Dr. Chapman and I had a discussion a few days ago about a recent incident involving Sesame Street and Katy Perry. We’re not a household that consumes much Sesame Street, but we do have small children, so it comes up in conversation. It was an interesting talk, and I continued chewing on it afterward.
I believe the controversy also trickled out into the mythical land of childless adults that I once visited in a fever dream, but just in case you don’t know the details, the short version is that the singer filmed a segment for the show wearing a dress that exposed some cleavage. Some people objected after a clip from the performance was shown online, and the producers of Sesame Street pulled the segment from the show.
I’ll admit that I’m uncomfortable with any sort of censorship, and that my default mode is to take sides against these kinds of objections. The idea that a little cleavage is somehow harmful to the children watching Sesame Street seems absurdly alarmist to me. It would be hard for anyone that takes their child to a supermarket to avoid exposing them to similar amounts of cleavage at the checkout stand.
I would understand (and agree with) objections had Perry’s performance been sexually provocative in any way, but it isn’t. It’s just several minutes of silliness. Had it been sexually provocative, then it it would have been inappropriate for Sesame Street no matter how the singer was dressed. It may also be that Perry’s adult persona sets a bad example (I don’t know), but I think that’s irrelevant. If children are familiar with Perry outside of an appearance on Sesame Street, then seeing her on Sesame Street isn’t going to damage them further.
Dr. Chapman suggests that the real issue is the example set for young girls. We take a close look at the images of women we expose our children to (no Barbie, no “princesses”), and we would hope that Sesame Street is a safe place for them. That’s legitimate, but I disagree that this performance sets a poor example. Unlike Barbie, Perry is a an actual flesh-and-blood human being with a normal, if slim, physique, and again there’s nothing provocative about it.
I get that it’s a short segment for a children’s TV show and not that important in the long run, but it seems like the proponents of modesty are rarely on the side of women, and inherent in this censorship is the idea that breasts, and the female body by extension, are somehow corrupting or innately sexual. Neither of those things are true, but bowing to pressure from those that feel that way reinforces the belief. Ultimately, a young woman was silenced because of her body, and that’s wrong even if she was singing to a Muppet.
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To be clear, I take my Muppets seriously, and I’ve got no real opinion on Katy Perry.
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A lot of my thinking on this topic has also revolved around how I would want my own daughters to present themselves to the world as they grow up. I know that as their are enormous pressures on girls to conform to certain roles, and that questions of dress and fashion bring with them all sorts of baggage. As much as it pains me, I’m not going to be able to shield them from this.
The best I can do is to teach them to weigh their own happiness, taste, and comfort against the expectations and presumptions of society. I’m not unfamiliar with these things. I grew up with a lot of body and appearance issues, and only now as an adult with children am I finally gaining an understanding of how I want to present myself to the world. So, I want my own children to grow up physically confident and to dress according to their own identities, and I’m most concerned with helping them find and polish those identities as quickly as possible.
I’m certain that in the years between toddler and adulthood, their mother and I will struggle to find the balance of guidance and freedom in their dress and appearance (as most parents seem to). Once they reach adulthood then who they are and how they present themselves will be their own business, but I’ll take on anyone who tries to diminish them for their choices.
