Patrick Campbell
Susan J. Douglas’s piece “Sex ‘R’ Us,” introduces scenarios involving young women dressing and acing far beyond their years of maturity following the transition of female celebrity role models like Brittany Spears from “teen pop star” to a breast implanted sex figures. Douglas explains that due to this type of change, “young women” felt that they “were suppose to dress like call girls and had to start doing this at an even younger age.” I have personally witnessed this type of activity through my experience of picking up my brother from elementary school a few years ago. As I pull up to the school and the kids pour out of the building, I realized that many of these young girls were dressed with tight-petite clothes that appeared completely out of place given their young age. I believe that this type of activity involving young girls dressing in sexy mature clothing is why children these days are experiencing physical sexual activities much earlier than that of their parents and modern day adults. This experience made me really think of Douglas’s last question of, “how did we get here,” because to be completely honest, this type of activity is what hinders the intellectual view of women across the globe, so why continue?
Although Patricia Hill Collins’s piece “Black Sexual Politics” shows how Jennifer Lopez’s buttocks is highly valued and used as a sexual reference, I do not believe Lopez wanted to be perceived as a women whose fame is only due to her significant rear-end. I say this because, she has received a butt reduction a few years ago which shows that she wants the worlds eyes to be removed from her rear and focused on her talents and accomplishments as an artist. Despite Collins’s take on women flaunting their sexual body parts, she takes a strong interest in the male sexual prowess in African American culture. She believes that modern perception of black males and females in America created a “new type of racism” in the nation today. Although she states this new type of racism has developed following the “black sexuality,” I am not completely taken by her argument to defend how this was translated into a new type of racism. I feel she lacks a certain depth of significant evidence to support her claim (cause and effect, origin, actual case of this impact on society).
I completely agree with you Pat. I think that young girls are taught to act and dress a certain way that is inappropriate for their age. While this is something we agree on, I do understand why the phenomenon is happening. We live in an age where the media is the most powerful aspect of social life. Not only are women dressing sexy on television but young girls are as well. I was once flipping through the channels and landed on a show about a beauty pageant. This wasn't an ordinary beauty pageant, it was one for girls no older than eight years old. Mom's and Dad's have their young daughters compete in beauty pageants where they have makeup put on them and walk around stage in ballroom gowns and bikinis. The makeup makes these young girls look like 25 year old women in a tiny body. Additionally, the attire that some of these girls are encouraged to wear is so inappropriate that it is no wonder that girls of all ages walk around with makeup and inappropriate clothing on. The media has taken over the world, for better or for worse. I would love to be able to suggest some kind of remedy for the situation but I am not sure if one exists. I hope that this phenomenon doesn't get worse but between reality shows and popular television I don't see how it is going to turn around any time soon
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