This week I want to talk about the bounds of propriety. In some respects what I’m about to share is old news. Last week, during the entertainment portion of KVNU’s For The People, a controversy was stirred. It was primary election day last Tuesday and I had the pleasure of being in studio with Tyler, Jonathan and Jason. We had done the regular show between 4 and 6 and then moved into a half-hour discussion of entertainment news.
Tyler started the news with a story about a young teen idol, Miley Cyrus, or Hannah Montana, or something. Evidently she’s a singer in addition to being an accomplished thespian and named-brand clothing designer for Wal-Mart. Well, during one of her recent rock concerts, Miss Cyrus had a wardrobe malfunction and her “privates” were a bit exposed. The news agency, Reuters, snapped a pic at an inopportune moment and the young lady’s privacy immediately vanished.
Tyler commented how irresponsible Reuters was in publishing the photo. Be that as it may, on air, I replied that the rather tame, if inappropriate, picture was hardly shocking having seen so many similar showings of immodesty at high school half-time dance performances. That comment triggered a phone call from a man named Adam, who’s had similar experiences watching his sister perform during half-time at a Cache Valley high school. You can read about the rest of that episode online at the For The People blog.
For now, I want to focus on the immediate responses from many of the mothers of high school dancers. As the guys in studio will attest to, there are quite a few mothers who, thankfully, love their daughters and who’ll fight to defend their honor. On last Wednesday’s show, the guys made it clear that no one was saying that all high school dance teams were immodest or inappropriate. They defended the sport of dance. And I concur.
Now I wasn’t in the studio on that Wednesday, but I was in the KVNU chat room where I could listen to the program and talk online with the guys as they broadcast. I do it frequently. I enjoy it. I’d recommend everyone get in the chat room. The conversation is candid. And I’m candid if I’m anything.
During that Wednesday broadcast, Tyler had mentioned that these young dancers work hard and for long hours to perfect their routines. In the chat room, I wrote something to this affect: “Prostitutes work hard and long hours too.” A dance mom in the chat room took that to mean that I was calling her daughter and other dancers prostitutes. Of course, that’s not what I meant at all. But given the sexualization of young ladies these days – and using the increasingly popular Miley Cyrus as the example – the analogy was on point. As Tyler later wrote on the KVNU blog: “To me, that comment was simply a commentary that hard work and long hours [do] not excuse certain behavior.”
Every reasonable person knows that high school dancers aren’t prostitutes. That wasn’t the point. The point is that many young ladies on high school dance teams are the objects of sexualization, and very often sexualized by their own doing. Whether the bad influence is immodest clothing, inappropriate music, or inappropriate dance routines, it’s happening in Utah’s high schools – and scapegoating public commentators doesn’t make it go away.
I appreciate the moms for standing up for their daughters. But let’s get real about what we’re talking about. Inappropriate dance numbers at high school half time shows are as common as long lines of teen-age girls at a Miley Cyrus concert. It’s delusional to not see what’s in plain sight.
I also found it very curious that a few over-zealous, even if well-meaning, moms would call my office to complain about my observation. Well, operators are standing by.
I don’t care if your daughter dances in a bikini or sack cloth and ashes. What I do care about is honest public discussion. Scapegoating others won’t change reality or restore a young lady’s sense of propriety. As four guys sitting around a studio table last week – four guys with four very different life experiences – we happened to agree that a lot of high school dance numbers at half-time sporting events are inappropriate on at least three different levels.
So we have an opinion. It’s still a free country. But sometimes I wonder what the future holds when I witness self-justifying parents push the bounds of propriety by defending poor judgment and bad behavior – sometimes even coaching their children in bad behavior – that is very often, clearly, indefensible.
Yeah dance teams. Boo inappropriate behavior.
I’m Paul Mero. Thanks for listening.
