not so much material girls
saturday charles and i took the family up to the peak for a charity fete benefiting orphans in china. there were stands, discounted toys and clothes, food and live performances. all four kids played the steel drums and some hide encased drums.
the live performances were pretty great, for the most part. except one number where these girls wearing shiny crop tops and suck tight low waisted pants came out and gyrated to a techno song. they could have been back up for britney. on the ground, kicking up legs, up again pushing hips out…
oprah and the much beloved nafan have a name for the little kids running around in crop tops and low waisted pants – prostitots. it is a fitting moniker. there are people who question how charles and i put pictures of the kids on the website, and request that we do not place pictures of their children on the website. no problem, i respect that. but when those same parents let their kid dress like jodi foster in taxi driver or paris hilton, i have to wonder if their concern isn’t misplaced. what was that again? the majority of crimes committed against children are by someone they KNOW.
well, kids will be kids, shrugging parents say. and they’re right.
just wait until you’re there…you won’t be able to do anything about it either.
all the kids dress like this teens explain.
it is always easier to criticise someone’s parenting when their children are older than your own. i have never said to a parent, you let her wear that? because that is sort of a stupid question. if the kid is wearing it, obviously, they do. but the parents aren’t happy about it. say they have no control. i don’t know if that is true. i’m not there yet.
one friend told me how it fills her with pride when she sees heads turn for her daughter. my beautiful little girl! no kidding this girl is gorgeous, curly hair, dancer’s walk, and massive basoombas, usually partially accessorised by a suck tight top. cleavage. charles wanted to say, "of course men are going to look! she’s 12 and it’s every pedophile’s dream!"
what is our responsibility to those girls? i think it would devastate them if someone approached them told them what fantasies their clothes evoke. heck, i am not even a man…what do you fellows think. does a prostitot ensemble (on a teenager) evoke steamier thoughts than say a girl in jeans and a t-shirt? say it was the same girl. parents tell us out of concern that putting images of our children on the web is putting them in danger, but somehow i think it would be more upsetting if we said "your daughter is dressing for trouble". i don’t even know if that is true!
when girls choose to dress as "not so much material girls", i don’t think they do it knowing the fuss they create. they know they get looked at, but i dont think they know the thoughts they’re creating. back when i was 14 i knew it was appreciated, obviously, but i didn’t know the stuff that i was told later. i wouldn’t have wanted to know.
fathers do know. charles has suggested that the girls don’t wear midriff baring tops until they’re 18. ditto sleevless or one sleeve tops. "i know the way men think." he says ominously.
it is very tough for a dad to go from being a consumer to a producer.
