That's right. You read the statement correctly. I said that America respects toilet paper more than America respects women. I was recently watching t.v. (which I RARELY do), and a Cottonelle commercial came on. I love Cottonelle. It's my favorite toilet paper. But the commercial they showed really blew my mind. In the commercial, a woman goes to use the restroom at a friend's house. She comes out, and expresses amazement that his toilet paper is "naked." She says, "Respect the roll." She accuses him of "taking his toilet paper for granted." The point is that "Toilet paper that nice deserves respect." Cottonelle has come out with toilet paper roll covers. (They're free, apparently.) And the commercial is encouraging respect for Cottonelle toilet paper. Toilet paper that good shouldn't be taken for granted, and deserves respect. It deserves to be "covered up."
What strikes me as odd is that the very woman who couldn't believe her friend wasn't "respecting the roll" likely doesn't even respect herself as much as she does the toilet paper. Because my guess is that she probably covers that toilet paper more than she does herself.
Is this ironic to anyone besides me? We live in a country where toilet paper deserves "respect," shouldn't be "taken for granted," and needs to be "covered." Yet our country does not believe that women deserve the same respect? Are women now degraded to something worse than toilet paper, of all things?
Honestly, am I less worthy than what you use to wipe your rear? (Sorry to be crass, but I want to make the point.) What kind of priorities does our country have? To respect toilet paper more than women?
It blows my mind that there can be hundreds of commercials that use the exposed bodies and seduction of women to sell their products (which are rarely even related to sexuality), clearly disrespecting women to the highest degree, and yet Cottonelle wants to encourage people to "respect the roll" by not letting it be naked. But women are naked on nearly every channel, billboard, magazine, and advertisement?
But let's think about this. Has the average American woman done anything to earn more respect than what toilet paper deserves? I think I can confidently say that toilet paper has never tempted a Christian man. Toilet paper has never dressed in a provocative way, seeking to tempt men who are working to be pure in thought and in action. Toilet paper does not carelessly make life difficult for men of God who want to be faithful to their wives. So why shouldn't toilet paper be more respectable than (many) women? Personally, I would prefer my husband to see toilet paper than for him to see the "world's sexiest woman." That roll of toilet paper is, frankly, more respectable than any woman who earns a label like that.
If you want to get the toilet paper roll cover, you won't offend me. But if you're going to "respect your roll," I encourage you to examine your wardrobe while your at it. Ask yourself if you are "respecting your roll" more than you are respecting yourself. If we have become a country that respects what we use to wipe ourselves more than we respect our women, there is a serious problem. Have we come to the point that women have to compete with toilet paper? Or is it just that women in the world have become so careless and trashy that even toilet paper has become more respectable than the average American woman? The media needs to stop encouraging women to dress so scantily. Women need to respect themselves more. Women are more respectable than toilet paper, and it's time they acted like it.
Here is the commercial:
Hello Hannah ... I really liked this post - excellent points and so well written. You definitely made some critical points. May you be blessed as you continue in your role as minister's wife and student. Your blog is great! Come over and visit me sometime ... I'll be seeing you around!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your compliment on my writing. May I ask how you found me? Thanks . . . I visited your blog a moment ago. Thanks for your kind words.
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