girls in the media

Encourage young girls to be savvy media criticsFull story: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004052810_andrea05.html Solja Boy song

Too sexy too soon?http://www.ocregister.com/column/kilbourne-says-parents-1923037-hannah-montana#

YVETTE CABRERA
Register columnistycabrera@ocregister.com
When it comes to Britney, Paris and Lindsay, my typical reaction is to tune out. Well, that is, after rolling my eyes and griping about the pathetic state of celebrity-driven media coverage these days.
Last month, however, I couldn't help but do an about-face when the Hannah Montana concert in Anaheim made newspaper headlines, as desperate parents clamored to pay upwards of $1,000 for tickets.
The Hannah Montana concert tour and ticket frenzy even made it into a recent issue of Time magazine, which noted that some parents reportedly considered skipping a mortgage payment to get their children into the show.
\n\u003cp\>The insanity of it all left me wondering where our priorities are, but I was most bothered by the messages being imprinted in the minds of our children by these teen-idol celebrities.\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>My first thought was, am I overreacting? Then I thought back to the evidence. Let's see, there are the racy television commercials of Paris Hilton, the over-sexed music videos of Britney Spears and the drunken-driving fiascos of Lindsay Lohan. Nope, not overreacting. \u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>As for Miley Cyrus, who plays the dual characters of Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel show, so far so good as to her behavior off-camera. And while her TV character is generally wholesome, I see a tendency to glamorize her character too.\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>My two nieces are wild about Cyrus. Lynnea, 6, dressed as Hannah Montana for Halloween and has posters of her idol plastered across the pink walls of her room.\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>My question is, how long will the innocence of Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus last and what can parents like my sister do when these celebrities cross the line? \u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>It's clear that our children today live a very different world. We're long past the scandalizing hip-shaking days of Elvis, points out Jean Kilbourne, an internationally renowned expert who studies the portrayal of women in the media. \u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>"In the past, parents complained about Elvis, but Elvis is very different from the rappers today singing about whores and calling women 'bitches,' " says Kilbourne, co-author of the forthcoming book "So Sexy So Soon: The Sexualization of Childhood," scheduled to be published next fall.\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>So how did we get to the point where music videos of Britney stomping on stage in fishnet stockings and risqué barely-there outfits became the norm? Kilbourne traces the rise in graphic sexuality to the mainstreaming of pornography and a coarsening of American culture. \u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>She points out that via the internet, pornography has become more accessible, and has seeped into our culture via stripper fashion (think g-strings peeking out of jeans) and even pole dancing at your neighborhood gym. ",1]
);
//-->

The insanity of it all left me wondering where our priorities are, but I was most bothered by the messages being imprinted in the minds of our children by these teen-idol celebrities.
My first thought was, am I overreacting? Then I thought back to the evidence. Let's see, there are the racy television commercials of Paris Hilton, the over-sexed music videos of Britney Spears and the drunken-driving fiascos of Lindsay Lohan. Nope, not overreacting.
As for Miley Cyrus, who plays the dual characters of Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel show, so far so good as to her behavior off-camera. And while her TV character is generally wholesome, I see a tendency to glamorize her character too.
My two nieces are wild about Cyrus. Lynnea, 6, dressed as Hannah Montana for Halloween and has posters of her idol plastered across the pink walls of her room.
My question is, how long will the innocence of Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus last and what can parents like my sister do when these celebrities cross the line?
It's clear that our children today live a very different world. We're long past the scandalizing hip-shaking days of Elvis, points out Jean Kilbourne, an internationally renowned expert who studies the portrayal of women in the media.
"In the past, parents complained about Elvis, but Elvis is very different from the rappers today singing about whores and calling women 'bitches,' " says Kilbourne, co-author of the forthcoming book "So Sexy So Soon: The Sexualization of Childhood," scheduled to be published next fall.
So how did we get to the point where music videos of Britney stomping on stage in fishnet stockings and risqué barely-there outfits became the norm? Kilbourne traces the rise in graphic sexuality to the mainstreaming of pornography and a coarsening of American culture.
She points out that via the internet, pornography has become more accessible, and has seeped into our culture via stripper fashion (think g-strings peeking out of jeans) and even pole dancing at your neighborhood gym.
\n\u003cp\>"It's filtering down into younger and younger audiences," says Kilbourne. "So now major department stores are selling thong panties and padded bras for 7-year-olds, and T-shirts that say 'So many boys, so little time' for 4-year-old girls, and T-shirts that say 'Pimp squad' for toddler boys."\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>Your first reaction to these T-shirts might be "how cute!" Just as you might think Bratz dolls are adorable, but Kilbourne says hold it right there: Fishnet stockings on a Bratz doll – not cute. "Compare them to Barbie. Barbie is no angel, but the Bratz are hookers," says Kilbourne.\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>Marketers try to appeal to 'tweeners (7 to 12) by making them feel more grown up and rushing them into adolescence. Thus we now have tweeners posting seductive stripper-like poses on their MySpace pages, she says. \u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>"These messages objectify girls, they teach boys to see girls as objects and to value girls based entirely on their attractiveness and sex appeal," says Kilbourne. "Our kids are growing up in a toxic cultural environment and it's awfully difficult for parents to stem the tide. We can tell parents, 'Don't let your kids dress this way,' but it's like saying the air is poisoned, don't let your kids breathe." \u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>So what can be done? Kilbourne says what's needed is a multipronged approach that includes aggressive sex education in our schools ("It can't be 'Just say no' ") coupled with media literacy education so that both teachers and parents can teach students to become critical viewers of the media. \u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>So the next time your child is watching Britney gyrate on stage, sit and talk to them about who profits from these shows, why they use sex and what the consequences are. Then write to these corporations to complain. And for the holidays take a stance by choosing toys that don't promote sexy.\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>"We need to see this is as a public health problem," says Kilbourne. "We can't rescue our kids one by one. We need to act collectively to bring about change." ",1]
);
//-->

"It's filtering down into younger and younger audiences," says Kilbourne. "So now major department stores are selling thong panties and padded bras for 7-year-olds, and T-shirts that say 'So many boys, so little time' for 4-year-old girls, and T-shirts that say 'Pimp squad' for toddler boys."
Your first reaction to these T-shirts might be "how cute!" Just as you might think Bratz dolls are adorable, but Kilbourne says hold it right there: Fishnet stockings on a Bratz doll – not cute. "Compare them to Barbie. Barbie is no angel, but the Bratz are hookers," says Kilbourne.
Marketers try to appeal to 'tweeners (7 to 12) by making them feel more grown up and rushing them into adolescence. Thus we now have tweeners posting seductive stripper-like poses on their MySpace pages, she says.
"These messages objectify girls, they teach boys to see girls as objects and to value girls based entirely on their attractiveness and sex appeal," says Kilbourne. "Our kids are growing up in a toxic cultural environment and it's awfully difficult for parents to stem the tide. We can tell parents, 'Don't let your kids dress this way,' but it's like saying the air is poisoned, don't let your kids breathe."
So what can be done? Kilbourne says what's needed is a multipronged approach that includes aggressive sex education in our schools ("It can't be 'Just say no' ") coupled with media literacy education so that both teachers and parents can teach students to become critical viewers of the media.
So the next time your child is watching Britney gyrate on stage, sit and talk to them about who profits from these shows, why they use sex and what the consequences are. Then write to these corporations to complain. And for the holidays take a stance by choosing toys that don't promote sexy.
"We need to see this is as a public health problem," says Kilbourne. "We can't rescue our kids one by one. We need to act collectively to bring about change."