To-Do over Ben and Jerry's

There was a certain fracus about Ben and Jerry's (the ice cream company in Vermont) bringing out a new flavor called "Shweddy Balls." Some stores have refused to carry it; an organization of women--conservative women, as one might surmise-- has vowed to boycott Ben and Jerry's. And there was an online article about Ben and Jerry's "lewd" new flavor name.

So I have to weigh in with what I think. Ben and Jerry's, if they have any clue as to how vocal the conservative elements in America are, and how anti-sex they can be as well, certainly should have known that there would be some negative reaction. And assuming they did--and one almost has to ask, How could they not?--they deserve some credit for being daring and not risk-averse as so many businesses are. Though maybe their philosophy is like what Oscar Wilde once said: The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. So they are reaping lots of free publicity.

The sad truth is that America is pretty puritanical when it comes to sex. Some years ago I saw a debate on TV between two women, one conservative and one liberal. I think the topic was the banning of books. The woman from the conservative side was wearing a dress that buttoned high up to the neck. That her dress was not revealing was--well, revealing.

A few years ago, in Europe (I think it was in Vienna), I saw a advertisement on a sidewalk kiosk that showed an image of a couple of bare-breasted women, similar to those in a Gauguin painting. You don't--and wouldn't--see something like that in America. We're just too anti-sex and the-human-body-is-dirty-and-sinful in this country.

Have I bought the ice cream in question? No, but I might, depending on what it actually is. Ben and Jerry's makes yummy ice cream. But it's "super-premium" ice cream, high in fat content--and not for the weight-conscious or those who try to eat healthy, like me.

Update, December 24, 2011
With a little bit more to say about America's sexual puritanism I would make a new posting; but here are just two more examples:
1) When TV shows even an image (e.g. a painting or a statue--and note, NOT the real thing) of female breasts or buttocks, evidently the image has to be blurred out.
2) I learned that a Roman cup from around the time of the birth of Christ was not even allowed to be brought into the country in 1953 because it shows two pairs of male lovers.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Richard Stein