How Young Can Idols Go?...When Sex Becomes "Cool"
pre-teen girl was dancing to a song that is supposed to be "sexy" in
nature...and the girl, with what little she got, was trying her best
to look and move in a sexy way. The show is supposed to be a pre-teen
talent show of some sort, but there is really something wrong with
this scene I am looking at. Of course, as I said before that I don't
believe in anybody lecturing anyone on perceived immorality unless
crime can be involved, but having premature girls presented as symbols
of sexiness is a little too much even for me.
What is scary is that these kind of thing is a lot more common than
people would expect. There are Japanese and Korean female music
groups in which the majority of members are below the age of eighteen
(one in particular, ベリーズ工房 from Japan, averaged about 14-years-old at
time of debut) and they are garnering a lot of attention and
popularity precisely because the members are pretty, sexy, cute
(interesting how being good singers is not particularly
emphasized)...in countries where sex for 18 and below is considered
statutory rape under any circumstance, is such commentary for
musicians who are 18 and below acceptable?
I mean, obviously, by commenting on the looks of the young singers,
their majority male (a lot of whom are middle-aged or at least a lot
older than they are) audience is seeing them as sort of sex objects to
lust after, and the managers of these groups have been exploiting the
girls as much as possible to go along with such mentality. Costumes
that shows too much skin are pretty much the norm, and many resorts to
items commonly used in "costume fetish" such as school uniforms and
cheerleader outfits during live performances and in music videos.
Reference to sex is commonplace, and some even explicitly implies so
in lyrics and dance moves.
Yes, it is true that the girls in such groups volunteered to be in
such a situation, but I would have to say that perhaps all of them
have underestimated the cost of becoming famous idols. At the time of
pre-debut training, they would have gone through a lot of degrading
training (news/rumors of dancing naked for "practice" and having sex
with the bosses can be heard all the time) that they couldn't have
possibly imagined as a young teenager without much social experience.
And as such "training" goes on, their forced sense of maturity would
leave them with certain mental scars and give them negative views
about men and society in general.
But probably the worst thing about the phenomenon of underage
musicians using sex as selling point is that they become "bad role
models" for the next generation. Every girl dreams of the spotlight,
fans screaming her name, fame, glory, and money, and by looking at the
young musicians mentioned above, they have seen a feasible way to
attain all that. The more they see, the more they feel that using
reference to sex in music is perfectly acceptable sacrifice for fame
and fortune, with some even seeing men lusting after them as "cool"
and "hip," a boost in self-confidence and an honor. The girl I saw on
TV this morning may as well belong to such a group.
So the answer for these aspiring pop stars is to mature quickly.
Pushing their bodies and more importantly, the mind to "sexiness." To
lose that kiddish innocence is a must, and to experience sex as early
as possible would be good practice for the future...In a society where
hormones in foods are already contributing to early maturation
physically, such mentality really allows the mind to catch up with the
body. And looking at the existing trend, I have to say that the
maturation in body and mind is becoming earlier and earlier as time
progresses forward and the underage pop groups become more and more
popular.
Whenever I looked at kids, I get jealous about their carefree, joyous
lives. Their world seems so exciting, so full of adventure, so
lacking of worries and anger. I would not want to see the kids of
future generations completely deprived of experiencing all that. They
do not need to grow up that quickly. The world of adults may look
cool and colorful on the surface, but the pains the adults need to go
through to reach all that glory is just incomprehensible and
intolerable for a young mind. Premature exposure to all those social
problems can only serve to make the kids troubled adults without hope
and directions for the future.
Of course, as I mentioned in a previous post, I am not a believer of
government control on "morality." And in this case, since there is
consent of parents and kids themselves with regard to performing on
stage, there is no crime either. But I do like to ask that
established underage singers and their managers show some restraint.
They should realize that famous people always become target of
emulation by others. What they do in public, no matter good or bad,
becomes "cool" in eyes of fervent young fans. To make society a safe
and nurturing place for young people still oblivious of the dirty
tricks of society, the young musicians need to carry the social
responsibility of protecting these kids' minds and hearts from
premature corruption.
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