A few years ago More magazine, the mag for women over 40 who are not ready to slouch toward elastic waistbands and matronhood, ran a contest asking readers for suggestions of how they should present their concept to advertising agencies. No matter how many generations of people are currently living on this planet, agencies are notorious for thinking everyone who consumes fashion and entertainment is 19 years old. The essence of the contest winner's message was, “If you want me to buy your product, don't pitch it to my teenage daughter.”  Meryl Streep finally carried off an Oscar this year, but marketers still have no idea how to appeal to a woman who is past the “hot young mom” stage.

So here comes a lovely female vocalist with this deep, throaty voice that is perfect for adult oriented music with a jazzy twist. She has an excellent song that is being promoted to contemporary jazz and smooth A/C (adult contemporary) stations, and with it comes a promotional picture that looks like she shares a stylist with Rhianna and the Pussycat Dolls. She's workin' an off the shoulder cropped top with very low cut V-neck and unbuttoned jeans that are ½ inch away from rated R. Fine. She's got the bod for it, killer abs, and her music is supposed to be sexy and sensual. But who is she posing for? This music is also all about listeners who are over 35 - both male and female. We women groove on sensuality, celebrate sexuality, and a lot of us love fashion, but this is more Maxim than InStyle, more like David Guetta's next auto-tune teen chartbuster than a contemporary jazz vocalist.

This is by no means a one-time case. One of the genre's most influential labels was notorious for cover pictures of male artists standing powerfully in front with one or two women pouting and clinging decoratively. PhotoShopped nude women, either full shots or just torsos, have decorated album covers for years; most of them on the anorexic side at that. Women have discussed this among ourselves, but stayed pretty quiet in public.

Maybe it was all these years of seeing this stuff reaching a tipping point, but I didn't shut up this time.
I brought it up on a social networking site and got thoroughly trashed by a group of male posters. I also got several private messages from women in the biz who agreed with me but didn't want to appear prudish or say something about an up-and-coming artist that would be perceived as negative. It was not a matter of being prudish though, it was a matter of thinking about who your audience is and maybe considering that the Playboy approach may leave a big segment of them out in the cold. Guys still rule the roost in the entertainment business. Women have infiltrated it, but the aesthetic is still mostly dictated by a male perspective with a sideways glimpse toward teen and twenty-something women. Those of us who believe fashion and sexuality can be celebrated in a more mature and sophisticated manner are still standing on the sidelines admiring Cindy Bradley's fabulous red dress and Maysa's gorgeous presence. Grown and sexy rules!