The Mysteries of Mudflap Girl

She's everywhere. Gas stations. Bumper stickers. Belt buckles. Jewelry. I can't count the number of times I've stood at a rest stop cash register, staring at those ridiculously huge breasts with nipples that could cut a block of ice, wondering what the heck it's supposed to mean. Is it just a sexual symbol, created to celebrate the love of objectifying women everywhere? Is it supposed to be any woman in particular, or a porn star, or what? I don't get it!

Finally, after poking around on the internet and finding just the right Google Image Search keywords, I discovered that she has a name. Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Mudflap Girl.

According to Wikipedia,

The mudflap girl is an iconic silhouette of a woman with an hourglass body shape, sitting, leaning back on her hands, with her hair being blown in the wind. The icon is typically found on mudflaps, clothing, and other items associated with trucking in the United States. The image is sometimes also known as trucker lady or seated lady.

This famous design was created in the 1970s by Bill Zinda of Wiz Enterprises in Long Beach, California, to promote his line of truck and auto accessories. It was modeled on Leta Laroe, a famous exotic dancer at the time.

Rob Tendick, author of the article Mud Flaps Are A Classic Auto Accessory, claims that

Classic mud flap characters have become such a part of pop culture, that they've moved out of the arena of car accessories, and started appearing in commercials and on TV. One such commercial appeared during the 2006 Superbowl, and featured the Mud Flap Girl and Yosemite Sam driving off in a Honda Ridgeway.

Arizona officials were apparently not amused, and have proposed legislation banning both cartoon creatures due to a perceived political incorrectness, regarding sex and guns. Currently, the legislation about truck and car accessories has been thwarted. This means that auto accessories and mud flaps can be embellished with the image of your choice. And this will remain to be true, as long as that law doesn't pass.

Self-expression isn't a reason to sacrifice quality auto accessories anymore. You can find many manufacturers who can produce a mud flap to your vehicle and personality type. Whether you want a skull and crossbones or the Ghostbusters logo, mud flaps can be created with top-of-the-line materials to let you "keep on truckin'".

I'm sorry, but does having the same symbol of a naked woman that you see at every gas station in the country really qualify as "self-expression"? This character has been created as an advertisement for auto accessories. It expresses nothing except that you've fallen prey to yet another advertising campaign that has nothing to do with what it's actually selling. Even if it weren't created by Wiz Enterprises, what messages do you intend to express with that? Your love for porn stars? Pardon my french, but seeing that symbol on anyone's truck, belt, hat, or mudflaps does nothing but make them look like an asshole. The Ghostbusters logo is one thing. A symbol of a naked woman is another.