Tweenage Wasteland

"I can see your dirty pillows!"

As I was perusing the Slate archives, I came across an article from last August. Normally, I don't post anything this old, but I had to share this. Slate has one of the most out of touch articles I've ever read regarding the author's pre-teen or "tween" daughter shopping for clothes. After reading it, I had to thank the good lord my mother was pretty open to different styles I wore, and she wasn't a total prissbag like this woman comes across in her article.

"Hypersexualized clothing is not necessarily skimpy. Macy's sells the line by Kimora Lee Simmons, the ex of hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons, called Baby Phat. "This is gross," my daughter said, holding up a T-shirt. There was nothing provocative about the cut of the shirt, but embroidered in pink across the chest were the words "Baby Phat" under the large, stylized logo of a cat. My daughter doesn't understand the references this logo is clearly meant to evoke, but she instinctively knew wearing this shirt would be so wrong."

Okay, first of all, I don't consider Baby Phat's logo of a sleek looking Egyptian style cat offensive or sexually suggestive in any way. In fact, Baby Phat based its logo on the Egyptian lioness goddess, Bastet. Then, the author goes on to make an asinine comment how she "tried to avert her [daughter]eyes from the Victoria's Secret window, where their clothing was emblazoned with the words 'University of Pink'." Is it just me or this woman really looking for the filthiness within the brands? It's as if she read too many articles on subliminal seduction in the media, so now when she looks at a glass of Coke in a magazine ad, she gets suspicious. Baby Phat and Victoria Secret are not trying to corrupt your virginal pre-pubescent daughters. So, just relax. If you look hard enough, you can find a sexual meaning in just about everything. Pink is a color which is most associated with young girls. It is also a rather crass term to describe female genitalia. Who does she think is running the marketing campaign for Victoria Secret, then! Larry Flynt??!! It wouldn't surprise me if this woman refuses to shop at The Gap because it's a vulgar name.