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Juvenile obsessions

SIRI AGRELL

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 9:44 AM EDT 24/04/08

Since when did a 15-year-old's virginity become our business? Blogs and tabloids can't get enough of Miley Cyrus's saucy bra snaps, and adults are lapping up all the drama ...Read the full article

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  1. Bert Russell Paradox, BC from Canada writes:

    Our media and Hollywood has turned so called entertainment into ART. Our children are supposed to look up to this type of role model, who spend much of their time in rehab, the rest in a materialistic phoney existence. It has been spun into Culture and the Industry wants us to pay for it with our taxes. The Industry sells it to cable TV and you have to pay for it again bundled in packages of Channels that you do not watch. You watch this stuff and it can cause serious brain damage.
  2. Jorly fuster from Canada writes: it's pretty simple, guys like women who are sexually mature. if it happens at 15 then so be it. what's the big mystery here.
  3. barny p from Canada writes: Don't blame the businesses, they just follow the money.

    It's like blaming the drug cartels and growers for the drug problems.
  4. Kevin Desmoulin from Toronto, Canada writes: Well I take courage and say something, We are sexual beings, some are creatures lol, But I think this has to do with more of a commodification of a human element. It is just a natural market, lots of umm products that catch your eye. The market is full of them.
    Milly seems like a nice young girl.
    I let her keep what is hers, her privacy.
  5. Darphin Cofa from Canada writes: And since when did the obsessions of hollywood become the Globe and Mail's business? Way to get in on the action G&M.
  6. Mr. Justice from Canada writes: Gee . . . the next thing someone will focus on is certain religious figures (on this continent!) who married females UNDER age 15 . . . in the 19th century.
  7. carol c from Canada writes: It's Britney Spears repeat. Acceptable child porn that doesn't go to far, but lets people celebrate their desire for newly sexually mature girls in a society that makes laws saying that is wrong. As soon as she turns 18, and becomes legal the interest will wane. Then the train wreck starts. She's got a short shelf life, I hope she's saving all the money.
  8. A D from Canada writes: Actually, it's paedophiliacs gaining positions of power and influence in spheres such as marketing and entertainment. The more they push the boundaries, the more it becomes acceptable, the closer they come to legalization. Just like becoming a scout leader or getting a job in a kindergarten, it gives them access. But unlike becoming a scout leader or working in a kindergarten, it also gives them the clout and the platform to desensitize society to it.
  9. S Boatright from Canada writes: With the introduction of such reality TV 'gems' such as Big Brother and Survivor - intrusion into people's intimate moments is now considered to be legitimate entertaiment.

    Not surprising that such unpleasant attitudes have now trickled down into the general population. But sad nevertheless.
  10. Dennis Rice from St. John's, Canada writes: Media outlets, including the G&M, have brought this about in the first place by inundating us with factoids about Britney Spears and others. This is, sadly, just the next step.

    I, for one, would pay extra for a custom paper/newsfeed which specifically excluded any Hollywood gossip, teen or otherwise. If I lived my whole life and didn't know that Billy Ray Cyrus had a daughter, I'm sure I'd be fine.
  11. Richard Hawk from Canada writes: I still don't see why anyone cares about this sort of thing. On one hand our society has horribly outdated notions about sexuality and continues to believe sex is worse then violence - and perhaps because of this - we get this insane interest in trivial sexual matters. Dumb.
  12. D F from Canada writes: I think it all boils down to we all need to get a life of our own!
  13. Erik Richards from Winnipeg, Canada, writes: It's hardly that surprising, really. It's just a natural extension of society's focus on youth and beauty. Look at fashion magazines - whereas a few decades ago models were regularly in their 20s and 30s, now it's very common to have mid-range teenagers and younger on the pages. Whether it's hormones or media coverage or any other reason to explain it, one would have to be blind not to notice that girls are becoming more sexualized much earlier. That's not to say there haven't been girls at young ages who were sexually aware or sexually developed, but never to this degree. It's no longer one or two girls who matured faster than her friends, now it's entire classrooms full of girls aged 13 or 14 going on 19. Thongs for 13 year olds? I'm no prude, but what are some parents thinking?

    I got a bit of a shock the other day when I heard a neighbour's daughter and her friend playing on their outdoor trampoline. Neither was older than 7 or 8. They were playing around and singing. And then I realized what they were singing 'Don't Cha' (as in Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me). And we wonder why kids grow up so fast?

    Want a real shock to the system? Look at what passed for the average female teen celebrity 40 years ago. Then go back 20 years. And while you're at it, try and imagine what a typical teen girl will look 20 years from now.
  14. J Broomer from Toronto, Canada writes: As my eldest daughter turned 12 earlier this month, I reminded her mother last night (as they argued about something) that she officially now knows everthing. Adults, having the advantage of having experience, can never compete with their childrens' delusions over their 'experience'. Like Bing Crosby quipped in 'Going My Way' (in 1944!), '...by the time I turned 21, I was amazed at how much he (his father) had learned in three years.'

    Miley, unfortunately, has learned the hard way who her friends are, or aren't. Someone took those pictures and posted them somewhere where they were accessible. Perhaps one of her friends posted them innocently (there's that lack of experience raising its ugly head) and then the pictures (as internet things do) moved on and on until someone less scrupulous decided to release them to the general public.

