NOT THIS GIRL

`````For the life of me, I cannot figure out why anybody would be photographed naked. I couldn't help but think about it this week. I admit to picking up one of "those" magazines at the checkout and it was speculating on whether Rihanna had a secret sex tape with Chris Brown. Then, there were two papers with stories involving teens sending explicit photos to each other. It even has a name (though I doubt it's yet recognized by Webster's). Sexting. High tech "Ill show you mine if you show me yours." Except it usually only goes one way. It's apt to be the Homecoming Queen who gives up her title for revealing too much of that royal sash. It's highly doubtful that the King will photograph and send the crown jewels around the school. All this came on top of another story warning kids not to post explicit pictures of themselves on social networking sites.

`````Never mind the dreaded ten pounds which the camera adds. I don't get this sudden desire to take pictures with your tongue down a friend's throat. Call me a prude. I've been known to ingest a huge and complex variety of alcohol in my time. Other then a sad foray into the basin of the washroom, my tongue has stayed in my mouth. It has yet to be filmed anywhere---especially near anybody. Nowhere on my Facebook account is it visible.

`````I've always had male friends and that would certainly bring the desire to point, click and snap to a grinding halt. Trust me, guys talk. They say women gossip but it's nothing on men when they get to dishing. Anybody in possession of such photos would want to share. It's sad, but there is still a double standard. If you're a woman and you do that sort of thing, your stock goes down.

`````The sharing of the pictures doesn't always have to be in a smutty way. I had a guy show me a series of wallet sized boudoir photos his wife had taken. They were classy and well done. But, I highly doubt that she would have been thrilled to know that he was showing the guys (and one female) the "goods" . He was merely proud of her and wanted to brag. Like the new car.

`````So many relationships break up. There are actually revenge sites where people go to post intimate photos of their dearly departed. Unless they invent photos that can be triggered with a device that self destructs when the partnership does, I shall keep the camera safely away from my naked self. One would also have to worry about prying eyes and thieves. Perhaps a safe with a combination akin to the launch code of a nuclear silo might keep it safe, but I suspect that Tommy Lee and Pam had pretty good security and their moment of passion has had more hits than Amy Winehouse's bong.

`````I guess people could always claim to belong to one of those religions where they fear that cameras steal their souls if somebody is very keen on this. Or that they're a vampire. Just one more thing that I blame on reality television....ah, the decline of Western civilization as we know it.