Sometimes Smut is Just Smut

Sometimes an idiot is just an idiot. One can hardly be outrageously stupid and ill mannered anymore without it taking on some grand societal context anymore with those who seek societal context. Case in point, this Reuters story:

A prominent fashion designer has sparked outrage in Chile by dressing up models like the Virgin Mary — in some cases with ample, near-naked breasts.

The Roman Catholic Church condemned Ricardo Oyarzun’s plans for a show featuring the models, and a conservative group tried unsuccessfully to block it in court.

Oyarzun said he had received telephone threats and had excrement smeared on his doorstep.

“There is no pornography here, there’s no sex, there are no virgins menstruating or feeling each other up,” Oyarzun said ahead of the catwalk show set to be held at a Santiago nightclub later on Thursday. “This is artistic expression.”

He said his designs — which include halos, look as though they come from a nativity scene and include religious icons — were inspired by the Virgin Mary but not intended to represent her.

“We look on with special pain and deplore those acts which seek to tarnish manifestations of sincere love toward the Virgin Mary, which end up striking at the dignity of womankind by presenting her as an object of consumption,” Chile’s Episcopal Conference, which includes Catholic bishops, said in a statement.

The show is more evidence that Chile, heavily influenced by the church for decades, is shaking off its reputation as one of the most socially conservative countries in Latin America.

Now why is this “more evidence” that Chile is casting off the morality of the Church? Isn’t this simply evidence that the designer Ricardo Oyarzun is more interested in money and media adulation than the state of his own soul? If there was a Chilean fashion designer who said, “Hey chicas, you know what, let’s raise up the neckline of that dress a little. It’s kind of impractical if there’s a breeze,” would this be evidence of a cultural shift towards modesty?

Now Chile might very well be leaning towards liberalism and fashion designer may be about to lead a cultural revolution in Latin America, but I hardly think one artist peddling pictures of breasts is ample evidence of a cultural shift. In fact, it’s just another sign that the Catholic Church is needed as much as ever.