In the name of abundance of sex, money, and power, amen!
A reflection upon watching Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons
We all know sex sells. We all can understand the power in erotic capital. We can see the way sex influences the world, regardless of how. Sex, money, and power might as well be the original holy trinity... So, do you become God once you have all 3? Everybody wants to spend money, but nobody wants to give it away. Some salespersons are more successful than others, even when they sell the same product, and every other characteristic among them is the same. The difference lies in the power of persuasion, and with enough of that, it is easy to manipulate anybody and anything to achieve the desired outcome. What happens when you can do that at such a scale where you get the un-sexy title of the inventor of fast fashion? I am afraid of people with excessive power, I think nobody should monopolize our consumption. I do not like how Les Wexner owned so many of the retail brands that roared a couple of decades ago. He had the kind of money to allow for dreadful things to happen, when satisfaction is achieved in every way, and money cannot buy happiness anymore. Consequences, like we know, cease to exist, and God knows what kind of “consequences” the 1% of the 1% face, when you live a supernatural life.
In the name of abundance of sex, money, and power, amen! What kind of a person do you become when you have a disposable amount of the 3? How can you take it to another level and merge the 3 in 1? Is this where human and sex trafficking comes into play? Maslow’s hierarchy for human needs does end in self-actualization, which Oxford Languages defines as the realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potentialities, especially considered as a drive or need present in everyone. We are dealing with people that needed more after every box had been checked, or I am just giving them more credit than they deserve.
Each of us has a little bit of good and bad inside. It is a spectrum, or a web, or a quadrant chart. I don’t know if we are all inherently one way or the other, but I believe we all have the two, just some more than others; more good, more evil, closer to one end of the spectrum than the other, and than others. But then, to make matters worse, everything is relative, and the road to hell is paved with good intentions... I am content with the fact that I will never understand them, the 1% of the 1%. I do not strive to that amount of wealth, I do not know a single reason to do so, and I know there is a lot of dirty work involved there that is strictly against my morals and ethics, but because not everyone is aligned in the same spot as me in this spectrum between good and evil, and there is no way to measure how good or bad people like Les Wexner or Jeffrey Epstein truly are.
Like everyone, I am also very well intrigued by the secrecy behind Epstein’s and Wexner’s bond. Both spoke very highly of one another and their relationship; this is a natural spike of questions because no one in their right mind just grants an arguable stranger complete control of a billionaire’s finances unexpectedly, no one just sells below market price things like a mansion and a private yet. No one can believe that Wexner did not have a clue of Epstein’s... “side-hustle” and “indulgences,” when at the end of the day, it was as if Wexner was Epstein’s sugar daddy, or at least sponsor and enabler.
Victoria’s Secret started off with the aim to appeal to women, and Les Wexner commented on aiming to make males uncomfortable in his stores, but what is to say about the runways? What is to say about Pink? Because as much as we like to be playful every now and then, that does not mean childish or child-like, and men were extremely comfortable with all of that. Les created something that slowly turned into a monster if it was not one to begin with.
Wexner is a man that was fueled by the notion of his power of suggesting consumption and refused to let the market influence his product. He was humbled when the market refused to let his product influence it. Things change, and you need to adapt to whatever the changes entail, ranging from technology to the attitude and beliefs of the masses. Time after time we always see a shift in societies and cultures, and you can either shift with it, or get left behind. Personally, I think even though VS was late to its reformation on business model and appeal to the modern consumer, it is true that it joined the party once Wexner, Razek, Epstein and the Angels were out of the picture, and instead the VS collective came in, aiming for inclusivity and relevance to current social matters. I don’t think VS will ever again be the strong empire it used to be, but I do not believe it will go to bankruptcy either, at least not any time soon. They are still the most accessible lingerie retailer around, and they still have their appeal to the consumer going on for them. I’mguilty of loving the ambiance of their dressing rooms and have even dreamt of owning a walk-in closet with a similar vibe. I would bet anything I am not the only one.
It will be interesting to see what new information comes out in the years to come. Something tells me there’s still more layers to the Wexner-Epstein onion that will peel off, regardless of how much the people involved try to conceal them, or that’s just wishful thinking. They have the money to hide, the power to blackmail colleagues and control the writing of history, and I am sure they are still having illegal and un-consensual sexual encounters with minors... Sex, money and power might as well be the original holy trinity, right? So, do you become God once you have all 3? They are at least playing the part.
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