I Wanna to be Like Mike

It was a rather interesting situation. There I was, going for a Snickers bar from a vending machine when I passed by some coworkers, I stopped to chat, and noticed that they had a bag with Paris Hilton on it. I remarked something like “ugh, not her” and wanted the bag turned around. One of the ladies there asked, “Yeah, she’s kind of trashy, but don’t you think she’s pretty?”

I think this is the second time that I’ve been asked, by a woman, to overlook something because of a girl’s looks. The other time was in regards to the other most searched out name “Britney Spears”. She may not be able to sing, “but don’t you think she’s pretty?”

I find it funny that in a world in which we are supposed to look at the female sex as something more than a body (at one point in time, I would have said “pretty face”, but body is now more accurate), we are now expected to overlook a glaring character flaw and a lack of talent because someone looks “pretty.” Though even that is questionable since they both dress like tramps.

This brings me to Rebecca Hagelin’s article today entitled America’s little girls… or tramps? She makes some great points. In this society, we have become oversexed. We have it on TV, on billboards, on the Internet, etc. More has to show– more of whatever the current body part is in fashion. It has to tease. It has to look trashy just like their idol.

The only thing I don’t understand in all of this is why it’s female teachers that are preying on male ones, with the number of girls that look like they should be walking the streets instead of the halls of a school. They wear makeup to look older. They wear as tight and revealing clothes as they can get away with (and, to tell the truth, a lot of them don’t have the bodies to pull of what these “stars” are).

There is virtue in something I read a long time ago. A woman that dresses appropriately has an appeal that no girl dressed like a tramp will ever have. There’s something about appropriate dresses and other clothing that speak “feminine and virtuous” that just appeals to men. That’s the only reason I can figure that there are songs about wanting to be with the “good little girl” or for some of the discussion around reputations of certain girls.

I read another article recently from someone on the other extreme. He almost encouraged burka material, going so far as to say that women should wear mute clothes for outwear (dull colors like grey, etc.) and saving the colorful intricate stuff for the inside. I think we’ve come so far that we aren’t surprised any more. We’re bombarded with it on the beaches, on TV, on billboards and every where we go. What used to be something private (underwear) is now outerwear. What was meant for the bonds of marriage is now advertised everywhere.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for married women buying stuff from Victoria’s Secret or wherever. I’m not for teens going there to shop for something to show their boyfriend (or to give their girlfriend!) or peekaboo it out of their clothes. That’s where I stand, and no child of mine shall dress like a tramp!

Where do you stand?