Comments wanted on a new poster (NSFW?)

[Ohioan]

Okay, I must admit that I did not read all the posts in this thread. I'm easily distracted.

I agree with the person that stated that the text should come before the images. I would see the images, it would draw my attention. But I think text first would take a little bit of the "edge" off the poster. But, It would still be a good illustration.

And to tell you the truth, the ring on the thumb did distract me too. I know I know, it's a minute detail, but I don't normally see rings on the thumb. I was thinking, that looks like a mans wedding band. On the thumb? Humm.. that's odd. The hand looks feminine.. (no offense intended if it was a guys hand)


That being said, I'll show the poster to my mother tomorrow. It'll offend her for sure. But, she doesn't bring any pro-gun issues to the table. Then I'll show my girlfriend. She's comming around to "our" way of thinking since meeting me. I'll post their reactions.

Oleg, I appreciate what you do. I find it interesting that the people that fight the most for our freedoms are people that weren't born with them. As a teacher, I see a lot of students who just assume that freedoms are just their rights and they always have been and always will be. I try my hardest to help them realize it isn't that so. Anyways, thanks!

Where are these posters used?

 

[Norm357]

It is a felony to sell sex aids in several states, including Texas, Georgia and Mississippi.

Are you sure about GA? My Sis in law manages a Starship, and they sell them by the truck full.

Plus, I get my porn with a family discount.

 

[Sean Dempsey]

Who here is MORE confused about the poster, this thread, and just what is going on here exactly? I know I am.

Is the jist: Pro-"sex toy" people should see that, and then say "well if I want vibrator/*****'s to be legal for individuals to own, then I guess people who want guns should get the same right. don't let the govt say what we can and cannot have."

A shop selling marital aides here in my town in Utah was shut down, so /shrug

 

[Oleg Volk]

Is the jist: Pro-"sex toy" people should see that, and then say "well if I want vibrator/*****'s to be legal for individuals to own, then I guess people who want guns should get the same right. don't let the govt say what we can and cannot have."

Yes -- and vice versa. Gun owners should extend the same consideration to those who'd like a nice back (or front) massager.

Where are these posters used?

On web sites, in publications, as posters, ads and billboards...but not enough. Feel free to borrow and propagate my pro-RKBA images.

 

[44AMP]

Since the thread is still open...

I'll comment.

Oleg, I understand the point you are making, and I personally am not offended by the "marital aid".

However, I do not feel that linking guns with any sexual reference is beneficial to our cause.

Even though there are some people posting here who have never personally experienced it, there is a large segment of the people who have been taught to equate gun with "male sexual organ", so any sexual content in context with firearms plays directly to that concept, diminishing the intended message.

Also, something else to consider is the difference between how we view behavior with firearms and how we view sexual behavior. When it comes to guns, there is a "right" and a "wrong", or if you prefer, a "safe" and an "unsafe" behavior. With sex, there are not such clearly defined standards.

Anything that muddles the message is to be avoided, and nothing muddles things like sex.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Nothing Muddles Like Sex

And that, in a nutshell, is the rub.

It certainly has impact.

It carries a message.

And it distracts.

It has a significant "flinch" factor.

Beyond that, there is this other thing: the RKBA is not a "lifestyle" issue. Blue toys and body piercing and tattoos and smut are more "the way you live your life" whereas the RKBA is more "the right to stay alive."

I don't view them as being of the same order of magnitude.

I don't have any brilliant alternatives for you on this.

Maybe after some sleep.

 

[Glockfan.45]

It's bad form to demand that everyone in the world has to drink mother's milk merely because your baby isn't yet old enough for steak.

pax

Well put, and for once I agree with Pax. The same people in this thread that attack Olegs choice of props "for the sake of the children" would attack a gun grabber for using the line "for the sake of the children". We live in a free (well it used to be) society, and if you don't like the message you are free to ignore it. FWIW I have two small children, and try not to shelter them from the world. I would not have a problem with them seeing this image.

Having said that now I have to say I don't like it. It conveys the message loud and clear, but it also implies the gun = penis slander often used by left wingers. If the liberal left is your target audience then playing on their conceptions of gun owners may not be the best choice.

Heres an idea, on one side have a picture of a EBR with the caption "Legal by Federal law, Banned by California law. On the other side you could have a picture of a senior citizen lighting a small marijuana pipe ( I would have said person in a medical type setting) with the caption "Legal under California Law, Banned by Federal Law". The top of the poster in large bold type could say something along the lines of "When you allow government to intrude on the rights of one person, you open the door to intrude on the rights of all".

