Marsha West -- Stop the Madness!

STOP THE MADNESS

By Marsha West

September 22, 2007

NewsWithViews.com

The other day I was browsing the aisles of a shoe store when I came upon a substantially overweight woman who was bent over fussing with a shoe she was trying on. Her low rider pants failed to conceal the crack in her derriere. Obviously the "lady" did not care who saw the big event. This included a boy aged 9 or 10 who quickly fled the scene of the crime.

Which brings me to my neighbor's thirty something gardener who wears his jeans as low as they go and a t-shirt that doesn't come close to covering his fuzzy beer belly. As luck would have it I glanced out the window just as he bent over to retrieve an armful of yard debris -- and proudly displayed what we all know as "plumber's crack."

While I'm on the subject of exhibitionism, most teenaged boys, and even some grown men, wear their pants a hair above their plumber's crack. Thankfully, some guys wear boxer shorts above the belt line, I guess to make a stab at modesty. But not all guys do. Now, call me old fashioned, but I believe it's disrespectful for a male to display his Fruit of the Looms, much less things that should be hidden from public view. (Note: Underwear is meant to wear underneath clothing, or it would be called outerwear. Duh.)

Even churches aren't exempt from exhibitionism. I've already addressed what guys are wearing, and they dress no differently for church. As for the "ladies," winter, spring, summer or fall, they show up wearing tank tops with portions of their bras�and bellies-- proudly displayed. Do females not know that males are visually stimulated? And if they know it, do they purposely choose clothes that will stimulate the opposite sex?

I mean, let's be honest here. Many young women who go to church have no sense of decorum! No shame! Church leaders are fully aware that this is a huge problem. So why, pray tell, do they turn a blind eye to it?

Yes, Ashley, God has a dress code. Christians are to be holy, not hot!

"Among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity�because these are improper foor God's holy people" (Ephesians 5:3).

"For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil" (1 Peter 3:12).

Why are so many Christian parents complicit in the sleazy fads kids are into? Moms and dads allow their tweens and teenaged girls to dress like tramps and their sons to dress like sleazy rap artists. Some justify giving in because "all the kids are doing it." If you're one of those parents who give in, consider this. Liberals crow that "most kids are having sex" -- including a lot of tweens. Well then, since "all the kids are doing it" parents should refrain from putting their foot down when their 12-year-olds decides to have "friends with benefits."[1]

C'mon moms and dads. Is it really more important to be "hip" than to be good parents?

Clothing manufactures are partly to blame. The morally challenged folks in the fashion industry push the envelope � and push adolescents into wearing push up bras. (More on this later.) Sex sells. Designer Calvin "Nothing comes between me and my Calvin's" Klein, the pioneer of "explicit sexual marketing" springs to mind when it comes to dressing girls in sexually suggestive clothing. In the mid 90's he used young children in his provocative ads, hence he became the target of a U.S. Justice Department probe. He was asked by a panelist if he thought some of his ads were "borderline child pornography," whereby His Arrogance gave this response: "These campaign ads are not pornographic. The ads were intended to convey the idea 'that glamour is an inner quality' that can be found in regular people in an ordinary setting; it is not something that is exclusive to movie stars and models." For Cline to justify using adolescents to sell sex, claiming it's all about "glamour" is preposterous, and nauseating.

Calvin Klein has nothing on Abercrombie & Filth�oops, Fitch. Remember in 2002, when A&F sold a line of thong underwear for girls ages 7 to 14 with sexual phrases such as "eye candy" and "wink wink" printed on them? Good parents didn't run out and buy kiddie thongs for their daughters. Many moms and dads were so outraged by what A&F was marketing to our youth that they put up a big stink about it. The campaign to get the thongs out of stores worked. Soon thereafter A&F withdrew kiddie thongs from the market, wink wink.

Not to be outdone, Limited Two is selling padded underwire push-up bras to pre-pubescent kiddies. (Pictured here) But the push-up bra isn't all Limited Two pushes, they also offer a line of underpanties with bling! Pretty pink panties are adorned with rhinestone hearts and catchy sayings like "Buy it now! Tell Dad later!" (Pictured here)

So why is Limited Two trying to sexualize children? Oh, I know. There's big bucks in selling sex.

Postmodernism sells too. Take for example Target's popular clothing line Xhiliration. The company uses the following slogan to sell their brand to tweens and teens:

"There are no rules. Whether you choose to dress crazy or dress to thrill-make a statement, make a scene, wear what you want and it won't be wrong."

Dress to make a scene? Wear what you want and it won't be wrong? But what if your cherished child wants to go out dressed up like Hollywood's bad girls Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton? Is that not wrong?

The following is taken from an Xhiliration ad for junior clothing sold at Target:

"Pretty lace trim crinkle camisoles for the next party� the Satin Cami Print features a crafty pink/gold/purple design with two thin shoulder straps, complemented by a pretty v-neckline. The Junior Xhiliration Satin Ebony Cami goes great with a pair of medium washed jeans and the Xhiliration Black Pierced Hobo Bag."[3]

There is something very wrong when toy manufacturers promote sexually alluring dolls made to look like floozies. One example is Bratz dolls [2] manufactured by MGA Entertainment, Inc. Girls are told, "It's all about Bratz." Bratz will give your little tyke a "passion for fashion." She can "Look like a movie star" with her "hair, make-up and style." It matters not that the look children imitate is bound to attract men! And by the way, a number of the rich and famous our kids try to emulate are notorious substance abusers. We've all heard stories of celebrities getting caught driving while under the influence, soon thereafter checking into drug/alcohol rehab -- even numerous times! And let's face it. A lot of them have substandard morals, foul mouths, even occult involvement. (Speaking of the occult. Little girls can also go to Bratz.com and check out their "Hot horoscope." Christian parents should not allow their kids to be enticed into mysticism!)

