Two days ago a female student approached me after class to report something she had seen on tv. Apparently, there had been a news segment on the recent controversy of beauty pageants. More specifically, as I understand it, they compared the official portrait submissions of the Miss USA contestants now vs. “back then.” Rather than modest, ball gown clad young hopefuls, this year the pageant is allowing racy, scandalous photos portraying these “nobles of society” in a different light. Many critics say it’s a sign of the times, but my question is “What sign are we holding?” My student was clearly disturbed. From her perspective, trying to defend the women as outstanding, positive contributors to society who also pose as strippers is a bit of a….shall we say, conflict of interest?
To me, this is not shocking. The sexualization of women for the sake of ratings and Donald Trump’s bank account is all around us. But the scary part is that kids are connected to it like never before. In the same span of 24 hours, I spoke with another friend who reported a recent video of 7 year olds re-enacting Beyonce’s latest video. This group of young girls was filmed while dancing in tutus, mimicking the seductive, sexual routine of their role model. I’m not a Beyonce hater nor a humorless human being, but this is disturbing to me. What’s next and who is to blame? I fault parental regulation for this one AND, let’s be honest, the great venomous snake of our time-Lord Internet.
For kids now, the minutes of unregulated screen time is unparalleled. Their lives are online…at first it was just at home, but now screens have replaced teachers at many schools around the world. Don’t get me wrong, information can be a beautiful thing, but in the sea of cyberspace and the media, the good is squelched while the bad and ugly reign. Just take the news for example. It used to be informative. Now it is seductive. In the days of the Vanessa Williams controversy, who if you recall, had her crown revoked for posing nude, very few people would actually have access to the nude photos. And certainly not kids. The story made the news, but there was no internet. Media was not as widespread. But now, anyone, anywhere can access these and many other sorts of “adult” images. And the fact that these stories make the news? That just draws people in. Good, news supporting people then want to view the images even more…sort of a green light to get off…after all it was on the news….I can watch it! It’s just news! And they are delighted by the fact that they can not only be informed BUT ALSO aroused at the same time. Well, done Donald!
So beyond the sexualization of women and young girls, where is this “free enterprise” of media taking us? What kind of world are we living in? What kind of people are we creating? Sure, we’re in the midst of an economic recession, but what about the moral regression? Pretty soon, the news will begin with a giant black and white parental advisory sticker spread across the screen…and hopefully, the internet will follow suit….perhaps, at a price far more costly than free.
