a wee rant

Peggy Orenstein’s essay, Playing at Sexy, explores the intersection of tween girls witnessing and mirroring overtly sexual cultural products, and examines their impact. Orenstein describes a widely viewed and discussed YouTube video of a group of 8 and 9 year old girls performing a dance routine to Beyonce’s Single Ladies, inspired by the original, racy choreography in the song’s video. She discusses the alarming, age-inappropriate sexual suggestiveness of products and performances marketed to children and tweens: thong underwear, Monster High dolls (pictured above), the pole-dancing antics of Miley Cyrus, and, of course, Barbie, who frankly seems like the lease of our worries at this point. Which should indicate how big our worries should be.

It’s hard for me to read and reflect on topics like this in an intellectual way- I just wind up feeling so upset and a little sick. I feel so frustrated with how enormous and pernicious the issue of marketing sex to children is, how girls are taught that their image reflects their identity and value, and how the same people wagging their fingers at the impropriety of girls dancing around in their underwear are letting their children watch Beyonce videos in the first place, or buying Barbies.

I’m not a prude. If there was a genuine benefit to tween girls here, then that would be a different story. According to Orenstein, though, early play-acting at sexuality only serves to confuse girls about sexual desire and desirability as they get older. She writes: “Those bootylicious grade-schoolers in the dance troupe presumably don’t understand the meaning of their motions (and thank goodness for it), but, precisely because of that, they don’t connect — and may never learn to connect — sexy attitude to erotic feelings” (Orenstein, 11).

Is this problem new? No, not really. Is it a bigger problem than it was before? I don’t know, but it is coming at tweens from all directions. Mattel, who owns the the Monster High franchise mentioned by Orenstein, plans to release dolls, video games, movies, and books simultaneously, so that “teens and tweens [can] discover the brand in their own way and engage with the Monster High characters and storyline through multiple points of entry” (Tim Gilpin, Mattel, as cited in tradershuddle.com).

What does this have to do with serving tweens? I think it’s important, in the name of knowing our patrons, to know what tweens are up against, what messages they are receiving from society, and who they are trying to be as a result. Certainly all tweens won’t respond to these cultural influences in the same way-- the landscape of their lives is more nuanced and complex than that. But it’s a piece of the puzzle of a puzzling age.

Also, if tweens wind up reading the Monster High books, I suppose I’m required to be pleased that they are reading at all. Perhaps I would be. They may not understand the marketing machine, but we as adults can and should act as advocates and protectors on their behalf.

I think we can do better for them.

Orenstein, P. (2010, June 13). Playing at sexy. The New York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com.

Mattel unveils monster-themed franchise. from Traders Huddle. Retrieved June 27, 2010 from www.tradershuddle.com.