Herein lies what's behind it all. In our post-modern relativistic culture there's no right and wrong. Liberal elites, especially in Hollywood, are hell-bent on breaking all the rules and giving license to lasciviousness. Liberals dominate the print media, network news, academia, the judiciary, the fashion industry and Hollywood, which encompasses music, movies and TV. Most liberals are incapable of having an open honest debate on the moral issues. Instead what they marginalize conservatives who believe biblical morality is important for a healthy society. The far left simply cannot grasp why religious folk make such a big fuss about sexualizing kids.

All the fuss is about the religious right's contention that because society has embraced moral relativism our culture has become morally bankrupt and is in desperate need of a course correction. Since the Left are largely moral relativists they believe that "right and wrong good or bad is not absolute but variable and relative, depending on the person, circumstances, or social situation." The moral relativist holds that no one should try to impose his or her morality on another person. Which makes one wonder, if there is no right or wrong, as most liberals insist, why is it wrong for people of faith to "impose" their moral values on society?

Liberals chide conservatives to, "Stay out of my bedroom!" Fine! Conservatives will stay out of people's bedrooms -- as long as they aren't viewing child pornography�or having sex with a minor...or, worse yet, their own kids!

My whole point is that the far left is denigrating our culture and hurting children in the process. It is unconscionable that Americans sit back and allow these people to deliberately push filth on our kids. The religions right is trying to restore America to its Judeo/Christian roots, and in so doing, pull the younger generation from the grip of moral relativism -- because it's killing them!

Jesus loved the little children, and so should we. Exposing them to provocative material can be harmful to them. Youngsters are not equipped to process information about sex, especially homosexual sex! I'm going to repeat an oft used, perhaps overused, phrase, but I do it because it's true: "Kids need to be kids."

A large number of youngsters are missing out on childhood altogether. Sadly, only a small number of folks seem genuinely concerned about how our highly sexualized culture affects our children. People of faith should be fuming mad about it!

The Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, is concerned about Australia's kids. A recent Fox News headline boldly declared: "Outrage Over Selection of 13-Year-Old to Be Face of Fashion Show." The story told about a young girl who was chosen to be the face of an Australian Fashion event. According to Fox News, Prime Minister Howard "has led a chorus of criticism of the choice of Maddison Gabriel, who was 12 when she was named the face of the inaugural Gold Coast Fashion Week. � The middle school student told Australia's CChannel Seven that she was the right model for the job." "I believe that I can fit into women's clothes, I can model women's clothes, so I should be able to do it," Maddison said. "It doesn't matter about age, it matters that you can do the job."[4]

Howard disagrees. He said, "Catapulting girls as young as 12 into something like that is quite outrageous and I'm totally opposed to it and think most Australians would feel the same way."[5] If only more Americans would voice their outrage against child exploitation.

Howard went on to say, "I have real concerns about littlies that young going out there doing that sort of thing." Bully for Prime Minister Howard!

I have several questions. First, are Maddison's parents living in the realm of reality? Second, why don't Americans show more concern for our "littlies"? (I love that expression.) Third, when will we wise up and put a stop to the child exploiting/corrupting garbage dump our nation has become?

Have we no shame? Answer: No.

Conservative radio talk show host and best-selling author, Laura Ingraham, calls it "the pornification of our culture." She's right.

Laura has this challenge for Americans: "It's your country, FIGHT FOR IT!"

Subscribe to the NewsWithViews Daily News Alerts!

Enter Your E-Mail Address:

Everyone, including liberals, who's concerned about the future of America's youth should go out and buy Laura's new book "Power to the People."[6] You can say what you want about Laura Ingraham, but at least she's taking an active role in putting a stop to the ongoing madness. You can too!

Laura urges her readers to "Join this 'call to arms' so we can restore power to the people who have seen their influence over politics and the culture diluted and dismissed for too long."

Way to go, Laura!

Footnotes:

1, Friends with Benefits? By Elisa Klein
2, Bratz Website
3, Xhiliration ad for clothing sold at Target
4, Outrage Over Selection of 13-Year-Old to Be Face of Fashion Show
5, Ibid
6, "Power to the People" By Laura Ingraham

Additional Reading:

1, Lolita's Closet: Unbearably trampy back-to-school clothes By Emily Yoffe
2, Modesty a key ingredient in biblical womanhood By Mary Mohler

Sign Up For Free E-Mail Alerts

E-Mails are used strictly for NWVs alerts, not for sale

Marsha West is the Founder and Editor of the E-Mail Brigade News Report, an online news report for conservative people of faith. Marsha is a freelance writer specializing in Christian worldview. She is a regular contributor to NewsWithViews.com, Alainsnewsletter.com, CapitolHillCoffeeHouse.com, plus her commentaries appear in MichNews.com and bibleteacher.org.

Marsha is also designer and webmaster of a Christian apologetics website, On Solid Rock Resources. She is currently writing a series of children's books for homeschoolers. Marsha and her husband reside in historic Jacksonville Oregon.

E-mail:�EMbrigade@aol.com

Home

Why are so many Christian parents complicit in the sleazy fads kids are into? Moms and dads allow their tweens and teenaged girls to dress like tramps and their sons to dress like sleazy rap artists.