Inappropriate, Much?
September 12, 2008 
Nothing helps smooth over those awkward early teen years quite like getting a cake with a half-naked stud-muffin on it from your parents, eh, Tracy? Just wait 'til your mom asks to go "halfsies" with you on a lap dance.
I am told that these "Love is" characters were really popular back in the day, so I'm going to assume it wasn't the decorator's idea to draw two nekkid kids of indeterminable gender hugging. However, what the heck is going on behind kid #1? Either that's a tail, and it's wagging, or kid #2 is patting kid #1's butt. Considering the "warm embrace" sentiment, I honestly couldn't say which of those options would creep me out less.
UPDATE: That's hair? Really? I mean, I guess I'll have to take the word of my [cough cough] older and wiser readers, but I still don't see it. Maybe if it wasn't flesh-colored...
Chelsea Y., & Jessica M., love is getting such awesomely inappropriate Wrecks.
Reader Comments (150)
I'm pretty sure that that "tail" is kid #2's ponytail. Hopefully, that's just a girl with really long hair. Hopefully.
Trish
The "tail" is her pony-tail, but it's drawn very badly.
The first cake... well, that scares the living day lights out of me.
But the "Love is..." cake is actually not what you make it out to be. "Love is..." characters are not children. They are adults. Nude, yes. But that is how they were usually drawn. And that is her hair, I think behind "Kid #1's butt". You can read more about "Love is..." here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Is...
Love is... is a single panel comic strip that still runs in some newspapers. Yes, the figures are a naked boy and girl. The thing behind her butt is probably the extension of her hair, poorly executed. But I like the idea that he's patting her butt better. ;)
That waggly tail is actually her pony tail.
I had a notebook with these two on the cover in the '70's.
Ouch. Now I need some cake.
Okay...worse still was how I first read the writing. I saw it as "your warm entrance" at first...which is hilarious and disgusting all in onme. SO, if you thought it couldn't get any worse....trust me, it did in my mind.
It looks to me like half-naked stud-muffin's face is falling off his head, adding a bit to the creepiness factor.
Those look to be done in the style of "Precious Moments" which means that is probably meant to be a wing as cherubim were a staple.
At first I thought that was like an angel wing on kid #1. Did you also catch that kid #1 has some nips decorated on?! Just to add some extra creepo.
.....wow.....yeah, totally inappropriate. The first one looks liek a cake you'd see at a bachelorette party...the second is just...wrong.
Oh my. That first one looked disturbing enough, and then I read the "Happy 14th" on it. What a cake for a 14-year-old! I'm completely creeped out. I'd hate to see what the 14-year-old son's cake will be like...
My husband just declared that the nekkid kid is passing gas. I'm not discussing the first one...
I AM YOUR NEW FAN (and german too, so please forgive me any language mistakes here, okay?)!
It took me sooo long to finish looking through your whole blog. I simply couldn't stop before I was done. And it was a very bad idea to do so in the office with 8 others around (and without humor).
It was soooo hard to keep a straight face, can you imagine??? = )
I definitely come back for the wrecks and your hilarious comments!
Bye, Naemi
Although the "Love is" characters are not exactly as they were "in the day" they are instantly recognizable.
The left character is the female ande the right character the male. For extra feminity the female character had long blond hair. The "tail" you are seeing is the bottom part of her long hair.
So both your options are, fortunately, wrong and nothing suspicious is happening.
By the way the "Love is" characters were much much sweeter and mushy than icing on a cake and I don't mean that in a positive way. Therefore they left an aftertaste that wasn't to my liking. But the sweetness and mushiness might just make it on a cake, especiallye if it was for someone familiar with the characters.
Like your blog, keep up the good (or bad) work.
Jeroen
On the 'Love is' cake it's her hair
::LOL::
I think it's the end of kid A's ponytail. :)
I remember those dumb "Love Is" kids, too. I think they inspired the big-eyed Precious Moments figures (which are NOT naked but equally sappy + God).
yes, i remember these cheery little naked kids. They creeped me out when i was 5 and they continue to do so on a cake.....
the "love is..." characters' genders are distinguishable by their hairstyles. the smaller one on the left has long hair, presumably that's the end of her long ponytail - at a strange angle, i must admit. it's not my taste but it's not a wreck, in my opinion, if you look at the 'original' characters. these seem to be way more popular in germany (not with me, I hasten to add). http://liebe-ist.moonweb.de/ has a collection of the pictures.
The second one is a very popular image, I grew up with the Love Is cartoons and I knew straight away that was part of the girl's hair. There's a little bit about the history of the Love Is characters here: http://www.toonopedia.com/loveis.htm where you can see what it's supposed to look like.
My initial reaction on what's going on with kid #1: fart.
hahahahahaha!!! I always thought those "love is" characters were up to no good.
I like the exasperated smile on kid #1, as if it were posing for a camera but wanted to be somewhere -- anywhere -- else.
Amos
Who in their right mind gets a cake with that kind of imagery for a fourteen year old girl? At 18 or older, okay... but 14? That’s disgraceful!
cake #2, the hand looking thing behind kid 1 is her hair. The Love Is cartoons are from the 60s-70s and the girl had hair like Mrs Brady's only longer!
