ewp (01/29/83)
I think the problem with displaying nude pictures at work has to do with a part
of our basic human nature: group identification. I think people have a tendency
to identify with groups they are members of. When someone displays a picture of
a nude woman, that person has, in a sense, displayed a nude picture of *all*
women. When a women walks into an office with a nude picture of a woman in
it, she suddenly finds she has been undressed. It would be very embarrassing
and humiliating to be literally undressed in front of co-workers but since this
only takes place psychologically, and subconsciously, the woman will feel uneasy
and probably a little embarrassed without really knowing why, although she will
know that the picture is causing it. This is probably why men feel that
pictures of nude men are "dirtier" than pictures of nude women. I think this
is the same phenomenon that makes ethnic jokes so unpalatable. Even though
the joke is about one person of a group, it offends the whole group because
they identify with the individual in the joke. I'm not a psychologist but
this is what I feel is the underlying basis for peoples reactions to nude
pictures.
Speculating on the nature of Man (the species, not the gender),
Ed Pawlak
ihuxb!ewp