What About Our Daughters?

The Greatest Achievement of Western civilization has been the elevation in the status of women. During my lifetime, the free world has benefited greatly from the contributions of intelligent, courageous women. But we still have a way to go.

From birth until they start school, little girls are treated as what they are, precious but fragile assets of the human race. As adults, women are given more opportunities than at most any other time in recorded history. Once relegated to become nurses or school teachers, women are now accepted, and they excel, in almost every profession.

But, about the time little girls start school, something happens. Their TV fare turns from Teletubbies, Big Bird and other gentle fare to an onslaught of material, purposely intended to turn them into tramps. And not just TV: movies and magazines join the cry to become sexy. Dress sexy. Act sexy. Talk sexy. Be sexy. TV is usually the most watched medium and TV has become the leader in the barrage of sex. Can you say Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, or Miley Cyrus... beautiful, talented little girls that TV producers have instilled with the wrong set of values.

It is as though the medium has decided to test little girls to the extreme: if they can survive this, they may grow up to be successful adults.

I am all for teaching little girls to care about their appearance, their bodies, their behavior. Obesity is an ugly and an unhealthy trait. Little girls should be taught to seek an attractive appearance and good manners, valuable assets in the pursuit of a career.

But, sexy? Should female children be reared for the primary purpose of enhancing the sexual fantasies of men? Have we not yet risen above the standards of Solomon, the supposedly wise king who used his wealth and power to capture and hold a harem beyond counting?

Aren't a clean healthy appearance and gracious manners appealing? Or have we become so desensitized by pornography that we cannot appreciate a young woman unless she bares her body in public?

Parents often fear the prospect of their sons joining the military and going off to battle. I fear the prospect of sending my granddaughters off to school.

We have a way to go.