The sin of Lust

(Warning:May contain explicit content...just to let you know...)

I clutch
I grope
I hunger
I cling
This primal instinct is all that I need

With a red hot passion that comes to pass
All inhibitions have turned to ash

It’s a thirst to quench in the sultriest heat
The lure of temptation’s fruit smelling so sweet

The only cure is a dark and twisted affair
The power of the flesh is purity’s despair

Now our first sin to discuss is…Lust.

Definition (www.thefreedictionary.com/lust):lust (lst)

lust·ed, lust·ing, lusts Obsolete Pleasure; relish. Intense eagerness or enthusiasm: a lust for life. An overwhelming desire or craving: a lust for power.
Intense or unrestrained sexual craving.
To have an intense or obsessive desire, especially one that is sexual.

The punishment in Dante's Purgatorio (mediaeval novel depicting the seven sins and the circles of hell offenders are sent to for committing them): A walk within flames to purge oneself of lustful/sexual thoughts and feelings.

In a world like today, the lines between sexual deviancy and casual dating have been incredibly blurred since the mediaeval times when the sin was named. The changing roles of women in society have greatly affected this as well. Its not just about finding one man to settle down with and having the "stay-at-home-mom-behind-a-white-picket-fence" dream anymore. A girl that may have been seen as a strumpet for having one too many suitors, can be seen now as a single, strong and independent women whose main priority has not been finding a man to secure her future so she is at liberty to date whomever she likes. It’s just another principle of free expression.
I don’t think we can deny, however, that strong sexual themes are something we’ve been de-sensitized to as a society. Especially with the heavy influence it has in the media we are exposed to daily.
It's in the ads we see, depicting men and women as objects of lust which are supposed to lure the masses to their products. Some can take this sexual content a bit too far.

Back in 2007, Dolce and Gabanna released string of ads that were seen as highly violent, sexual and humiliating towards women. The most raved about one was a photo depicting a woman in a scandalous outfit, pinned down to the ground by a male model and surrounded by his peers. The imagery of what was about to happen appeared to be a "glamorous gang rape." This image was banned in several countries because of its graphic nature, not to mention angering many European feminists.

But an image like this also brings to mind a similar depiction of an overly sexualized advertisement that you may see daily on TV. Ever seen the Axe commercials? Where it’s usually one poor male, who uses the AXE products, and then unleashes the primal urges of every female within a five-mile radius? They are promoting the idea that increased demand for your own sexual exploitation is a positive thing, and that anything you can consume to achieve this is a necessity.

Then again, there’s always the unspoken double standard right? For females, this idea is degrading, scandalous and insensitive.
For males, this idea is every single sweet dream they’ve had since puberty hit.

But life can not be based on standard, so that stereo type should have no validity in common society whatsoever.
You can also get into the censorship issue as well. Who is anyone else to say that your artistic vision is too racy for the masses to comprehend? Why should an organization regulate your commercial methods based on the content and neglect your voice of free expression? Where is a line drawn between media control and personal choice? Or is it an illusion of media control? The more you prohibit something, the more it comes to forefront of everyone’s minds.

Another example of these images can be seen in an almost parodic music video released by popular artist Rihanna. The title of the song is S&M, and despite the clearly sexual lyrics, the video seems to illustrate a certain hold that media has in taboo content, especially sexual, and how they exploit it to turn profit and opinions.

(MATURE CONTENT CONTAINED)

Rihanna is the object of scandal and they bind her down as they forcibly report on her, turning her into a public image of Lust. The video seems to include many references to the rumored scandals that Rihanna has faced in career, and scrutinity of the style she’s chosen to represent herself. As much as the media in the video seem to condemn her image, they keep empowering it by exposing it, so Rihanna succumbs to the sexual demands but then becomes a dominatrix force over those who created her. In the end, it becomes one great big sadistic and masochistic party. The media holds the whips. The artists take the beatings because the exposure sells records.

But then again does Lust have to be explicitly sexual? In the definition above it says, "To have an intense or obsessive desire…" Would any obsession do? In grammatical context, lust is not just a noun, but a verb as well.
Some one can be "Lusting after Money" or "Lusting after Fame." They can "lust" after a whole list of damnations that cross into the other areas of the classic Seven Deadly Sins.
　
What are your thoughts? Who are some other "public symbols of Lust" you can think of? Share your comments and opinions!