Sex Sells as Parents Sell Out

I just read an article in the Omaha World Herald about the whole "Hannah Montana" in a bed sheet photo fiasco. http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1219&u_sid=10333220

I know this isn't the first time, nor will it be the last. I remember a Rolling Stone cover of Britney Spears - back when she too was a favorite of pre-teen girls - posing seductively on a bed with silk sheets and a black bra when she was 17. Who would let their little girl do that? And then there's those John Bena Ramsey pageants. Ick.

Helloooo, earth to parents. Come in parents . . .

I don't think a 15 or 17 year old kid has the judgment to say "I'm not comfortable with those images." "Or that's inappropriate." When I was 15 I probably would have said, "Wow! I look like, HOT!". And that's when mom and dad step in.

What bothers me the most is that it even occurs to anyone to photograph a 15 year old naked in a bed sheet. When did that become OK or even mainstream? Isn't this child porn? Or am I just naive? Our societal reaction shouldn't be "she's being exploited" - which she is. We should all be saying "Eww!" and feeling our skin crawl. It should be repugnant. Not just disappointing that she's being "a bad roll model" - which she is.

As the mom of a little girl I'm so sick of the sexualization girls and teens. It's harmful on so many levels, not to mention dangerous. Girls clothing has been overtly sexualized for quite sometime - basically the entire 21st century. Even some of clothes for Addie I think is too grown up, and she's not even three. I can't imagine what she'll be asking to wear when she's 13.

Dennis can't have kids sit on the ground at his church camp without getting an eye full of thongs peeking above low cut short-shorts. And don't get me started at what kids show up to church in. And there they sit in the pew right next to their parents. When did it become OK and mainstream for our little girls and teens to dress like hookers? At church?! They're not clubbing. They're worshiping. Seriously. This isn't just a famous kid's problem.

Or am I just a prude?