time I expressed surprise by something she said, thinking “all nuns were sweet and innocent in nature” and she replied, “Why are you shocked? We’re people, too!”
heh the first thing I thought of was Monty Python.
It’s only mild peril! I can handle it! THERE’S ONLY A HUNDRED FIFTY OF THEM!
What a lovely tuchis. Thank you.
The Bill Donahue Irk is frosting, really.
Hmmm, as a fellow Catholic I don’t know WTH Donahue is talking about (and often don’t!). Celibacy is a SACRIFICE not something easy to do…of course (straight or bi) nuns can still be “enthused” by a hot nekkid man. But, Donahue often spouts things that are contrary to A) reality and B) Catholic doctorine.
What’s more problematic to me, although certainly nothing to get too upset about, is the innacurate portrayal and sexual objectification of nuns…their dress is off – nuns don’t wear thigh-high stockings and garters, and never wear makeup.
Hmmm, as a fellow Catholic I don’t know WTH Donahue is talking about (and often don’t!). Celibacy is a SACRIFICE not something easy to do…of course (straight or bi) nuns can still be “enthused” by a hot nekkid man. But, Donahue often spouts things that are contrary to A) reality and B) Catholic doctorine.
What’s more problematic to me is the innacurate portrayal and sexual objectification of nuns…their dress is off – nuns don’t wear thigh-high stockings and garters, and never wear makeup.
Um…sorry for the double post please ignore the first one, apparently my edit didn’t work as expected.
I can definitely see getting upset about the way the nuns are sexualized (in the sense of being uniformly young and hot) in this, although that’s less of a Catholic insult thing and more of a why isn’t it acceptable for even celibate woman to not be hot thing. Anyone who’s insulted at the idea of nuns liking the look of a handsome man…. has never met an actual nun.
Maybe Donohue’s just jealous that no woman ever ogled him like that ….
(leaving to bleach brain at the thought….)
One thing nobody has yet pointed out is…He’s posing in the *exact* same position as Michelangelo’s David. We don’t usually see the statue that way, but it’s not hard to find photos from that angle.
So that’s another bit of visual snark, right there – of course, when the David first came out the town elders of Florence put the unveiling on hold until they could get a metal skirt made for him. Some things never change…
I like the nun trying to get in through the gates, barely able to control her desire to gawk at hot boy abs.
In pursuit of high-res hot man-ass, I looked up a few more images from this campaign. I’m not sure whether to be disturbed by this one or not. I guess it could be read as healthy–plastic surgery and beauty obsession won’t net you a man–but it’s also selling exercise in the pursuit of that same physical perfection. I don’t know.
That’s Bill Donohue? He’s got a great ass. No wonder his head’s so far up inside it.
“Insert intelligent commentary about the Male Gaze and the differing feminist takes on gendered objectification here.” Indeed!