Today the news ticker on my AOL home page advertised “The Girls of Olive Garden on Playboy.com”. I thought it must be a joke; however it is [sadly] a true playboy feature.

This trinity of capitalism, objectification, and literal exploitation of female labor astounds me. I am not passing judgment on the people posing; however I’m expressing my belief that it is outrageous that this magazine is devoting an entire spread to showcasing the “Women of Olive Garden” naked. The Playboy Corporation is marketing young female flesh while they try and traffic breadstick and endless pasta. The most sickening part of this spectacle is not even centered simply on the basis that these women are being objectified in this publication. The real disturbing part of this “Olive Garden” feature is more about the unfair dynamics of the economic exchange and transfer that comes from this sort of exploitation. I am sure it was no problem for the magazine to find female employees of the Olive Garden between the ages of 18 and 28 who could use extra money to make ends meet. “Hef” and company never cease to amaze me. I wonder what sort of buffoons are actually spending their hard earned money to pay the $19.95 it costs to “see them naked… even better than the endless salad and breadsticks” as advertised on their website.

This is a sign of the times, and it remains totally ridiculous. It is too bad the movie Idiocracy came out before this existed, because this would have fit perfectly in the script.