Saved By the Good Word of the Disney Cooperation

One of my more vivid memories of childhood involves the first moment I stumbled upon the Britney Spears music video for "Baby One More Time". To my mom's dismay, I found the clip liberating and powerful. Susan B. Anthony was just some words in a textbook about women's rights, but here, as I turned on my television, was a girl who tapped her pencil through math class much as I did, who suddenly was able to break out of her confining world and into a free and sexy dance. While the story is somewhat... tarnished by the past year's escapes of the video's star, I still remember that emancipation as I saw that a young woman only needed an altered schoolgirl uniform to escape the restraints of society. Ten years ago, Britney's innocent sex appeal was lauded by fans all over the world, but a decade after "Baby One More Time" hit MTV, if a young singer should so much as rip off a button on her blouse, the world rumbles with rage.

With something of a lack of Jonathan Edwards', and the recent fall in the charts of "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", the messages of purity and faith have fallen into more universally appealing hands; musicians. Specifically, two of the most popular currently selling to the tween set- Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana) and The Jonas Brothers. While I'm not in any way condoning the booze binges of Britney or the crack-dens of Amy Winehouse, I must admit that the utter goodness of these artists is somewhat painful to behold. I'm not afraid to admit that I have boughten a Jonas Brothers CD, and it frequently shows up on my gym playlists, but for three devastatingly attractive young men to take a vow a purity until marriage, and even wear special rings to advertise this sanctity is horrifying. As for Miley Cyrus, the girl can't even pose for artistic photographs in the presence of her father without the sky falling down on her. This isn't a question of religion and God, but one more of letting our kids live out their own lives. We are constantly telling them to "be who they are" and not confine themselves to what others may think. But if showing a shirtless back is causes the next crucifixion, that seems like something of a contradictory message. I totally appreciate the strength it may take to hold to one's religious ideals, but there is a time when a young girl should take that Catholic school uniform and rip it off... or fashionably alter it... but if they see such grave consequences and societal outrage at a Vanity Fair cover, they might never feel like they have the liberty or power to do so.