The Recovering Legalist

Not a Flattering Term

At some point a few years ago, someone coined the phrase, prostitot. As you may have figured out, the word is a combination of “prostitute” and “toddler.” It refers to young girls dressing like older girls, but not in appropriate ways. More often than not it is meant to refer to middle school girls who dress like 21 year olds out to “hook up.”

Sad Reality

Sadly, there ARE moms who WANT their little girls to look like prostitots.  An example can be seen on a reality TV show that glorifies the insanity of baby beauty queens. Little girls, young enough to have the maternity ward bracelet still on their ankles, are turned into ruthless little competitors obsessed with everything from makeup to staying thin. Sadly, if it were left up to the kids, they would be out on the playground getting dirty. But with mentally disturbed mothers and fathers exhibiting twisted parental skills, the only thing these little girls are allowed to play are the judges and crowds. Frankly, I don’t care what people submit as reasons for this – it’s still wrong, unwise, and dangerous. The picture to the right does not do justice to the rampant sexuality that these little girls are being trained to exude, all in the name of being popular.

Now, odds are not many women are submitting their little girls to this kind of abuse (yeah, that’s what I call it). On the other hand, actual trends should be quite disturbing, nevertheless. Young girls today are more sexually expressive than ever before. Access to the internet and smart phones is allowing them to post and receive adult material (including self-made stuff). Clothing is becoming more revealing and makeup more alluring as time goes on. Yet, many moms are just going along with the fun, while daddy is either clueless, or forced to go along for the ride. The need to be popular, pretty, and sexy is invading the middle school.

And it’s getting bad.

It is getting so bad that even liberal women, like Jennifer Moses, are writing in the Wall Street Journal about their concerns. In an article entitled, “Why Do We Let Girls Dress Like That?” Ms. Moses lamented the fact that many moms are allowing their 12-and 13-year-olds to dress “like prostitutes,…but pay for them to do it with [their] AmEx cards…” She wonders what kind of message parents are sending to their children when they encourage children to look like girls on the prowl.

[It’s] easy for parents to slip into denial. We wouldn’t dream of dropping our daughters off at college and saying: “Study hard and floss every night, honey—and for heaven’s sake, get laid!” But that’s essentially what we’re saying by allowing them to dress the way they do while they’re still living under our own roofs.

According to Jennifer Moses, the reason for all of this is, “with the exception of some Mormons, evangelicals and Orthodox Jews, scads of us don’t know how to teach our own sons and daughters not to give away their bodies so readily.”  Now THAT’S an interesting thing to say, isn’t it?

I don’t want to speak for the Mormons, Jews, or Muslims (especially the Muslims who just burned 50 churches in Ethiopia this week), but in spite of what all the liberals have to say, the Bible has some good advice when it comes to rearing children. It even instructs against dressing like a prostitute. Imagine that!

The Bible?

The problem is that many parents have no idea what the Bible says about anything. They never read it, much less attempt to apply its principles to parenting. Too often parents want to let their children make their own decisions with regard to clothing, friends, sexual choices, etc. Rarely is it the case that they stop and consider the reasons for sexual purity before marriage. Rarely do they consider why girls should dress modestly, not seductively. Today, even Christians are having a hard time distinguishing between what is culturally acceptable or socially popular, and what is actually destructive.

Question

Why do women want their daughters to dress seductively? Do they want the boys to look at them? Do they want the boys to think inappropriate thoughts? Why is it that so many women are allowing their daughters to play with fire? King Solomon advised his son, “Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids” (Proverbs 6:25). The reason was pretty simple: there are always consequences to lust.

Stop and think about it, moms. When you allow your girls to dress like eye candy, what do you expect boys with racing hormones to do? They sin. As a matter of fact, Jesus said,

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. – Matthew 5:27-28 KJV

Does it make you comfortable to think that your daughter in a miniskirt and high-top boots just may be causing another mother’s son to commit adultery? It is that serious, you know. Of course, let it be said that it takes two to tango. Boys should be taught to keep their hormones in check. They should learn from Job who said “I have made a covenant with my eyes…”

The Answer

Now, more than ever before, I believe it is time for the mature and godly men and women to step up to the plate.  The younger men and women need to know what this world is really about. So many mothers and fathers are unaware of the dangers that lie in wait for their little boys and girls. They need some mature men and women to come alongside them and say, “look, dear, this is what will happen if you continue down this path.” The Apostle Paul told Titus that the people of Crete needed the same thing.

You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self‑controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self‑controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Similarly, encourage the young men to be self‑controlled. – Titus 2:1-6 NIV

A Final Thought

In response to the article by Jennifer Moses, a  critical piece appeared in Salon magazine. Mary Elizabeth Williams labled Moses as “guilt-wracked.” She also said of her own daughters:

I want them to believe that their sexuality isn’t something to be afraid of, to be doled out stingily and grudgingly…And I wish someday for my daughters — and their friends, both the girls and the boys — what plenty of us not named Jennifer Moses have been able to achieve: a lifetime of healthy self-esteem, varied experiences and zero regret. (emphasis mine)

Well, I guess we know who else hasn’t read Proverbs 5, 6, and 7, huh? Good luck with that “zero regret” thing.

Links:

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748703899704576204580623018562-lMyQjAxMTAxMDIwMzEyNDMyWj.html

http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/03/21/wall_street_journal_tween_sluts/index.html