Thank you for your article and to the others for their comments on your opinion. I, too, am part of the feminist movement who are horrified at the easy selling off of all the work we did to try to make society better for women. It is as though the only people liberated by it all are, yet again, the men in our communities. More sex, more easily, with less sanctions.

I am disgusted at how many young mothers dress their little girls like prostitutes. Why is it only the basest part of femininity that makes it to the entertainment industry? Who really is it all aimed at? Paedophiles? Are there no men who want fully matured women as desirable sex partners?

I shudder at what my 7 month old grandson is growing up amongst.

I do hope there is a big enough groundswell of people, especially MEN, to take responsibilty for putting this issue on the table for serious discussion and action, and bring back some balance into the whole awful mess. Many men so often laugh off anything to do with sex, as though it is trivial. They are very quick to condemn women who end up as prostitutes, usually as a result of men mis-using them in the first place. Men rarely take much responsibility for the sex trade, yet it is entirely THEIR trade. And they seem to relish the idea of their daughters participating in it, at least implicitly.

I am ashamed to be an adult in this current society.

You have hit the nail on the head. Female sexuality has been used to sell everything from toasters to automobiles and all areas in between. I think that the push for equality has caused the link between being feminine and intimately in love too far to the opposite extreme toward the basal male mentality.

Men being primarily visually stimulated creatures and think about sex every 30 seconds. It seems that the push for equality has deceived women into the belief that if men can do this then so can we.

I see not any problem with equal pay for equal work, never have and have always stood up for women in this issue. The facts are that men and women are wired differently. When women cross the boundry into the sex arena then many men withdraw. There will always be the men who want wham bam thank you mam, but I truly believe that there are many men including myself that are completely turned off by this type of behavior. Men still want a feminine woman to come home to, one with whom you can share intimacy with and not just a quick roll in ther hay.

I’ve got to say I’m pretty disturbed after watching the two videos you linked to. I’m recalling all the flap about an earlier one from Miley, just about a year ago -”Party in the USA” where she sort of “innocently” swung herself around a pole as part of the choreography… and still, I kept thinking, ‘her folks have got to weigh in soon on this.’ Well her Dad did…saying it was fine for her to ignore the ‘flap’ and just pursue her art. Protecting her from the fate of Lindsay and Hillary? I guess not.

I choose limited exposure to video/TV, so when I do see things, the degree to which the envelope is pushed is that much more noticeable to me. I regularly find these videos pretty disturbing–and regularly field comments about my prudishness. I’m seeing what amounts to a kind of brainwashing, really. The video from Christina IS pornographic, yes. And it’s not about love. It shows potent and sinister images of hyper-stylized violent sexuality, all with a (contradictory) up-beat snappy soundtrack! It’s a classic brainwashing technique.

I’m a feminist, one of us who marched and sang and protested and picketed for women to ‘take back the night’ and to claim ‘our bodies, ourselves’… I feel so frustrated to see how patriarchy has co-opted this idea of women’s freedom and power, turning it into mass sexualization of younger and younger girls. And how people don’t seem to even see the irony or contradiction in the words of this latest song Miley is singing; ‘Can’t be Tamed’.

Bird cages for hats…indeed. Has anyone read “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood recently? The backlash to all of our feminist struggles brings me to tears at times.

(and here’s an irony for you…the words in the box for the anti-spam control below: …”of weepings”)… !!!

There was a film released in 1981, made in Canada, called “Not A Love Story”. It was a film about the effects of pornography. It got lots of people talking, and it was a big part of the Women Against Pornography debate which was pretty intense during that decade. For you and your readers who may be interested in a dense but thought provoking treatise on the film, here’s a link to an article by Lisa DiCaprio http://tinyurl.com/notalovestory

Some of what is written is so prophetic…from nearly 3 decades ago.

Blessings on the work you do, Wendy, and on your daughters. They at least have you as a clear active voice, an honest caring resource for information about sexuality, and a source for intelligent discourse on the messages of the media. Keep on!

~Marian