Pin-Up Girls: Sexist or Morale Booster for Troops?

Betty Grable, famous pin-up girl from the 1940s

    The 1940s was a decade of hardships and loss; World War II was not only hard on the soldiers physically, but mentally as well. It wasn't easy seeing close friends lose their lives every day on the battlefield, and being away from home was a struggle for many.

    Thus, the Pin-Up girl was born. A pin-up girl is a model whose mass-produced pictures see wide appeal as popular culture. They are intended for informal display, generally found "pinned-up" on a wall. 

    Soldiers across the United States who were either away at training camp or off at war filled their walls with pin-up models like Betty Grable, Bettie Page, and Esther Williams. They were considered to be a sign of good luck for the troops and a reminder of what they were fighting to come back home to. 

    The images of these gorgeous women could be found in newspapers, magazines, and advertisements. Due to such popular demand, posters, paintings, calendars, and photographs began to be mass produced in order to satisfy the country's craving for the voluptuous All-American women. 

    There's been a long standing debate about whether or not this concept of a pin-up girl is degrading to women, and I'm not sure there will ever be a clear consensus on the issue. On one hand, women are being objectified; they are being photographed while wearing little to no clothing and hung on walls for men to look at. On the other hand, if that's the least we could do for our troops while they fight for the safety of our country, then is it really all that bad?  

    This question is purely opinion based, but if we're asking for opinions here I might as well share mine. I'm not sure I see anything wrong with this concept. These girls are willingly allowing themselves to be labeled as "objects" in order to further motivate the troops overseas to fight and return home safely. War is ugly and horrifying, and anything we can do to brighten the soldiers' days and keep them sane sounds good to me. As we say today, "No harm, no foul."

 

Sources: 

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=409

http://grableonline.tripod.com/betty001.jpg

http://foodtruckfestivalsofne.com/the-history-of-the-pin-up-girl/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pin-up_girl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEDgymwImhg

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0656114/bio

http://www.biography.com/people/esther-williams-259340