Goodness gracious! Heavens to Betsy!

I will be the first to admit that I am out of it. Whenever I chance to be in a room with a TV on, I can't stop squawking about what kids are wearing these days and why all the female newscasters seem to be wearing miniskirts. Sometimes, I just gasp in horror (like over and over). I like being out of touch; it seems much more appealing to me than the alternative.

I like to think I am still fun, even without video games and sugar cereal. I do my best (read: not very well) to be respectful of others' pop inclinations. But I don't like to be crossed. And when I see some things, well, I just get mad. Good and mad.

When I was fifteen, my high school produced the musical Damn Yankees. The young lady who played Lola came out on stage (I remember it distinctly) wearing a black bustier, a garter belt, thigh high stockings, and stiletto heels. At the time, I was a little surprised. Now, I am downright appalled. What a confusing message to send to the young lady on the stage, as well as all the folks, young and old, male and female, in the audience. The school was academically competitive; we liked our young girls smart. But, as our little friend paraded on stage in her underwear, what other messages were we sending and condoning? What else are girls supposed to be?

Sexy. Expensively so. Lola had procured her 'costume' using our school budget at the Pleasure Place, an upscale sex shop in DC, and tax dollars had paid handsomely for it. We want 'em sexy, and we're willing to pay. One part of the story I find uniquely disturbing, in retrospect, is that, because she was too young to drive, she probably had to get a ride down there with a grown-up. Yikes.

I found this little site online today and, if you have an overactive moral-o-meter, please send a note to the folks in charge. Dollars speak louder than letters, and writing will not end the hypersexualization of girls (among other people). Still, I will write one because, even if nothing changes for anyone else, at least I can feel a small sense of satisfaction.