I came upon this video of overly sexualized yet fierce 7 year olds a while ago, but it just resurfaced on a blog I follow, and I thought it would inspire some good conversation.
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this video. First off, the costumes are completely unacceptable. These are 7 year olds dressed in less than nothing and shaking their hips as if they were full grown women. Not only is it uncomfortable for me, and I’m sure most outside individuals watching this video.
But even worse than their actions, are the values that their choreographer, costume designer, and judges are instilling upon them. It is showing them, and other girls like them, that their dancing technique and hard work is not enough to put them ahead in life. Instead, they need to conform (by cutting their hair the same as their friends), wear less clothes, and be “sexy” for people to like them.
The weird part about the video is that I can also appreciate how fierce these little girls are. I mean, they have great technique and really know how their bodies move. For 7 year olds, they are fantastic dancers. It’s odd to be uncomfortable as well as impressed while watching the same video. I think that the choreography, however inappropriate, was very effective in showing off the talent of the girls. Maybe a more sensible wardrobe would have made the performance less controversial. However, I do think that the choreographer should have thought about the age of the contestants, in addition to the vision of their movement they had.
Do you think this is appropriate? If not, should they have changed the costumes, the choreography, or both?
Think about it.
Corey
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