Two incredibly talented women felt it was necessary to flash their bodies in order to entertain the crowd. What a shame. Their singing and dancing would have been just as entertaining with more clothes and less sexuality. It is a shame that they allowed themselves to be exploited in this way rather than simply insisting on displaying their talent.

Today a website called Faithwire posted an article about the halftime show. The title of the article was, “What I Want My Teenage Daughter to Know After Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s Stripper-Like Super Bowl Halftime Show.”

Some highlights from the article:

I had to endure this with my teen daughter watching alongside me. Gee, thanks, guys! For a group of people who always trumpet the value of “safe spaces,” they certainly don’t seem to care about the consequences of jamming sexually provocative “performances” into programming that families will be watching.

And I wonder about Shakira and J-Lo. Like, are you seriously at this stage in life and still think it’s honorable or somehow “empowering” to writhe around on stage as if you’re trying to gain the attention of a bunch of frat boys? Sadly, this is nothing new. Culture’s misguided idea that sexuality = empowerment has been around for over a century, ever since the days of Edward Bernays it’s been a staple in the marketing industry. Hopefully, someday we’ll see marketing that reflects a society desiring Godly values. Given the current state of affairs, however, I don’t see that happening anytime soon — so the best we can do in the meantime is use opportunities such as this as teaching moments.

…Flaunting your body is not edgy or cool.

Your body is a temple. God made you and he made you beautiful. He made you in His image. He made you so He could be glorified through you, and there is nothing God-glorifying about dancing nearly naked on a stage for attention. Culture will tell you that expressing your “sexuality” is healthy, and even powerful. God tells us the exact opposite is true. In 1 Corinthians 6:18, we’re told to “flee from sexual immorality.” God says when we sin sexually, it is a sin “against their own body.” So we’re actually harming ourselves, not empowering ourselves when it comes to sexual sin. Appealing to the sexual instincts of man is the cheapest of all ways to get attention, it’s been done a billion times over, it’s degrading, it’s predictable — not edgy or cool.

You are not an object

Until women stand up and refuse to be exploited, we will continue to be exploited. I understand that there is tremendous pressure from the entertainment industry to display  overt sexuality in order to be successful in the industry, but until women as a group stand up against their exploitation, it will continue. These two women are extremely talented and have worked hard to be in the shape they are in, but they didn’t need to cheapen their talent with the antics displayed last night.