"Man is the only Animal that blushes. Or needs to." Mark Twain
I love the water, although I'm not a great swimmer. Boating, water skiing and just sitting on the patio of the rental condo for our annual stay at San Diego's Mission Beach...being near the water refreshes me.
Often though, there is a hindrance to my view. It is in the form of intoxicated young women who feel compelled to show their naked breasts to everyone in the vicinity. This Girls Gone Wild experience began when the first film (of the same name) was released in 1998, spawning a franchise. Pornographer/promoter Joseph R. Francis is responsible for these plot-less films. (I confess to never having watched one, but did a little Google research.)
Film crews show up at spring break locales, populated summer beaches and other places where the common elements are booze and girls...bikinis are optional because women can take a T-Shirt or skirt off pretty easily too. Inebriated girls are incentivized to disrobe, dance provocatively and engage in other lascivious displays. Their prize? A GGW hat or shirt. These are supposedly not paid "actors" just a bunch of girls havin' a little fun.
A film crew and snappy prizes are no longer required. Some hard-core drinks and a group of eager men can encourage women to shed their clothes anywhere, and voila: it's show time! I don't consider myself easily shocked but I'm a bit dumbfounded by this whole phenomenon. I can't help but believe that the participants have serious regrets when they wake up the next day and remember what they did. "My grandma may see that" or "Someday I'll have to explain that to my daughter" have to be thoughts that surface.
Recently I did a little informal survey asking if this GGW activity was OK. The results were split. Many people (mostly men) thought it was fine and that people who object are "prudes and sexist, disallowing freedom of expression and the empowerment of women."
Have to admit I was in the other camp; the ones who feel that it is a huge social statement that many young women so desperately crave attention, validation and admiration that they will go to such extremes to get it.
Sex is everywhere and in everything. Young children are exposed early to the notion that premarital sex is the norm and anything else (like abstinence) makes you a freak. If they watch TV, go to movies or have friends in public school they have a sense of this philosophy. Going to the next step of putting it into action is a piece of cake. Girls can easily lose their way and begin to feel that no one will be interested in them if they don't have something sexual to offer.
From an aesthetic, selfish point I don't enjoy being ambushed with an impromptu strip show from the chair on my patio or deck of my boat. If I wanted to see it, I'd find it and buy a ticket.
As a woman and a mom, it breaks my heart to see these premature "women" demeaning themselves, failing to recognize the damage they're doing to themselves and our culture. ...Not to mention little girls of the future. Your thoughts?
Diane Markins
4 comments:
I think it's so sad that these women think so little of themselves and their bodies that they willingly allow themselves to become nothing more than objects. When they sign up to be de-humanized, they are only seen as an obeject to use- a play thing.
Play things are played with and thrown away. It's a seemingly harmless activity with too many painful consequences- usually only bore by the object herself.
Amen to what you say here!
Rita P.
Well stated. I love the message and just read it to my 15 year old.
Dawn R.
Diane, I believe this is such an extremely relevant and important message for our girls to hear. I immediately shared it with my daughter, who will be 16 next month, because I want so badly for her to understand the importance of purity. Our body is a holy temple that belongs to God and when we behave this way, we are desectrating the temple that resides within us. Hardly a laughing matter. I have so many regrets from my youth, and the last thing I want is for my daughters to have to experience the emptiness and brokenness that I experienced (caused) as a result of not treating my body (and soul) the way that I should have. Thank you for speaking the hard truth on such a controversial issue without shrinking back. God bless you!
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