Sinful Salacity We’ve all experienced it. A craving so deep that it devours our every thought throughout the day, and keeps us awake at night. Whether it is for that oh, so elusive Pumpkin Spice Latte in the off-season, or for a long, passionate kiss from that foxy quarterback, this yearning tugs at the edge of our mind until it takes over behind the wheel, and fuels our actions. It can cloud our judgment and reduce us to a state of primal licentiousness. This insatiable desire for material and corporeal consumption is known as lust. The Oxford English Dictionary itself takes several stances on the meaning of the word. The first definition is simple: “Pleasure, delight” (OED 1). This definition doesn’t accentuate the sinful connotation of the word. It describes something charming, attractive, and friendly. The next definition that the OED gives is “desire, appetite, relish, or inclination for something” (OED 2). With this definition, we are able to detect more of a connotation of a strong ache for something that, when attained, brings about a sort of ecstasy only caused by that object of lust. A more recent definition, “Sexual appetite or desire. Chiefly and now exclusively implying intense moral reprobation: Libidinous desire, degrading animal passion” (OED 4), finally associates lust with reprehensibility. It denotes specifically the sinful nature of such passion associated with the flesh, and indicates how lending ourselves to such desires debases our humanity. While a dictionary is widely considered to be a purely un-biased source, the OED reflects bias in the order it has listed the variations of this definition. The editors of the OED show that they don’t consider the sinfulness of lust to be the most important part of the definition by listing this variation after two that do not have a negative connotation.
Marketers, both seasoned veterans and those new to the game, can appeal to a sizable demographic with a simple mantra: Sex sells. Advertisements everywhere play on our urges and longing, using not only scanty clothing (or a lack, thereof,) but also putting the models in the middle of our wildest fantasies. Though these advertisements are ubiquitous, one that demonstrates the power of lust particularly well is the recent television commercial for Dolce & Gabbana’s Light Blue fragrance. A tall, dark, and handsome Mediterranean dreamboat, and a bronzed, blond bathing beauty are enjoying a gorgeous summer day on a secluded waterfront, to the soundtrack of an Italian love song. They are both compelled to jump into the water by some force of passion, and as they climb out, the beefcake pulls the vixen into his arms for a fervent kiss. His hands explore the landscape of her toned body, and just as he finds the string that unfastens her white bikini, a director off-camera yells “CUT.” The music shuts-off and the viewer is left watching the two silhouettes ignore the stage directions, with a sort of mental caption that reads, “See? Even the actors get wrapped up in the throes of their passion...which is created by our scent.” Outward reactions to this commercial may be different, from the delight of the young girl who is waiting to be swept off her feet by her own personal Fabio, to the reproach of the tired housewife who hasn’t seen passion in a man’s eyes for twenty-some-odd years, but few can deny that in the back of their minds they want to see what comes next, and they want to experience for themselves this sheer carnal bliss. This commercial is somewhat tongue in cheek, teasing our desires with the intention of appearing slightly chintzy and burlesque. Many other advertisements, such as those for Axe or Old Spice, mock the gratuitous use of sexuality by over-dramatizing it so much that it’s meant to be comical. However, this doesn’t mean that the commercials don’t serve the same exact purpose. Our sensual tendencies are incited and tickled by these erotic displays, and translated from a fleshly desire to one for the product being sold. The producers of this commercial use bias to take away the sin from lust by showing how its presence in their perfect consumer world has no consequences other than filling people with joy and delight.
Lust can be seen less explicitly in the most unexpected places: children’s stories. “Le Conte de la mère-grand” is a variation of “Le Petit Chaperon rouge,” the first written version of what we know today as “Little Red Riding-hood.” While it has evolved into the PG, family-friendly version known by all children, some of its earlier forms contained elements that even we, as adults, would find disturbing. The wolf that we know is a scary monster, but nothing more than an incarnation of the fears of a small child. However, the wolf of “Le Conte de la mère-grand” is not only a monster, but a sexual deviant. Instead of just plotting to eat the child, the wolf in this version insists that the girl take off her clothes and get into bed with him. This is the manifestation of the view of lust that many hold today: that lust is a beastly instinct fit only for animals- that to be lustful is to be predatory. Even more disturbing to those sheltered by the story-book account may be that the heroine also demonstrates a degree of lust. The age of the girl is never revealed in the story; she is named only by the French world “fille,” which is ambiguous at best, and can mean anything from little girl, to adolescent, to young woman. When the girl crosses paths with the wolf, he asks her if she would take the “path of pins” or the “path of needles.” The girl opts for the path of needles, which in French folklore is a symbol for woman-hood, indicating that this girl is embracing her sexual maturity when confronted by a beast. When comparing this story to the version we know, it may seem far-fetched, but even the most classic fables demonstrate that lust can be found not only in the predator, but also in the prayed. The original stories were not exclusively for children; they were warnings for everyone against the dangers of lust, and for the kiddies in the audience, against the perils associated with disobedience. However, since the modern version has been censored for children’s sake, the story loses its value as a cautionary tale. Children are shielded from this graphic scenario, so when they encounter lust in the real world, they have no basis to know the potential consequences. The authors of the early version of “Little Red Riding-hood” were biased in showing that lust will automatically lead to demise, and the removal of this view from the story eliminates any warnings the narrative had. Sexuality is all around us. We may be explicitly discouraged from wanting something so badly, but we are still trained to hunger, to itch, and to pine. Advertisements have influenced views of lust by appealing to our guilty pleasures, and asking us to indulge, even if it makes us a feel a bit sinful. The creators of these advertisements are trying to sell a product, so they make it seem glamorous and profitable to succumb to our passions. However, lust does not always have a happy ending. In many books, movies, and television shows, if a character falls victim to lust, he often has consequences that leave him regretting his inability to suppress these appetites. It is the lustful person who suffers the effects of his actions, whether or not he had the power to control such attractions, warning others what lustfulness can do to destroy relationships, families, and even lives.

Bibliography

Dolce & Gabbana. Advertisement. MTV. WMTV, Summer 2010. Television.

"Lust." Def. 1, 2, 4. Oxford English Dictionary. Sept. 2011. Web. Nov. 2011. <http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/111374?rskey=EguKe8&result=1#eid>.

Millien, Achille. Le Conte Populaire Français. Nivernais: Maisonneuve Et Larose, 1957-85.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLrUJY4D5Bc

https://fordham.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2fwebapps%2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dCourse%26id%3d_411636_1%26url%3d

http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/111374?rskey=EguKe8&result=1#eid