The simplest definition is "tending to provoke or stimulate." Common adjectival uses center around the sexual, but provocation doesn't necessarily need to be sexual in nature. A provocative argument or point can be about ANY topic.
As a jumping-off point for further discussion, below are a couple of examples of material that may or may not be provocative. The caption for BOTH of these pictures is as follows: "Without a condom, you're sleeping with AIDS. Protect yourself."
My questions are these - do the pictures truly GET the point across about AIDS? If you didn't KNOW they were designed to illustrate the need for condom use, would you "get it" anyhow? Is the nakeness disparity fair? Is this campaign indeed provocative in a dual-meaning sort of way, or does it shriek SEX more than THINK (or the other way around)?
I'm interested to know your opinions.
And thus, am I a provocateur.
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