Rosalind Wiseman

If you didn’t happen to catch the 2009 Teen Choice Awards last weekend, the hot gossip to come out of that event (aside from the fact that Twilight still rules the world) is the controversial ice cream wagon/stripper pole dance that Miley Cyrus did for her hit song “Party in the USA”.

One has to wonder how time and time again adult producers of kids shows, teen starlets, and parents of those starlets seem to blatantly disregard the audience for which they’re marketing their content and its imagery. Sometimes I like to imagine how the development meetings go for the choreography, sets, and wardrobe on one of these shows. Perhaps something like this:

Producer: We’ve got Miley confirmed for her performance, so how do we make this year better than ever? Millions of kids and tweens will be watching, so it has to be good!
Set designer: Well, everyone loves that song, “Party in the USA”. It’s all about a girl who moves from a small town to Hollywood, so we should definitely have Miley start by coming out of a trailer.
Wardrobe Stylist: Yes! And with trashy looking girls following her! You know, colored bras coming out of tight tank tops, cut-off jeans shorts. And Miley is still young and tall and skinny so she should be able to pull off the short shorts and some high-heeled boots.
Choreographer: I like where you’re going with this. And the dance moves should be easy because she talks about “moving her hips like yeah” and being in the club with everyone looking at her. We should have her do some cool club moves on a pole or something.
Producer: Whoa whoa whoa! Hold it! A pole? Do 16 year olds these days go to clubs with poles?
Set Designer: Good question. Maybe only in big cities. Let’s make it more relatable by putting the pole on top of an ice cream cart. Everyone in American has an ice cream man.
Producer: Yes! I love it! Party in the USA!!

It’d be one thing if this were an isolated instance, but it seems as though every time we turn around another underage actress or songstress is pushing the envelope of propriety with adult lyrics, revealing clothing, and an “I’m not a little kid any more and everyone should let me be who I want to be” attitude. And when you really stop and think about what the root problem is and who is to blame, it can be rather overwhelming. We’ve got entertainment companies who’ve made millions of dollars off of these girls in their younger years, but they realize that their audience will outgrow their content if it doesn’t start to look more like the mainstream adult artists already in the market. The young stars and their parents must realize this too, and with such big paychecks attached to contracts and performances there isn’t much incentive to complain. And there is really no avoiding the content since Miley, Selena, and Vanessa (to name a few) still fill the TV stations we’re comfortable letting kids watch all the time, like Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. And it’s pretty hard to walk into a major retailer like Target or Wal-Mart without encountering the merchandise. So what’s a parent to do?

As with all of the media content discussed here, we advocate that you talk to your kids about it in a way that engages them in conversation and asks them to think critically without dismissing their opinions or preferences. So if you know your kids watched Miley’s ice cream cart gyrations during last week’s Teen Choice Awards, ask them:

• What did you think about Miley’s performance at the Teen Choice Awards? How is it different from other performances she has done in the past?
• In a lot of Miley’s other videos and performances she’s wearing a lot more clothing. Do you think that stars like Miley feel pressure to dress sexier?
• What do you think the producers of the show want the audience to think about Miley based on the choreography and her outfit?
• Her song talks a lot about going to clubs in a taxi cab by herself. She’s only 16, so obviously that’s not legal. Why do you think that she wants to sing about going to clubs?
• Do you think that people would still like Miley or her music if she didn’t start dressing sexier or talking about older things? Do stars need to act older than they are to stay popular?
• What are the benefits for someone to dress sexy? What do people think about them that they would like?
• What are the drawbacks for someone to dress sexy? What do people think about them that they wouldn’t like?
• What do you think Miley’s parents think about her performance or her outfit?
• Since mostly kids and tweens watch the Teen Choice Awards, what do you think the producers of that show are assuming about people your age? Is what they think correct?

If you’re interested in a more in-depth analysis of the sexualization of girls and teens in our culture, check out Dr. Diane Levin and Jean Kilbourne’s So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids.

What do you think about Miley’s performance? Are your kids talking about it? What are ways that you’ve talked to them about things like this that have worked? We’d love to hear from you!

They're 10 years apart, but Britney and Miley are looking awfully similar these days.