Thursday, September 23, 2010

Katy Perry and Self Image

All over the mom circuit today, I have been hearing complaints and trash talking about the Katy Perry Sesame Street video clip that hit YouTube. I just read an article stating that her clip, to air this season on Sesame Street has now been pulled after moms united and raised hell saying her clothing was too racy and would give their tots the wrong self image. So I went on over to YouTube and had myself a little watch, just to see what all the fuss was about.

GIVE ME A BREAK PEOPLE!

I am a mom of a daughter. I watched the video and whoop do freaking do. She is dressed up as a pixie princess type chick singing with Elmo. How about this for thought...all those moms that spent so much time today YouTube watching and complaining about how their child's self image is going to be put in jeopardy; how about these women take that same amount of time to learn how to promote positive self images of their children when faced with media influences that steer towards a potential negative self image influence. And instead of watching the video over and over, spend that time with their daughters. Teach them not to be followers. Teach them to be able to decipher what trash is from treasure and to treat themselves with respect. Give them the foundation to be able to recognize and make GOOD positive informed choices for themselves in regards to the negative influences that will in fact be thrust at them on a daily basis.

The world is not a sugar free candy coated playground with no sharp edges. Although we do not need to thrust negative self image material in our children's faces, we do need to expose them to it while we can help them learn from it. We must not shelter our children as this will only result in horrific outcomes. We need to teach our children from early on to have self respect. And something as minor as Katy Perry wearing a pixie fairy outfit on Sesame Street singing a catching tune with Elmo seems like a good enough spot to start.

Haven't seen it? Watch it and let me know what you think?





7 comments:

  1. People are freaking over THAT?? I bet they don't care when they want to watch a good music video, or listen to a radio station they like in the car. They are exposing thier children to this industry whether it's in a kid's show or not. It doesn't make any difference. Ridiculous. I say they air it. To not air it is rubbish. =)

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  2. Personally, not a fan of Katy one bit. I'm also in agreement that she could've covered up a bit more. I DO NOT see the big deal about this video though and why people would waste so much time rallying against a stupid clip. I couldn't watch with sound so I have no clue what the video is about, but it seems innocent enough. I agree w/steph - these people wouldn't even say anything if the kids saw it on a music video!

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  3. The video in its entirety is certainly nothing to get wound up about but I do think the choice of outfit was foolish for something produced for Sesame Street. Lots and Lots of people are involved in that decision making process but someone has the final say. Looks like there needs to be less vacation days, less delegation of the responsibility they are paid for to inexperienced interns, less power lunching and more respect for the responsibilities of their job.

    Katy Perry did not make this error in taste and judgment. She is not an educator or parent, psychologist or professional producer of children's television.

    So here we are with another case of WARDROBE MALFUNCTION. All you moms that are so distraught LOOK AT HOW YOU DAUGHTER's ARE DRESSED. I look at the clothes toddlers to teens are wearing in public and they make this video look tame.

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  4. I agree! We should not shelter our children. We should teach them.

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  5. Stephanie,
    I was shocked too. With al lthat is out there in the world for kids to be exposed to, this minor incident caused such a stir. Sounds to me like moms have too much time on their hands.

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  6. LesKatSpr,
    I appreciate your opinion. I do think the dress could have been different, however I also do not think anything is wrong with this particualr dress. To me it looks like tinkerbell or a fairy that i think children, in the audience age group, will identify with as a fairy not as a sexual object. If the target audience identifies her outfit as a sexual nature then we have a bigger problem that should be addressed.

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  7. Crystal, I couldnt agree more. I would rather teach my daughter to make solid healthy decsions of her own based on negative influences out in the world rather than shelter her and leave her vulnerable in the future.

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