So nothing suss there, just her hair!
I first read the cake as, "Zove is..."; that L looks like a Z. The thing behind kid 1 is most probably long hair, but it could also pass for a wing.
I'm pretty sure that is a wing. Those little "Love Is" characters were cupids.
ah the "love is" cartoon...I remember seeing these as a little girl...(oh and the tuft is the end of the little girl's ponytail I think)
I love that Tracy's name is on the guys crotch. Gross.
I think those might be angel wings on that cupie thing??? Maybe?
I've never seen a 'Love Is' cartoon, for which i am now devoutly thankful. (I'm 30... was it a generational thing, or do i live under a rock?)
Anyway, my first thought about what was behind the thing's butt was a broom. Which only made it scarier and more confusing.
Maybe the shorter one is a girl and that's the end of her hair? It's still weird...
While the cake #2 is ugly and creepy and I agree with those points--I'm a little worried about the implied homophobia in your post and in the comments here. I mean they are two kids or cupids and it's a cake so whatever. But please tell me I'm misreading your "omg I hope it's not too naked boys hugging." But I don't know how else to read I hope that is a boy and a girl.
Love is...reading the posts before you respond! hehehe...no less than 13 out of 28 people have already written in that it's a ponytail!
Yeah, the first cake is actually quite a beautifully executed cake, but the picture and theme (not to mention the name across the crotch) is completely craptastic.
And is it just me, or is he in the process of UNZIPPING HIS PANTS?!?
BWAHAHAHAAAA!!! "your warm entrance"!!!! That is TOTALLY going on my fiance's birthday card today!!!
HOmer simpson had this to say about Love is during an episode of the simpsons..".Love is...its a comic about 2 naked children who are in love."
eek.
With that first cake...I have to say...I had some pretty outrageous friends wen I was 14 and 15 who would have thought it was hilarious to get a cake like this...so i could be guessing that the cake is from some older friends...
that 1st cake is wrong on soooo many levels. and the "Love Is..." crap makes me lose my appetite. and I think it's a pony tail.
It looks like the dude's package is weighing down her name. This is a monument to shameful parenting.
...wait wait- could you call it a
"BEEFCAKE?!?"
bwahahahahaha
Katherine,
What? Are you serious? "two nekkid kids of indeterminable gender hugging" = homophobe?
Seriously. I mean really. You are picking on that.
My sweet Lord, lighten up would you?!?!
I used to collect these from the paper ~ the guy I was dating at the time ~ his name was Rob (same as the boy character) so these were my om ages to him. Seems so silly now.
If that's a ponytail on the "kid" on the left... then she's got some weird kind of mullet.
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW on that first cake! I mean...First of all - what is Tracy into that her parents thought that would be the "perfect" cake for her? Does she just really dig cheesey romance novels? Ok, I get the long haired shirtless guy...but the suggested upcoming removal of his pants is just WRONG!!!! On a 21st birthday cake = hilarity. But FOURTEEN? People need to learn what is age appropriate.
For the "Love is" cake, Um, 1979 called and they want their cake back. :-/ It's definitely her ponytail/braid end whatever. That naked baby girl always had some nice, long, hippie hair.
I'm sorry. I totally misread the comment. I haven't had coffee yet. *hangs head in shame*
Wow. Someone gave THAT cake to a 14 year old? All I got was a stupid chocolate chip sheetcake when I turned 14. That would have gone over GREAT at the church birthday party!
I would like to point out, that the "sexy" (in quotes because I think that guy is disgusting looking) subject matter aside- the actual cake itself is pretty good looking.
Fourteen!
My god, when I was fourteen my parents were still trying to leave me flowers and smileys - MAYBE for a bachelorette party or something, when did we get sexualized so young? Plus he is a little creepy...
Are there 14 y/o girls who lust over fabio?!?!
I would have guessed angel wing behind that kid until I read the comments. And, wow on the first cake. Some 14 year old kid is reading romance novels and that scares the crap out of me. Of course, I did that, but I hid them under my bed like any normal teenager, not shared my favorite characters w/ my mother!
oh my, now I feel ancient, looking at all you bright young things discussing the Love Is characters. I recognized them instantly and thought "Haven't seen them in a long while..." Yes, utter schmaltz, blecch! And I knew it was the female's hair but the idea of it being a fart is far more entertaining.
As for the beefcake cake, YUCK. I *don't want to know* what is going on at 6 o'clock with that one!
I can't imagine what the people who ordered that cake for a 14 year old wer thinking. It's a little gross all things considered.
On number two -- I wish, I wish the nekkid girl figure didn't have nipples...0_o
I'm very disturbed by those.
I'm disturbed by the stripper cake for the 14 year old girl.
The only thing that disturbs me about the second cake is that a sweet, innocent drawing of what appears to be children (but aren't) was sexualized by the viewers of the cake.
Can no one just appreciate innocence anymore?
Umm.. ewww.
I love kid #1's mullet hair do! LOL