2008 Woodie Awards
Inappropriate products aimed at kids encourage bad behavior
Rebekah Rhodes
Issue date: 11/19/07 Section: Soap Box
Looking back on my childhood, in the days of "Saved by the Bell" and when there were tan instead of blue M&Ms, it seems to me as if my life was much more sheltered than it is for the children of today. Sex was a taboo word only mentioned as a joke between friends or in sex education classes where sex equaled babies and STDs. Condoms were things you put on bananas as a prank for your friends, and drugs were associated with the dealers in movies or the criminals locked away in prison.
Maybe no one has noticed, but the DEB clothing store in the mall - the one that stocks clothes specifically for junior sized teenagers - encourages young girls to dress the way Julia Roberts' character did in the beginning of "Pretty Woman." When is it appropriate for a 13-year-old child to wear a backless shirt and a skirt barely covering her crotch when she goes clubbing?
I think it's scary when I hear of middle schools needing to provide birth control to students and children in fifth grade getting caught having sex in the classroom.
I grew up with Cabbage Patch Kids and Barbies, and while Barbies have an unrealistic ideal of a woman's body, they were never risqué. On the contrary, today's infamous Bratz dolls encourage young girls to dress in clothes right out of DEB: low-rise jeans to the point where their crack hangs halfway out, heels high enough to break a neck and shirts the size of my washcloth. They also encourage females to live up to the ideal of large pouting lips, excessive makeup and long, gorgeous hair.
Music seems to have become the forerunner in encouraging drug use and sexual activities. Most of it seems geared toward every teenager - not to mention kids under the age of 10 quoting lyrics that under most circumstances should be rated X.
One of the more sexually explicit songs is Eminem's "Shake That," featuring Nate Dogg, with derogatory lyrics such as "I like good p---- and I like good trees. Smoke so much weed you wouldn't believe. And I get more ass than a toilet seat. Three to the one from the one to the three. I met a bad bitch last night at the D." Outthere Boy's "Boom Boom Boom" includes lyrics such as "I came to make you shake it 'til you break it. Caress your body until you're naked. Bend you over grab your shoulder. Slip my pete inside your folder. Make you sweata get you wetter. Pump it faster to make it better. Dim the light then lock the room. 'Cause now it's time for me to hit that boom."
With lyrics, toys and clothing such as what we see today, it is no wonder children seem to be taking part in activities that, at that age, I would have considered inappropriate. Instead of working to help protect the younger generations, we seem to be embracing it as part of our growing culture.
I have no problem with what the media has to offer. However, I think it is ridiculous to present our children with unrealistic expectations of life and what it means to be an adult. It is not appropriate for children to be listening to songs, wearing clothes and playing with toys that instill in them the idea that it is OK to have sex, take drugs and dress like a whore because "everyone is doing it."
Rebekah Rhodes is sick of kids these days with their rap music and revealing clothes.
Maybe no one has noticed, but the DEB clothing store in the mall - the one that stocks clothes specifically for junior sized teenagers - encourages young girls to dress the way Julia Roberts' character did in the beginning of "Pretty Woman." When is it appropriate for a 13-year-old child to wear a backless shirt and a skirt barely covering her crotch when she goes clubbing?
I think it's scary when I hear of middle schools needing to provide birth control to students and children in fifth grade getting caught having sex in the classroom.
I grew up with Cabbage Patch Kids and Barbies, and while Barbies have an unrealistic ideal of a woman's body, they were never risqué. On the contrary, today's infamous Bratz dolls encourage young girls to dress in clothes right out of DEB: low-rise jeans to the point where their crack hangs halfway out, heels high enough to break a neck and shirts the size of my washcloth. They also encourage females to live up to the ideal of large pouting lips, excessive makeup and long, gorgeous hair.
Music seems to have become the forerunner in encouraging drug use and sexual activities. Most of it seems geared toward every teenager - not to mention kids under the age of 10 quoting lyrics that under most circumstances should be rated X.
One of the more sexually explicit songs is Eminem's "Shake That," featuring Nate Dogg, with derogatory lyrics such as "I like good p---- and I like good trees. Smoke so much weed you wouldn't believe. And I get more ass than a toilet seat. Three to the one from the one to the three. I met a bad bitch last night at the D." Outthere Boy's "Boom Boom Boom" includes lyrics such as "I came to make you shake it 'til you break it. Caress your body until you're naked. Bend you over grab your shoulder. Slip my pete inside your folder. Make you sweata get you wetter. Pump it faster to make it better. Dim the light then lock the room. 'Cause now it's time for me to hit that boom."
With lyrics, toys and clothing such as what we see today, it is no wonder children seem to be taking part in activities that, at that age, I would have considered inappropriate. Instead of working to help protect the younger generations, we seem to be embracing it as part of our growing culture.
I have no problem with what the media has to offer. However, I think it is ridiculous to present our children with unrealistic expectations of life and what it means to be an adult. It is not appropriate for children to be listening to songs, wearing clothes and playing with toys that instill in them the idea that it is OK to have sex, take drugs and dress like a whore because "everyone is doing it."
Rebekah Rhodes is sick of kids these days with their rap music and revealing clothes.
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