Middle School Girls Gone Wild

I just read this very interesting editorial on the New York Times entitled "Middle School Girls Gone Wild".

What American schools are doing, and American parents allowing and encouraging, is truly disgusting. It's easy for me as an Aussie to say "We're much better than the Americans". Right? Wrong!

I do part-time volunteer teaching at one of the state primary schools near my home in Melbourne, Australia. I and all the other volunteer teachers were invited to come to the annual school concert towards the end of last year.

Now, this happens to be the very primary school which I attended as a kid. (Until I started homeschooling, that is.) I remember fondly the many school concerts in which I took part as a child, and the various costumes I wore and parts I played.

One year I was a farmer, complete with overalls and a big cardboard raincloud which I held up with a stick. The cloud even had a yellow lightening bolt descending from it! :o) Ah - those were the days.

Another year I was a mad scientist, and we still have photos of the dusty grey hair effect we rather successfully pulled-off with copious doses of Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder. (Talcum powder.) :o)

Only fifteen to twenty years have passed, and here I am, looking forward to nostalgic reminders of years gone by as I watched this performance in my childhood school.

And what do I see?

Lots of veeery skimpy femmes.

I'm talking about my grade 3, 4 and 5 students, many in bikinis and other sexually-alluring attire. And ah - parading it, too. Not "cute" sexy, as in "my parents put this on me and I'm getting lots of attention so I think it's fun", but "I know this clothing is sexy and I'll act sexy too whilst I wear it".

Oh, there were plenty of girls who were well-attired, and a few who, despite scant clothing, were oblivious to sexual overtones. But if say 10% to 20% of the girls were sexy & lovin' it - at that tender age - struttin' their stuff in public, proudly to a packed auditorium of many hundreds of parents and siblings... It doesn't bode well for where things are heading in society.

In other words : things aren't as bad in Australia as they are in America - yet. But we're well on the way.

I have written before and at length regarding a proper Christian response to the fabric-reductionism prevelant in society, and curiously, the one common thread (pardon the pun) across all replies I've had so far, is that there is no common thread.

The nearest thing to a helpful suggestion was one young lass suggesting I read Jeff Pollard's "Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing Of America". Well, I happened upon this book at a Vision Forum book table in Virginia USA in July 2006, and now possess a copy, and will read it eventually, I suppose, but have been discouraged by a review of it which said that Jeff only addresses the issues in broad and ill-defined brush strokes.

In dealing with these issues, vague statements and generalisations are not enough, and if you don't understand what I'm talking about, read my "Free Porn With Your Metcard" article on 100thousandyouth. (For our non-Melbourne readers, "trams" are the prevalent mode of public transport here, and "Metcards" are the tickets you buy to ride the trams.)

Yes, our society is highly sexualised, and yes, it is a problem. Step 1) Wake up. Step 2) Rediscover Biblical ideals. Step 3) Live them. Step 4) Help those around you do the same.

And somewhere along the line, for the sake of our children, step 5) Formalise Scriptural principles in legislation, so the wishes of the minority who profit financially from fuelling lust, cannot be freely imposed on those who wish a lifestyle of longer-term satisfaction.