Should we be offended by Katy Perry's boobs bouncing up and down in a low cut, stunning, yellow dress?
If you YouTube "Sesame Street and Katy Perry" you will immediately be directed to the video that is creating a lot of controversy. The news broke late last week and The View was still talking about it on Monday morning (I saw the women ranting on it via PerezHilton.com). I went to look at the video again and was not surprised to see that it had over a million views. Katy Perry was also on SNL this weekend acting out a hilarious parody regarding the situation.
Having witnessed children playing on the beach with their topless mothers and grandmothers (!), I believe a lot of cultures would think this argument is hilarious. Then there are cultures that would shelter their children from images like these. It's a fine line. What should Sesame Street do?
As a parent of a 3 year old boy and another baby boy on the way, I have felt that if I am caught undressing or I am surprised in the bathroom while getting out of the shower, not making a big deal out of the situation is how I will handle it all. My son has asked me questions like, "Where does your pee pee come from?" and I honestly explain to him the difference between his body and my body. I don't run around naked in the house and neither does Jose, but many times we change with the door open and it is never an issue for Diego. I would like Diego to not be obsessed with boobs, I don't know if by seeing mine while I dress or in a bathing suit in the summer he will just "get used to them" and not ogle at the breasts that happen to pass him by. I want my son to be mature about nudity and not snicker while passing a naked statue at a museum or stare at a girl walking New York City streets in a tight and revealing mini dress (as if it won't happen when he's older).
The guide "What to Expect-The Toddler Years" suggests to "end cross-gender nudity" the minute a little boy starts asking mom about the differences in male and female bodies. They even state that family nudity could become a problem by age three but okay to do see the same sex parent nude. I'm not comfortable taking a shower with Diego anymore, but I think it's more about not wanting to answer too many questions...I am guilty of this. Jose on the other hand has no problem showering with him and answering anything Diego's little mind is pondering. I also plan on nursing my new baby, am I supposed to hide from my almost 4 year old from a very natural action?
Would it be different if we had a girl? Would it be more of an issue about what Katy Perry was wearing and sending the wrong message to little girls?
I wonder, if we treat body conversations with honesty, teach our kids to respect their bodies and other people's bodies and not shaming them when they ask questions, does it really matter if a young woman in a low cut dress is dancing around with Elmo and her boobs are bouncing? Or is the issue here really about Sesame Street's responsibility and parent's trust on the show to not bring up questionable issues? Tough one. I'm interested to hear what moms of little girls think of the debate!
xoxo
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About Me
- Betty
- Currently raising my son, loving my husband, and enjoying New York City. Originally from Chicago and attended Loyola University. Born to Mexican parents and have lived in Tokyo and Singapore. Passionate about education, literature and my family.
5 comments:
I have several thoughts on this subject. There seem to be several issues going on in our society on the subject of nudity and what is appropriate, and usually it's an all or nothing attitude.
Quite frankly I find it difficult to find middle ground, which is what I think is more appropriate. It really depends on the context of the situation, how one reacts to it and the behavior we want our children to learn from it.
I saw the sesame street video and I thought it was not appropriate for sesame street. If she was wearing that on another (none childrens) show that my son just so happen to catch (on the news, gossip show..etc), I wouldn't have cared. The point to me is that there are a lot of little girls trying to dress and act older than they should and seeing Katie on sesame street dressed that way, it seems sexual and just doesn't seem right for sesame street, IMO.
There are also a lot of little boys starting to define within themselves how women should look, should behave and what they like and so on. Even though I do not want my son to be shocked at nudity, I do not want him to think that women should dress a certain way all the time. Balance.
It's similar to that woman that is at church or at the grocery store in 6 inch heals, wearing tight jeans (or a tight dress), and her boobs are so exposed you wonder if she has nips at all. IMO you have to dress appropriate to where you are. Church, the grocery store, kids parties, sesame street are not the places to dress like you are going to the club, the beach etc...
Granted, children do not see what grown ups see but when a young girl wants to wear a "play dress" that is just as low as Katies was on sesame street...has their innocence or self image been tapped ever so slightly? Has it made a subconscious impact that was not expected? If it has what will that lead to? Is explaining that only adults can dress like that enough? (Assuming you are there watching along with the child).
I am a firm believer that situations, events, lessons learned at an early age will define the adult. There are plenty of moments in life when children will be exposed to some level of nudity, bikinis on the beach, a nursing mother, walking in on mom or dad changing...etc All which are in normal every day life and we should not be shocked at and should be considered normal. It's our job to explain at their level why it's ok (or not) in that situation and not traumatize them in the process.
BTW, if I were to have another child I would plan on nursing also and I wouldn't cover up at home or expect my son to leave the room. We'll see how that goes if that day ever comes :)
Honestly, there are FARRR too many more issues in the world for anyone to even entertain this issue. The amount of press that this has gotten to me is almost unbearable. You said over 1 million views, but after checking it, it now has over 4 million views. REALLY? What about funding in our educational systems? What about access to health insurance? The cost of living and the insanely depressing inflation. Now we're going to worry about Katy Perry & her boobs? Trust me, Beatriz, this is not an attack on you in any way, shape or form. I realize why you wrote this; mostly because you wanted other mother's opinions. I am just appalled at how they make such a big deal out of things like this when there are so many other things out there that people should be worrying about. Good bloggin!!!
Mica*
Like Michelle said there are too many other issues in this world to care about. I believe some of the media has gotten out of control focusing on issues that are not as important in our daily lives. Not just the whole Katie Perry issue but with the other stars that our kids do or will potentially look up to. I have noticed now how freely on the radio and television they are using certain words that I wouldn't say to my kids or around other people's children. I don't understand how some of the words and scenes out there make it available to our children. It wasn't allowed before. Especially on some of these "family" channels.
I change in front of my 2 kids it doesn't bother me at all at this point. I have a 5 year old daughter and a 2 year old son. I have also taken showers with my daughter and she has questioned as to what my "boobs" are. She even expressed that she wants some too! It's up to each individual family as how they want to approach the issue with their kids. I have never taken a shower with my son. I don't plan on it either. Like Betty said I don't want to answer too many of those questions. I will deal with issues and situations as they come.
Hasta ahorita leei tu blog. Creo que ahora los padres se fijan en otras cosas y no en lo que realmente importa. Para mi lo mas importante es inculcarle a Daniela educacion y valores fundamentales. No quien las tiene mas grande y quien las ensene mas. Vi el video, y no pense que estuviera malo. No creo que un nino o una nina se este fijando en las "boobies" (termino usado por Luis) para ellos lo mas importante de ese video es la musica y Elmo. If I remember correctly, back in the day Maria had some very nice tops! Nobody said anything then..
I agree that this issue had/has gotten more attention than it deserves (I haven't heard anything about it since it was last brought up last month, thankfully) and that are there many other issues going on all over that deserve more attention than what is going on with TV shows or pop culture. Things are not looking great for our education system, food system, there are wars of all kinds going on in our neighborhoods and far way. Diseases are taking lives etc...
Reality is on a day to day basis the average family isn't thinking about what is going on in the world. They are more likely to be thinking about what's for dinner, what bills need to be paid, what are the kids watching on TV.
That's just my opinion, though :)
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