WRITTEN BY AFIYA AUGUSTINE
When we were in school, we had to get our pop culture from the radio and magazines. These young whipper snappers nowadays have the darn interweb and Tweeter! The times are sure changing, but that doesn’t mean that youth and innocence need to move as quickly! With Arrested Development we bring you the worst of kids in pop…
The Parent Television Council has a new study showing that there’s “an unreasonable amount of adult-oriented content in animated programming.” The article (which you can findhere), states that the Parent Television Council has come to this conclusion after a study of “what kids today are watching most” – and by that, they really mean ‘ the highest rated primetime shows for children ages 12-17.” This basically funnels down to shows such as “Family Guy,” “American Dad,” and other such shows on the late-night programming of ‘Adult Swim’ on Cartoon Network.
Bottom-line: television has significantly changed since my youth, and I was born in the late 20th century. Shows like Gargoyles, Chip ‘n’ Dales, and Tales Spin dominated my hours afterschool. These days, cartoons have progressed into being cheeky and over-the-top however they do not come without warning labels. At the end of the day, television shows are going to be what the producers and writers make them, and they will air despite what parents think, so parents—monitor your kids.
This issue gets an XP for being an issue that we’ve heard time and time again and won’t change unless we can completely change television.
The French press has been going crazy of the “creepy and vey adult-styled” photographs of Thylane Loubry. The child’s mother, who the French media portrays as a media whore, says that it’s unfair for the public to give such negative focus on her child. The ten-year-old model has been featured in Vogue Paris wearing very adult clothing, styled like a 1980’s super-model. In addition to that, there are topless and nude photos of Thylane circulating the web, which has furthered the press’ outrage at how far fashion can go and the parents that allow it. In addition to this, it’s hit news that French lingerie brand Jours Après Lunes is the first of it’s kind with it’s new brand of clothing: lingerie for children ages four to 12. Don’t believe me? Just check the article here.
Bottom-line: while the media is going on about how disgusting it is for this little girl to be seen in nude photos, the article makes a point of the same attention not being placed on girls two or three years older than her who walk the runway in see-through chiffon blouses in five-inch heels. Is it only outrageous because this girl is pre-pubescent? What about all the young girls in shows like Tots & Tiaras who are painted and plucked and still have yet to lose their baby teeth? The real attention shouldn’t be solely on the absurdity of nude photos but the raping of innocence of these children. The parents are the only ones gaining from this and the children are losing BIG TIME. Furthermore, the notion of lingerie meant for women to feel sexy as well as create a pleasing silhouette for the one she will be intimate with, is now an option for young girls who aren’t even developed yet is preposterous. Not only is it a waste of fabric, it’s another ploy to rob parents of money and make their children feel older than they are.
This issue gets a XXXP for being too ingrained in the media without enough emphasis on the ramifications of over-sexing children, and the effects it’ll have on the welfare of these children when they become adults.
Last but not least, some parents and elected officials in northwest England are “outraged” after seeing released photos on facebook of students from a fitness club offering pole classes to girls as young as seven. While the parents of the participants aren’t upset, a spokesman for Mother’s Union was quoted that the “children are being targeted with an activity that’s part of a male club culture which objectifies women.” The fitness club states that it’s just like a gymnastic class and the children are taught nothing erotic (see original article here).
Bottom-line: Unlike the other more dire issue above, this one is pretty tame. These girls are learning how to do acrobatics on a pole, much like the way we swung around poles on streets in our innocence and youth. Pole dancing has come a LONG WAY since I first heard of it, and it’s become another fitness crave like so many other ‘non-conventional’ fitness outlets. The fact that this women’s group view this class as a way for girls to enter the “exotic dancing profession,” is kind of a stretch. No one is teaching these girls to “take it off,” bend over and shake their “money makers.” I’ve seen some professional pole dancers, not exotic dancers and these people (male and female) are exquisite, having complete control over their bodies and massive strength. I don’t see anything wrong with some of these girls learning age-appropriate core strengthening moves, especially if the class it tailored for it.
This issue gets an XP for being a little over-reaching. I didn’t think playing on a pole meant I would be a stripper and so these ladies shouldn’t think the same for these girls. I understand some of the concerns, but I wonder if the fitness center named the class “Vertical Gymnastic Fitness,” if it would be so bad. Not to mention, if you don’t like what you see your kid doing, you can pull them out the class, plain and simple.
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