Protecting Childhood

Preface: I really really didn't want to write this.  I didn't want to put it out there because I was afraid of how it would be perceived.  Then I read this this morning and I could no longer sit on my hands and say/write nothing.  It needs to be said.

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"Mom, what movie are you and Daddy going to?" my big almost-seven year old asked and I knew what was coming.

"We are going to see the new Iron Man movie."  A birthday gift for my husband.  A night at the movies, what could be better?

"When do you think I'll be old enough to see it?  Maybe when I'm 8?" his eyes wide and hopeful, thinking of how "awesome" a superhero movie must be.

"Well we'll just have to see, won't we?"  Mom-speak for "dream on, buddy."

Kids in bed left safely with sister-sitter, we headed to the movies, found our seats, sat waiting.  I noticed a lady with a baby in the back, several pre teen boys and a few the same age as my little guy at home.  The lights dimmed and the movie began.

I started to feel uncomfortable 5 minutes in when we found ourselves zooming in on a line of chorus girls dancing half naked, alternately zooming in from the front and from behind on their shaking bodies.  Then again when the main character and his friend openly oogled a pretty blond, then when they first met a redhead and the camera made it clear what we were meant to be focusing on as we zoomed in on breasts and rear end.  One liner jokes about sex lawsuits zinged back and forth and the whole theatre laughed.  In and out, zoom in, zoom out, oogle, laugh, "I want one of those!" hahahahahaha.

I know I know, its a "harmless" superhero movie.  Its supposed to be funny.  And I won't lie, there were enjoyable parts.  But when I watched a line of 8-10 year old boys filing out with their dads, I began to feel nauseous.

I know this isn't exclusive to Iron Man 2.  It is in lots of movies.  I guess this is just the first time it really hit me in the gut.  I know that I am not the target audience for this movie - it is a "guy's movie."  That's just great, being a man = explosions and objectifying women.

It is just the lack of respect.  We cannot forget that we are raising future adults here.  What not-so subliminal message did that convey to the younger males in the audience?  That girls are for staring at, for wearing nothing, solely for male enjoyment - that you are expected to behave with no self control.  What does it teach girls?  That your worth is dictated by how "good" your body looks...and that the best way to get attention is to wear next to nothing, keep your mouth agape and perch on the armchairs of male employers.  Is it any wonder that teen girls have abysmal self esteem (4% college aged women suffer from bulimia ) and 1 in 3 boys are heavy porn users?

I am not judging other parents here.  Every family has the right and obligation to make their own rules and raise their own children.  I don't judge what other families deem appropriate for their kids at various ages.  That is none of my business.  I just felt, on a whole, extremely saddened and sickened.

True childhood is shrinking at an alarming rate.  Its going to take constant vigilance to protect our children.  I don't care if that means I'm not a fun, cool mom.  Adults can make decisions about what they expose themselves to, but kids need parents.  That's what we are here for, right?

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I hope this didn't come off as judgmental in any way to any one.  That was truly not my intent.