boobs may be related to sex yes, but point is that it is not true that they are told that it is ONLY sex which makes them valuable.

if we were put into the context of a different era, our fashion sense and dressings now might have been considered offensive as well. In such as case, wouldnt all of us be guilty of degrading women by past standards?

To the contrary, despite an increase in the prevalence of such supposedly-demeaning activities over the years, more and more women are still climbing up the social ladder and achieving recognition, power and success in society. This event is not going to affect or change how society views women, and it is not going to hinder women’s progress in society.

yes.

> Does this event contribute to the notion that women with bigger assets are valued more in society than those with smaller assets?

yes again. 2 for 2!

wow that was easy.

> There are drinking competitions and other marketing gimmicks aplenty everywhere.

Right and nobody complains unless they are offensive like this one was… DUH.

Boobs are about sex in case you haven’t heard. And women are constantly being told that it is only sex which makes them valuable. A shoe size competition doesn’t convey this message.

Lets first pose ourselves these questions:
1) Would the event be considered demeaning to women if it were other physical attributes being ‘compared’? E.g. height/weight/waist size/shoe size?

Just because it was the bust size being compared made it demeaning? It wasn’t as if the participants had to strip?!

It would be interesting to know if a pole-dancing competition would elicit such a response from AWARE.

2) Does this event contribute to the notion that women with bigger assets are valued more in society than those with smaller assets?

There are drinking competitions and other marketing gimmicks aplenty everywhere. You dont see people who can drink being valued more than those who cant.

Sorry, but there is harm in it. I wouldn’t go up to someone I thought was very attractive and comment on their physicality – it impinges on their personal space and is potentially harassing. I have more manners than that. This is why we have internal headspace, to think things that are not polite, meaningful or appropriate, and keep them to ourselves. How we then openly display that thought is the difference between conscious and self-aware people and animals. The physiological response is not the only one available to people, and by outwardly promoting a ‘hey we all do it, why not make some money from it’ approach is disingenuous, and unworthy of defending. Your reference to the ‘context’ as being ‘right’ in this instance is, I feel, a little bizarre.

I agree with you that ‘The notion of an ideal body image is a social construct . . . not a derivation of nature’. Sometimes, the ideal may involve perverse practices such as female genital mutilation and foot binding. Or grotesquely humongous breast implants that we see in some female sex workers. I oppose these definitions of what is ideal but I do not oppose the idea of having a definition. Nor the use of physical attribute for the definition. We can’t mate with all and sundry. We have to *select* someone or other. The selection process inevitably involves discrimination by some chosen criteria. Physical attribute in one form or another is one such criterion for men and most animals because nature makes them so. Don’t believe me? Go watch some animals’ mating rituals on TV.

Accepting what nature makes us do is realistic, not apathetic, so long as nothing perverse is involved. Of course, what’s perverse to one may be perfectly normal for another. To me, extolling a ‘D’ cup is within my acceptable range.

If you’re interested, I have more comments here: http://kitchentigress.blogspot.com

I agree that discriminatory of all kind still exist in society today, however that does not mean that one should condone it or not speak up against it. The notion of an ideal body image is a social construct; it is definitely not a derivation of nature.
Therefore, I did not understand your argument point on discrimination as a form of natural selection where in this case, a person is treated differently just because their physical attributes do not adhere to society’s unequal perception of an body image. Any form of discrimination is vile, it is in opposition to a pluralistic society.

You are an unique individual and it should be celebrated, I genuinely hope not to see one day when you have to hide your natural eye color in order to conform to a society guided by artificially perceived reality. Yes we all have our every rights to choose; but by some choices made we can revealed an apathetic and indifferent world view. By not speaking up we continue to acknowledge the fact that some woman are better than others simply by comparing their breast size.

I understand that this is a marketing event and by reviewing most of the responses out there, I believed that people need to discuss how this and other body image consumerisms are affecting our preferences in our daily life.

Simo, society is discriminatory no matter where, no matter when. Discrimination may be based on physical attributes such as breast size and eye colour. Or it may be based on character, intellect, academic qualifications, race, religion and family background. Discrimination happens because that’s how nature selects the fittest. What makes discrimination by physical attributes more vile than the other criteria?

To answer your question, I wouldn’t be upset if I don’t have society’s preferred eye colour. I would just use coloured lenses. It’s easier than trying to convince everyone there’s nothing wrong with my eyes. Anyway, they have every right to pick whatever eye colour they like. Who am I (or Aware) to say their preference is right or wrong?

Shanna-Mae Therese, so you think some women have ‘admirable assets’ and some don’t. Isn’t that judging them? Of course, no one should openly comment on or gawk at an erogenous zone of a man or woman. But if the context is right – such as during a marketing event like “Fill My Cups” – I really don’t see any harm in openly doing what we secretly do all the time.

http://news.omy.sg/News/Local%2BNews/Story/OMYStory201001250030-122705.html