Some Bunny Ears and Easter Baskets

How did bunnies become associated with the solemn religious holiday of Easter?  There's speculation that the rabbit was an ancient symbol of fertility, the companion of the Goddess Ostara (from whom we get the name Easter).  But there's no direct evidence.  And how did an ancient Germanic goddess last through the centuries, becoming a story of a hare who lays eggs that German immigrants brought to America in the 18th century?

By the early 20th century, there was enough bunny and egg paraphernalia to transform Easter into a bona fide secular holiday,  celebrated without any Christian beliefs.  Giving us the opportunity to see countless men dressed as bunnies.

An Easter Bunny costume is easy to make.  You just need two floppy ears coming out of your head. 

Paws and crotches optional.

They can be made of any material you like.  Color coordination is not necessary.

.

Sorry, a full rabbit head is creepy.












More bunnies after the break

In media, bunny ears are rarely fun or whimsical.  They represent decay and degeneration.  Remember Bunny Boy from Gummo (1997), where they comment on the decadent lives of contemporary society: drug addiction, crime, viciousness.  Gay and transgender people are pushed into the spotlight as emblems of chaos.

Jacob Sewell has only two other film credits, in 2007 and 2016.  A film every ten years.



Model Casey Levens, photographed by Scott Teitler, treats the bunny ears as a dark shadow, a blemish on his life.

On Glee, Jake posed naked in bunny ears for a school hunk calendar.  The ears represent his humiliation.

Ewan Kelly of Melbourne's "Friendly Moving Men" displays a real bunny fundraising calendar.  He looks sort of embarrassed, too.

Almost makes you want to take the bunny ears off and concentrate on the Easter basket.

See also: Gavin's Spring Break: surfing, golfing, making friends. With gym buds, an Easter bunny, and Taino guys.