I remember the middle school ages well, and my own parents’ horror at the way we danced (and at our music!). Were they as horrified as Lawrence Downes is? Or as I sometimes am?
I think they probably were.
Kids today…
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It’s writings like those that make me soooo glad I had a son 😉
~EdT.
Hmph. Not fair, Ed!
Actually, I’m kidding. While it’s very difficult to stay ahead of the blatant sexualization, raising boys these days has its own set of challenges.
You got that right…
I think you are correct in your presumption – our crazy gyrations, rebellious (and sometimes revealing) dress, and explicit music (though the topics were sometimes a bit different) caused our parents plenty of heartburn – as I am sure they did to their parents before them.
What is scary these days is that the age at which kids are being drawn into this mode of conduct is getting lower and lower. So, children are becoming more sexual at a younger age (encouraged by those who profit from the spending of their parents’ money), while at the same time society is taking a dim view of those who take an interest to such blatant sexuality in a way that might be expected if the person acting so blatantly were an adult, thereby creating a new class of pariah, and ensuring a steady stream of them for the future. Seems more than a bit hypocritical, if you ask me.
Now, I am in no way advocating that we be lenient with child sex offenders (though I think that some of the current ongoing sanctions are in fact overreaching and inappropriate themselves), but I just think that if this is as serious a matter as we are making it out to be, then maybe we shouldn’t fan the flames by encouraging our children to act in a manner that is age-inappropriate.
~EdT.