One of the things I want to say about entertainment is that it endorses a set of shadow values, ideas and things we value, but claim that we don't. An example:
My home page is msn.com, because that is my wife's home page and I am too unimaginative to do anything but copy what is around me. And on msn.com, the human interest stories are right there front and center, and include things like excerpts from the latest interview with Miley Cyrus. A recent headline points you to an interview where she discusses her boyfriend and her "figure." (and by the way, this "figure" thing is a very small part of what she says)
My question is this: who wants to read what a 16 year-old girl has to say about her "figure" (which is code for breasts)? I don't know for sure of course, but surely it's a diverse group, including pre-teen fans, and also including persons of various ages whose interest in Miley Cyrus is in part sexual. Is that just fine, or is that a little creepy?
Perhaps you think I'm raising a completely trivial issue here, but think about it for a moment. In our society, having sex with minors is considered a very serious crime. It is also a serious crime to use images of minors in a sexual way. This suggests that in our society we are very clear about the fact that sexual fantasies about minors are not acceptable. But you don't have to look very hard to find highly sexualized images of minors in the mainstream media. In fact, pulling people in by referring to Miley Cyrus' figure is pretty innocent when you look at the broader context. But in any case, the point is that some of the people who are observing these images are integrating them into sexual thoughts and fantasies.
So, according to our society, up to a certain point sexualized images and language about children are just fine, put ‘em on msn, but past that point they are disgusting and grounds for going to prison. (Oh, by the way, in case I'm confusing anyone, I think that people who possess child pornography should in fact be convicted of a crime).
Thus the sexuality of underage persons is a shadow value: the sexuality of men and women under 18 is highly celebrated, and people are encouraged to observe and enjoy it. But we deny this. Entertainment is convenient because it's often a place where we can enjoy and celebrate what we claim to abhor.
Peter G. Stromberg is the author of Caught in Play: How Entertainment Works on You. Photo credit INF photo.