    In any event, at 15 Miley is still a child in many ways and will not always stop to think if her next action will be fodder for the masses. She should not be skewered for this in the media. I think the media should be the ones examining themselves as to what does, and does not, constitute need to know information.
  15. Mr. Justice from Canada writes: so . . . is THIS 'the Thursday article' in the G&M ? Just asking.
  16. Dominik B from Canada writes: Richard Hawk. I believe society should have some sort of responsibility over sexualisation. The trivial sexual matters you refer to were not trivial some years back which begs the question, what will become trivial in the future? We have had a big sting operation in Quebec about 4 years back and I am sure it is not a problem that is limited to here. It was called 'Operation Scorpion' and it busted many high profile and low profile individuals involved in sex with minors. I will not be as dumd as to think this is a new problem, however, the more society thinks some sexual matters 'trivial' the more we are feeding the urges (for lack of a better vocabulary) of these people. Minors are more influenceable and vulnerable to abuse, but this is not news to anyone. I think it is sad and dangerous, expecially when I see 12 years old girls dressed like 27 years old going to a bar. They mimick what they see as fashionable.
  17. Dan Shortt from Toronto, Canada writes: This is all part of the marketing, promotion, and branding of these 'celebrities' right down to the faux articles in supposedly respectable rags like the Globe & Mail.
  18. sheila valentine from Canada writes: To DF-good common sense comment.agree.
  19. * Lozange from Toronto, Canada writes: Bring on the next Britney Spears! On the one hand, the public feeds on a sacrificial lamb, and on the other hand, these 'virgins' have nothing else to barter on. It's self-perpetuating.
  20. Placido Durango from Here to Eternity, Canada writes: Well, here's a moderatly interesting subject being treated with somewhat excessive stridency.

    '...even though most of them aren't really old enough to date.'

    --I would have thought that most teens ARE old enough to 'date' with reasonable restrictions.

    'Suddenly, it seems par for the course that grown-ups are comfortable discussing whether 18-year-old Hayden Panettiere has moved in with her 30-year-old co-star,...'

    --Most sensible adults have no interest whatsoever in who ANY celebrities are dating. As for Ms. Panettiere, if she is 18, she's an adult now too and therefore is out of place as an example for this article.
  21. C C from Canada writes: I think this trend began sometime before 1591.

    Juliet was 14 remember.
  22. Arn N from Kitchener, Canada writes: Someone above mentioned that fashion magazines have mid-ranged teenagers or younger posing as models..........and which demographic makes up the readership of fashion magazines??

    You guessed it - women!!!

    By the way, who is Miley??? Oh don't worry about it, I'll just google her like everyone else.
  23. Cooler Head from West of TO, Canada writes: This runs hand in hand with yesterday's article about new-age moms endlessly blogging about their fascinating two year olds. Ask yourselves why we devote such time and energy to such trivial stuff. Two pages per day in the Metro or 24, endless trite tv such as E or the various 'reality' shows and for what??

    There's nothing new here. It's simply an updated version of Hedda Hopper's gossip. Most people believe that their own lives are dull and boring when compared with Miley, or the star of the moment, or the latest group of self absorbed doughheads on 'Big Brother'so, the lives of the stars take on a hyper-reality.

    BTW, I think its also what makes TV and rock stars believe that their pronouncements on just about anything you can name should be taken ever so seriously.
  24. steve braam from Canada writes: I had never heard of 'Gossip Girl' until I read your article, and I have no idea who Chace Crawford is. When the Globe comments on the trash promoted on websites like TMZ and Perezhilton.com you bring the rest of us into the gutter with you. 187 000 votes on some girl's virginity is, first and foremost, not a large sampling of the millions of people online. The only shocking things about this article are, well, it's presence in your paper and the naieve 'shock and appall' you profess at the public's consumption of this trash. As your readers have pointed out, none of this exploitation is new.

    What frustrates me and, I'm sure, other Globe readers, is that your coverage of these non-event, non-news subjects promotes the very trash you feign disgust over. Aren't you the adults that have to read this sort of media porn before you hand it over to us, your readers?
  25. Sean O'Reilly from Canada writes: its more a reflextion of how pathetic the standards of our society.

    ....and I am just commenting on the headline, because I know the content is a waste of my time.
  26. J.C. Davies from Canada writes:
    'Mr. Justice from Canada writes: Gee . . . the next thing someone will focus on is certain religious figures (on this continent!) who married females UNDER age 15 . . . in the 19th century.'

    Don't forget a certain prophet who married a six year old in the 7th century, who had the decency to wait for her 9th birthday before consumating the marriage.
  27. jack Bauer from Canada writes: I like the guys who think its ok to be interested in 15 year olds as long as they are sexually mature....I am sure a 15 year old in todays society is never mentally mature enough in these matters....these folkes are just trying to justify the fact that they are pedophiles
  28. Anger Equals Danger from Canada writes: 'Dennis Rice from St. John's, Canada writes: If I lived my whole life and didn't know that Billy Ray Cyrus had a daughter, I'm sure I'd be fine. '

    And if anyone had watched the recent CMT Video awards, they would have seen BRC as host repeatedly exploiting his daughter, who sang (or rather yelped) though her 'Get Set, Don't Go' sond about being ready to make it on her own without daddy holding her back. BRC would never be hosting if it wasn't for his daughter's (Miley or Hanna or whatever her name is) popularity.
  29. Paul Jones from kitchener, Canada writes: People need to get a life; Teenage girls need to stop acting like little ho's because they think its cool (Paris Hilton should be thrown in jail, again, for glamorizing the ho); Celebrity's, of all ages, need to deal with the fact that their lives are fair game for public speculation, and need to stop whining about it.
  30. J.C. Davies from Canada writes:
    'Jorly fuster from Canada writes: it's pretty simple, guys like women who are sexually mature. if it happens at 15 then so be it. '

    If by 'guys' you mean boys under the age of 18, fine. However, men over 18 years of age should not have sexual interest in minors.

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