Sherry Chandler » Sexual Predators
Sexual Predators
In my letter to my congressman below, I state that I’m ambivalent about background checks for child care workers. Several things have come to my attention today that make me think our values are really skewed on this. On the one hand, we can get ourselves in lynch-mob state about one kind of sexual predator. And on the other hand, we don’t blink twice about another kind of sexual predator — the corporate kind.
For example, a correspondent drew my attention to this article from the Lexington Herald-Leader about a Hannah Montana (a Disney Channel product) concert in town:
Club Libby Lu, a national chain that carries dozens of Hannah Montana wares, also offers tween queen makeovers.
On a typical busy Saturday, the Lexington store, in Fayette Mall, might do 80 makeovers. So far, some 225 girls ranging from age 4 to 11 years old are scheduled to be transformed into Hannah look-alikes today via blond wigs, special makeup and microphones, said Robyn Caulfield, a spokeswoman for the store.
Four years old.
The piece says that the manager of Rupp Arena, where this concert will be held, has been getting calls from parents who want to know where they can drop off their 7-year-old daughters. What kind of parent “drops off” a 7-year-old at a huge sports arena for a concert? Does it occur to any of them that such an event might draw predators of one kind or another?
I was also struck by the closing paragraphs of this piece:
Flatwoods native Billy Ray Cyrus [father of Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana] is being held up as a parental model to emulate. That would be the same Billy Ray who was widely put down when his hip-shaking, mullet-wearing persona burst onto the achy-breaky scene in 1992.
Bruce Leslie, Billy Ray’s longtime personal attorney, said he’s not surprised by the Cyrus family values. Billy Ray, he said, is a fairly conservative guy who, from the beginning of his fame, asked good questions about securing his financial future. And, he said, Billy Ray listened when professionals made suggestions.
He said having been through the achy-breaky days, the family “has been down this road before” and “they’ve learned the pitfalls to avoid.”
Leslie said Billy Ray and wife Tish, who is from Ashland, have “retained their hometown values.”
Please note that these hometown values all seem to be about “securing his financial future.”
Rants my correspondent, “This is appalling. It is of a piece with the ‘Who Needs Credit Cards’ panties—using children as bits of commerce.”
What “Who Needs Credit Cards” panties, you ask. From Feministing, by way of Have Coffee Will Write, here are the culprits, on sale in the junior department at at Wal-Mart:
Says Feministing:
Reader Scarlett saw these oh-so-charming panties in the junior department of her local Wal-Mart on Kildare Farms Road in Cary, NC. There’s nothing quite like telling adolescent girls that they don’t need to worry about finances since they have their very own moneypot between their legs.
You can contact Wal-Mart here.
These are the same people who want to censor your rock lyrics, you know.
And anyway, they’re nearly sold out of Talking Jesus dolls, so they have to make their Christmas profit on something.
Possibly related posts:
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
7 Comments
1. WHAT THEY SAID…&hellip replies at 13th December 2007, 6:16 am :
[...] The piece says that the manager of Rupp Arena, where this concert will be held, has been getting calls from parents who want to know where they can drop off their 7-year-old daughters. What kind of parent “drops off” a 7-year-old at a huge sports arena for a concert? Does it occur to any of them that such an event might draw predators of one kind or another? Sherry Chandler digg_url=”http://havecoffeewillwrite.com/?p=5883″; digg_skin = ‘compact’; [...]
2. Tommy replies at 13th December 2007, 9:47 am :
The panties apparently say “Who needs credit cards…” on the front and “…When you’ve got Santa?” on the back. The words themselves don’t seem to be advocating sex-favors-in-exchange-for-gifts, but they would have been far more appropriate on a t-shirt or something.
As it is, I’m left sputtering in consternation. Who thought those panties would be a good idea?
And I knew Hannah Montana was big, but I wasn’t really paying much attention. Just buy ‘em plastic crap slathered in Montana logos and stuff like that. “Why do you have to have a makeover, honey?”
When I hear the Cyruses speak about their home-town values, they are basically claiming not to have let Hollywood poison their minds with tolerance for people different from themselves. Maybe I’m a cynic, but I don’t think the novelty-country song set has a whole lot of multiculturalism going on.
Love,
T
3. sherry replies at 13th December 2007, 10:16 am :
Thanks for the update on what the panties say, Tommy. I’d meant to point that out as an update but you beat me to it. Perhaps not quite as bad with the addendum on the back. As Lynn Harris points out at Salon’s Broadsheet:
4. Tommy replies at 14th December 2007, 9:28 am :
Oh, yes, I think Hogfather calls out the creepiness of the Santa Claus myth just fine.
And Lynn Harris thought of an angle that hadn’t occurred to me. Yeah, on second thought, that’s not much better.
I still think it would have been better on a t-shirt.
It’s like those girls who are still in single digits but their parents buy them sweatpants that say “Angel” or “Princess” across the seat of their pants. I notice these things, and then I want to see what they say, and then I realize: They are drawing my eyes towards little girls’ rear ends. And then I need to go poke my eyes out. Not. Cool.
As many people are saying, of course, it’s parents who buy these things for their kids, but I’m not sure that as an adult I’ve known any parents who won’t buy their kids something if only to shut them up.
Love,
Tommy
5. sherry replies at 14th December 2007, 9:40 am :
The other day, Tommy, standing on the corner of Virginia and Limestone here in Lexington, I saw a blond (what else) coed wearing gray sweats with Δ Δ Δ across the butt. I suppose looking at a twenty-year-old’s rear end is more acceptable but I thought the positioning spoke volumes.
6. chalie mulligan replies at 14th December 2007, 11:25 am :
Howdy
I live in a village of 200 in a county of 2000 more cows than people. The nearest WALMART is 73 miles away, a testament to rural lifes litle pleasures.
I noticed in your link about the Jesus Doll, the article had a unique misspell.
What are ” GOTH KIDS” quoted below “It may also prove that goth kids still buy gag gifts, but we don’t want to hurt Mr. Livingston’s feelings or anything.” I love the effect a single letter s effect has in “communicaution”.
I found your comment searching information about the Flamingo Motel in Minn. I found an old post card in a box downstairs and since the internet and google is my passpport from here I thought I would write. I’ll try to find On the Road to Patsy Cline (Minnesota Voices Project #77 from New Rivers Press, 1996
7. sherry replies at 15th December 2007, 6:50 am :
On the Road to Patsy Kline has some great poems, Chalie Mulligan. You won’t regret buying it. Good luck finding info on the Flamingo Motel. Minnesota seems an odd place for such a critter.
Leave a comment