Sexualization In Young Girls

            While I was at a physical therapy session a little over a year ago now, I saw something absolutely appalling on the TV – two little girls in pink tutu’s rapping to Nicki Minaj’s hit song “Super Bass”. I could only sit there with my mouth hanging open as I watched the Ellen Show episode featuring Sophia Grace and Rosie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9573kGBtuE&safe=active). They are cousins from Essex, England and were only 9 and 6 years old, respectively, when the episode of Ellen aired on TV (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ellen_DeGeneres_Show#Sophia_Grace_and_Rosie). I was shocked to hear these two sweet little girls singing such explicit lyrics to a song that was so sexual. Their YouTube clip from the Ellen Show performing with Nicki Minaj has over 48 million views! Why is something so wrong so popular in our culture today? The media and culture of our world today are exposing younger and younger girls to more and more sexual and adult-ish things. They are encouraging the over-sexualization of these young girls by rewarding them for singing inappropriate songs.

            The way these girls are being exposed on TV and YouTube is just a glimpse of how our world today tells young girls that they should listen to and be like the older women celebrities/singers, even if it means singing about sexual things. Do they even understand what they’re saying when they sing the lyrics to “Super Bass” (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/nickiminaj/superbass.html)? I’m not even sure if I understand what all the lyrics mean. It’s concerning to me as someone who would like to have kids of my own someday. I don’t want my kids exposed to that kind of a message, especially when they’re that young. I can’t help but wonder how Sophia Grace’s and Rosie’s parents allowed them to listen to that kind of music? I found an article online titled, “Sophia Grace And Rosie: How Do You Parent Daughters Like These?” written by Lisa Belkin (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-belkin/dominic-brownlee-sophia-grace-dad_b_1327233.html). It makes me sad to see what our world has come to. I desire more wholesome things for the children of today to listen to and watch and aspire to be. I don’t want young girls to see people like Nicki Minaj and think that they need to be like them in order to get attention. I’m afraid that girls will be exposed to the bad things in our world/culture at even younger ages in the future. I don’t want my children to be deprived of an innocent childhood because of the messages the media is putting in their heads at such a young age.

I hope that more people will realize that the media of our culture is robbing our children of their childhood by making them look and act like adults, especially celebrities who encourage sexualizing young girls. I’ve noticed that people have been putting more and more emphasis on sexuality in younger and younger children lately. Things like this episode from Ellen tell me that to be human is to be sexy. And the younger you are, the sexier you are – even if you’re under the age of ten.

I thought the section in the first chapter of Brandwashed titled “Unleashing the Sex Kitten Inside” on page 21 was over exaggerating the emphasis our culture puts on sexuality (Lindstrom, Martin. Brandwashed. New York: Crown Business, 2011). But looking at things like Sophia Grace and Rosie’s video of them singing Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” on the Ellen Show makes me wonder if the Peekaboo Pole Dancing Kit, which is marketed to girls under the age of ten, is really that far away from a reality in more countries than just the UK.

We are told multiple times in the book of Song of Solomon that we are not to arouse love until it’s the right time. Song of Solomon 2:7 (The Message) says, “Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem, by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer: Don’t excite love, don’t stir it up, until the time is ripe—and you’re ready.” I don’t think the “right time” is at as young of an age as our culture today tells us. Today young people, young girls especially, are bombarded daily by various forms of media telling them that in order to be worth anything they must be beautiful and sexy in the eyes of culture.

Another popular verse that talks about outer beauty versus inner beauty is Proverbs 31:30 (NIV 1984) – “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Our culture today is all about outer beauty, but the Bible tells us that this outer beauty will fade in time. It’s the inner beauty that really counts, and women who fear the Lord are the ones who have an inner beauty that lasts.

The Bible tells us that children are a gift from God, so we should treat them as such. Psalm 127:3-5 (The Message) says, “Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift? The fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Like a warrior’s fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children! Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you; you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep.” We need to be concerned about the messages that our secular culture is telling our children. We should be aware of the things like music and television that can have a huge influence on our young people. We should monitor what our children are listening to and watching, and if we discover that they are believing the lies culture tells them about beauty and what makes them worthy, we need to correct them with the Truth found in God’s Word.