What we teach our children matters. The images we put in front of them from the beginning of their lives are important in forming their opinions and values. With this in mind, I was glad to see that the producers of Sesame Street have pulled Katy Perry's duet with Elmo from the show. To see the picture that clearly shows the reason why, follow this link to the New York Daily News.
In the view of many people, the dress Katy Perry is wearing would be appropriate at certain occasions. I am not one of those people. If women expect to be treated as people with brains, emotions, and talents, rather than bodies, they need to learn to dress. I am not suggesting being covered from head to foot, but there is no reason to display that kind of cleavage unless you are walking Times Square New York looking for work (and actually I think Times Square has undergone major positive changes since that statement applied).
If we expect our young women to grow up with self-respect, we need to teach them that short skirts and low cleavage are not the road to success. We need to teach them to value themselves for who they are rather than what they look like. We live in a visual society, and that is not going to change. What we can do is to change young women's ideas of how they need to look to be socially and professionally successful. Until those ideas change, the stores will continue to sell topless, bottomless dresses, skin-tight jeans, and other articles of clothing that are truly not appropriate for anyone to wear.
Women are responsible for the respect they are given. As I said, we don't need to be covered from top to bottom, but we do need to take an honest look in the mirror before we leave the house and see what impression we are giving to the people who see us.
Congratulations to Sesame Street for pulling the duet!
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