When we think of Venezuela, and we often don’t, we think of a socialist country that makes trouble for the U.S. What we should think of is a South American nation obsessed with beauty queens and curvaceous figures.
To attain the ideal look in Venezuela, surgery of various sorts is employed. Females who have it performed are known as “operated women.”
This is a bit of background for the success story of Eliezer Álvarez, who makes mannequins. (Can you see what’s coming?) His story was told yesterday in the New York Times.
Business was off for Mr. Alvarez. He analyzed the situation and realized his mannequins were not a fair representation of the model Venezuelan woman. So he augmented them, according to the Times, with “bulging bosom and cantilevered buttocks, a wasp waist and long legs.”
It worked. Business picked up. In fact, his “operated” mannequin has become the standard for all clothing stores in Venezuela.
We could look at this turn of events and conclude that such a nation, socialist or not, cannot possibly be a threat to us. Or, we can withhold judgment until the operated mannequins hit our own stores.
As a cultural influence, politics and religion cannot compare with the undertow of forceful, tenacious displays of sexuality. In the presence of such displays, the intellect of men evaporates. I sense women fall prey to these traps for reasons beyond love, affection, attention and advancement. But I don’t know what they are.
The utter ridiculousness of it all is told in a joke that I don’t think was meant to have much meaning, but in a way it gives a subtext to all of history. I’ll sum it up:
Three women apply for a single bank teller job. The manager tries them out for a day. At closing time, the cash draw of the first is $50 under, the draw of the second is $50 over, and the draw of the third balances perfectly. Who gets the job? The one with the big ….
In the online comments section to the Venezuelan story, and Asian woman who said she is proud of her small breasts wrote:
All I can imagine is someday, future archaeologists will be able to find out so much about our civilization from all the surgical implants and devices found in our empty coffins.
Lanny Morgnanesi
NotebookM 
Do you remember the Barbie Doll? It’s interesting that while the toy is being redesigned to better represent actual humans, shop window mannequins are becoming more and more peculiar…
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Can’t forget the Barbie Doll, but I’m too young to remember what the adult reaction was it first arrived. That was bold, making them so big. And this was a time before implants. Take care.
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