 

[Oleg Volk]

Thanks all for the advice. I'll see what I can create on the same topic but with different imagery.

 

[IllHunter]

I live near Chicago, I guarantee the gun would get more response than the vibrator image. Part of my work as an insurance adjuster allows me access to inventory homeowners possessions after a fire etc.. I have come across a gun only once in twenty years. I believe the fear of reprocussions and responsibility of the owners lead them to remove the guns first after the loss. They never remove the sex toys which remain in the nightstand or the box under the bed etc. I have been amazed and enlightened by the variety of toys and by the disparity of their owners. This goes to the concept of both varying the vibrator image and of who might be offended by the image. I can't see someone watching the blush or other physical reaction of each person viewing the poster and IMHO the viewers reaction is private and shielded and as such would only be exposed at the will of the viewer. Please clean up the printing, I prefer the rubber stamp concept with the location over each image and the felony tag changed to "Illegal". However you fix it , I'll post it. Keep up the great work and great threads.

 

[XDKingslayer]

Did she bring her own to the shoot or did you supply it?

 

[zahc]

I love it. The pro-sex and pro-gun are unfortunately usually at odds with each other when they should be fighting the same fight.

 

[.cheese.]

probably not the response you wanted, but IMO that poster actually makes Chicago look good as outlawing the vibrator/***** is as dumb if not dumber than Chicago's dumb gun ban.

Or if it doesn't make Chicago look good... it certainly makes Texas look as dumb as Chicago.

ETA: Then again.... maybe that was the point you were trying to make?

 

[XD Fan]

Oleg,

I always enjoy these threads that you post looking for feed back on your work. I am especially impressed with how courteously you receive both the praise and the criticisms.

Your work is always thought provoking, even on the very rare ocassions when I do not like it.

Jeffrey

 

[HellsBelle]

Okay everyone...those are MY hands!

Hi everyone. I just joined in order to answer some of your questions here in this thread.

First of all, it IS a criminal offense to own/purchase a sex toy in my home state (MS). It has been this way for some two years. When it first passed our legislature, I was shocked that our tax dollars couldn't have been used toward doing something that mattered more. Seems like a useless law that ate up tax dollars and accomplished nothing. Some women in TX have been persecuted for selling sex toys...I saw that myself on MSNBC.com. Where are we going to draw the line and tell our elected officials "stay out of this" or "quit restricting my rights as an individual to choose?"

That being said, I do not believe that government has any place in my bedroom or in my womb. The point of the poster was to say that "hey, it's sex toys now that they're restricting ownership of...what's next?"

I'm 36 and I'd be perfectly comfortable showing my mom this poster. She and I both agreed that the sex toy law was over the top. What you do in the privacy of your own home and does no harm to others shouldn't be the business of the government, IMO.

As for the thumb ring. I have been single now for 4 years following a 7 year marriage and a divorce. I recently met someone and we are involved and one of his "likes" is LH thumb rings. I'd had one, but never wore it...it is a 8mm size 8 comfort fit band. During this shoot, I had all my jewelry sitting on the floor. I thought things had wrapped up, and put them back on. That's why this thing is pictured. I wear this out of respect for our relationship and what it means to me...and to him.

Yes, that is a "piece" owned by my father which I brought to the shoot upon Oleg's request. Oleg did some research on it as it was somewhat of a mystery to him as well. I just liked the way it looked in other photos from a shoot a few months ago. Personally, I carry a Glock 19 which works out nicely since my new "SO" is a Glock dealer.

The blue thing meant for Smurfette IS NOT mine. Personally, I prefer more girth myself!

If you have any more questions regarding the poster, I may be able to assist.

 

[PRazz]

Funny that people are mentioning the ring. I looked twice because they looked like ladies hands but it was a wide gold band like a man might wear. I wore a ring on my thumb for a while, it was from a girlfriend but she got it way too big. The only thing it would fit on was a thumb.

Sex toys are not deadly weapons(not that I'd have any statistics to back that up) but if they managed to get outlawed then hey, why not guns? I see your point.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Welcome, Belle

Glad to have you on THR.

Tell us more about the revolver!

And the lady who owns it.

