Sex Sells What?

If you peruse the real estate sheets of the papers, you will find a bevy of faces both male and female. They're all duded up because they have been told during the learning phase of their jobs, that one is part of the sale. Sell yourself first and you'll sell your product. On goes the gold watch, the classy suit, the high heels and don't forget the impressive car. You want to show your potential buyer that you not only have glamour, but you also show your success and fine taste. Whatever that means. I suppose gazing at Vogue and taking it seriously, denotes "taste"?  More than gold danglers and worsted cloth, the women, unfortunately, seem to lean toward selling themselves. The couture, hairstyle, the make-up, the nail work, the "come and get me" photography. It will be hotly denied, but come on, let's be honest here. And it is not only employed by realtor women, but also by women who are participating in selling cars, jewelry, appliances, clothing and just about everything else. It is not just in the commercial world either. I knew a new teacher who, when she went for appointments with school superintendents who did their interviews in hotel rooms, said she wore her shorter skirts. It's true. I rush to say that any school superintendent I know, wouldn't be fooled by such nonsense. We are, however, human and we all love, even if subconsciously, certain kinds of beauty. This sales gimmick works. The proof is rampant. Magazines, television ads, entertainment spots, all focus on appearances. Who would bother to look at talented singers or musicians who had their everyday faces and bodies plastered on album covers, magazine pages or posters? Occasionally, there are brave actresses, who allow themselves to be pictured without the false hair bits, eyelashes, make-up, fingernails, tight spandex underwear, paddings of various kinds or "photoshop" paring, who, in their natural state we see, shocked, to be plain, if not more than homely. When their faces are their fortunes, they must enhance what they have to sell their "product" that could be overlooked if they presented as "ordinary". I hasten to say that many are, in fact, possessors of great beauty that is natural. What concerns me is that if women advertise themselves as sex-on-a-plate, they could be, and sometimes, sadly, are abused.  Just today I heard about a sexual predator who seeks out women realtors to enlist and then attacks them. The old tale that women should not dress provocatively because it attracts negative attention is unfair, but it does bear consideration in the light of security.  Some criminal minds misinterpret how females present themselves. They don't have the moral strength to understand that while one may show a certain "face", it isn't an invitation. It's merely a personal choice. Finally, it concerns me the kind of model we are offering our female children who are learning, principally, by visuals and not just on the verbal principles they are instructed.