From Subtle to Coarse; Who We've Become

I have never thought of myself as a bluenose, moralist prude but I do find myself head-scratching at times concerning our cultural mores journey. Our conventional mores and customs, which tend to bind our society's behavior in some degree of expectation has changed slowly but in hindsight drastically.

Consider if you please the changes in socially accepted behavior over the past 78-years. I recall in the mid-forties, my maternal grandmother, Mammy Bennett would weigh-in with her adult daughters regarding women wearing 'slacks.' Mammy thought slacks were not lady-like apparel. Fast-forward to the year 1968 and I heard my mother speak with disdain about the then popular mini-skirt. Mother Lucille thought that high-thigh skirt was too revealing.

In these more recent years, my wife and I exchange bewildered looks when television promos for the Victoria Secrets Lingerie Show, indeed 'show' much of the female models' anatomy. Some television underwear ads border on the suggestive ridiculousness.

I believe it is safe to say, our American culture has "Come a long way baby," as the Virginia Slim cigarette ad, which targeted women of 1968 boasted. We must acknowledge that even our very young can no longer enjoy those years of youthful innocence; that ship has sailed!