This weekend, I went to see "Scary Movie 3" with my mom, sisterand 13-year-old niece. The movie choice wasn't my pick (and believeit or not, wasn't my niece's either), but my family had reached theconsensus that its PG-13 rating meant it was suitable for my nieceto watch.
The lights dimmed and the movie reel began to roll. Whatfollowed was one of those awkward moments when you feel like you'rewatching something inappropriate for the adolescent sitting besideyou.
For example, several of the characters' cleavage was visiblymore important than their role in the film. There was also the wayin which a certain four-letter expletive managed to make its wayinto the film, along with several other inappropriate sexualreferences. Topping it off was a certain conversation in which themain character stressed that in a relationship, what mattered mostwas sex -- not just good sex, but great sex.`
I felt myself starting to blush as I watched some of thosescenes with my young niece beside me, wondering what has happenedto today's movie standards.
After all, I can remember a time when a PG or PG-13 rating meantyou were guaranteed a film that was tame, a family classic thatused obscenities sparingly like "Home Alone."
But today, major studios have thrown conservatism out the windowwhen it comes to how they market sex to teens, and they certainlyaren't alone.
Sex seems to be everywhere these days for girls and boys myniece's age, and if it doesn't come in the form of a racy movie,then it's something else -- clothes, accessories, music videos ormake-out parties.
For example, I recently learned that my niece was upset with mysister because she wouldn't let her wear thong underwear. As sheexplained it, she had to "roll down her underwear" so that theother girls her age wouldn't make fun of her at school for notowning the latest in revealing undergarment fashion.
A 13-year-old in a thong? Call me old-fashioned, but I didn'teven know what a thong was at that age, let alone wear one.
Then there are other trends you hear about that make your earsburn, especially because they involve youngsters and sex.
A recent TIME Magazine article shed light on one such trend,which centers on a sex game catching on in many U.S. middleschools. When playing "Snap," young teenagers swap popular jellybracelets according to a sexual color code that indicates what kindof sexual favor they would like in return. Grabbing a red braceletmeans someone wants a lap dance, while blue can imply oral sex.
Hearing about these kinds of "games" is a wakeup call to me,because lately it seems as if we are no longer shocked by what theyimply.
When a talk show segment about adolescent after-school sexparties can be as accepted in this society as Britney or Beyonce'slatest lust-driven video, that's when we know our moral sensitivityhas begun to slip.
Unfortunately, if no one -- namely parents and the entertainmentindustry -- makes more of an effort to curb the kinds of materialcontributing to these young kids' degrading acts, it may be lostfor good.
Write to Gail at glkoch@bsu.edu
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