 

[igor]

Those wouldn't be the steps of the Parliament House in Helsinki in the background, would they?

 

[.cheese.]

Yes... welcome.... and what did you and/or Oleg find out about that revolver? What is it?

 

[sm]

HellsBelle,
Welcome to THR.

Interested in the Revolver as well.

I like the Poster as is. I appreciate your sharing more about you, and how it applies to the poster.

Human Rights are Rights.
One may have differing views about others, and what they like, dislike, or do.
Bottom line is, the erosion of any right, erodes the rights of us all.

Kids?

I agree with pax.
Parents are to parent and prepare kids best can for the real world.
That is being Responsible.
Kids get bigger and some point are responsible for themselves.

If a kid cannot go to parents, family to get answers to difficult or even "dicey" questions, where will they answers?
Kids ARE going to get a answer one way or another.

Better a kid get answers from parents, family and trusted folks parents approve of, instead of Government, or other sources.

I was a step dad for a bit, his mom was a RN. No big deal to actually show how to put on a condom using a banana or cucumber, and this when he was about 8 years old.
Who knows why he asked about a Vibrator? Still he did.
So his mom and I walked into a store and bought one, brought it home and we had a lesson on these.
Beet Red 13 y/o and his mom and step dad just toss one to him and " here you go, ask away".

His biological dad tossed a fit. This is the same guy that would not have "that talk" with his son.
His mom had to do this.
Dad would not teach fishing, or anything. "School will teach him what he needs to know..."

How to get a teenage boy to turn beet red?
Toss him a Condom and ask if still remembers how one is used.
Asked him to demonstrate on the vibrator.

 

[gyp_c2]

well...

...hell...I like it for Playboy or some similar venue that's open to the types of images and straight ahead talk about those issues anyway...It's obviously startling enough for some of us that it's creating a dialogue...isn't that the point?
I think so...Very good work Mr. O...

 

[Oleg Volk]

Revolver history

 

[Green Lantern]

I think I like it.

After all, gun control is more about CONTROL than guns.

People might think twice about blindly supporting gun control when thinking that there are other "pastimes" out there that some politicos frown on and want to try to legislate out of existence...

Beyond that, there is this other thing: the RKBA is not a "lifestyle" issue. Blue toys and body piercing and tattoos and smut are more "the way you live your life" whereas the RKBA is more "the right to stay alive."

I don't know that I agree with that. Being a CCWer is, to me, "the way I live my life." Maybe it's not an accurate way of looking at it, but I can see something of a comparison. People with tattoos, for instance, make all sorts of 'statements' by them. My statement is not as visible (unless I print or flash ) but the statement is there: "I REFUSE TO BE A VICTIM."

But, it's also a pastime too (recreational shooting). And it's more of a pastime for some gun owners, than it is for others.

 

[Euclidean]

This poster makes a good point that often goes ignored.

I'm not really into that whole sex accessories thing at all, and don't even like talking about it, but just seeing one doesn't bother me. It's just a piece of plastic. However I agree I wouldn't want to display this in most venues, and honestly I can't think of any place I go to where it would be appropriate to show it. So while I like the poster, I can't really think of any use for it.

Is there some other object which doesn't have the connotation of a sex accessory which is also subject to some backwards law to just show the sheer absurdity of it?

One thing about the sex accessory however is that like a firearm, it's just so... personal. From that angle it is a good comparison, so I have to give it points for that.

Also, being a native Texan I'm ashamed to admit this, but I know Texas has some really weird laws about this stuff and I don't know what they are because I don't get into that scene. I thought women could buy sex accessories but not men, which is why all the sex toy party outfits cater exclusively to women. I really don't know, I'm asking if anyone can clarify that for me.

To be clear I don't think there should be any laws like that at all, I'm just curious if anyone can clarify since it's relevant to the poster.

 

[the naked prophet]

I understand the point of the poster, and I agree with the point. However, I think it's going to be nearly impossible to do it tastefully for a general audience (like a roadside billboard). For a college audience, I think it would be perfect with the rubber stamp idea.

My... um, I mean, random female friends tell me that they never used a real aid, just improvised with shampoo bottles and hairbrush handles. I've also heard that those vibrating motorized toothbrushes are used more often than not in non-dental applications. *wink wink*

A poster might also be done (for the college audience) about how people fulfill their needs when things are outlawed.

 

[rickomatic]

".....from my cold dead.........................nevermind"