Is This What I Have To Look Forward To With My Daughter?

[Peregrine]

Viral video child stars give rise to a new breed of stage mom

"Three-year-old Kiera Ladrow, who took the fast track to fame last week when the video spoof of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone”—in which she plays the platinum-haired provocateur— hit You Tube.

“But how does a toddler “play” Lady Gaga?” the sane among you ask. Well, she wears a bunch of weird outfits, a lot of makeup, a pair of handcuffs, and a pout, looking, for all practical purposes, like a toddler in drag. She also lip-syncs. (Note to self: Add “lip-syncing toddler in drag” to list of things you never need to see again)."


link

[norton ash]

Have you seen 'Bruno' yet? The scenes with the child-model parents and what they're willing to do-- their kids dressed as Nazis, or crucified as the thieves next to Bruno's 'adopted' African toddler as Jesus... or the willingness to get them to lose 10 lbs in a week.

One of the many times I said 'whoa' during Bruno. Glad I finally saw it!

[Peregrine]

Yeah, I saw that. That was a jaw-dropper for sure...

[Cordelia]

Viral video child stars give rise to a new breed of stage mom

"Three-year-old Kiera Ladrow, who took the fast track to fame last week when the video spoof of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone”—in which she plays the platinum-haired provocateur— hit You Tube.

“But how does a toddler “play” Lady Gaga?” the sane among you ask. Well, she wears a bunch of weird outfits, a lot of makeup, a pair of handcuffs, and a pout, looking, for all practical purposes, like a toddler in drag. She also lip-syncs. (Note to self: Add “lip-syncing toddler in drag” to list of things you never need to see again)."


link

This is chilling. The Baby GaGa video speaks for itself as sick and pornographic, but I find the interview just as disturbing because everyone's behaving so nice.
I mean, the little girl's mother has entrusted her three year old with a gay 'in the industry' man, who's living out, through her daughter, his boyhood fun of dressing-up, along with scantily clad acting-out dancers (one of whom mocks the toddler drinking from a bottle!) but the mother doesn't bat an eye and looks so normal as she defends her outrageous parenting with as much concern as if she'd let Kiera stay up too late.

And what's with the therapist? Why is she pleasant & mildly scolding instead of righteously angry and outraged? She begins to criticize the video with the caveat "I know you're a loving parent", after spending "a few minutes with you." She doesn't know she's a loving parent; but she must know what she sees in the video, and that's shocking. Heidi Ladrow is one scary mother. There can't be much that's more terrifying for a child than to be growing up in the hands of a very sick but seemingly caring & responsible parent. Poor kid.

[Simulist]

Kayla Manson, 13-Year-Old Girl, Says 'C*nt' TWICE On 'Today' Show

It's been over two years, but the "Today" show had the ring of Jane Fonda Thursday morning when a 13-year-old guest said the word "cunt" twice on the show.

Kayla Manson, a 13-year-old Florida girl accused as an accomplice after her boyfriend allegedly attempted to murder her best friend, recalled the text messages that her friend and boyfriend exchanged before he attacked her.

Manson said she did not see the texts where her boyfriend, Wayne Treacy, threatened to kill her best friend, Josie Ratley, but rather only ones in which they called each other names.

Manson said the two text messages she saw were "the one where she calls him a rapist, and she calls him a cunt, I mean the one where he calls her a cunt."

"We just have to be careful with our language, but that's all right, sweetheart," Meredith Vieira said.

One of the implications of kids being made to "grow up too fast" seems to be that many of them never grow up at all.

Some things are appropriate for children, other things simply aren't — but many adults don't even know what's appropriate for themselves. (And then they have more kids...)

[JackRiddler]

The Baby GaGa video speaks for itself as sick and pornographic, but I find the interview just as disturbing because everyone's behaving so nice.

Not a contradiction. Nice and Sick have always been a pair.

[justdrew]

does it need a separate thread? what about the 16yo girl now lost at sea. some amazing parents there. Just think of the money involved. The goal was to be youngest person to circumnavigate the globe non-stop. that "failed" upon pulling into south africa for a broken autopilot (I didn't think you got to use an autopilot but I guess, wtf why not). And then there's all this talk of her "tech crew" who are thousands of miles away apparently. There's supposedly no ship closer than 400km away form where emergency beacons were activated. Seems to me I would have been in a seperate ship nearby if MY daughter were doing this, but hey, again... this is TOTALLY symbolic/symptomatic of spoiled-overgrown-baby rich-parents child-rearing style. "Just call me on your sat phone in you need anything. bye bye!"

[JackRiddler]

does it need a separate thread? what about the 16yo girl now lost at sea. some amazing parents there. Just think of the money involved. The goal was to be youngest person to circumnavigate the globe non-stop. that "failed" upon pulling into south africa for a broken autopilot (I didn't think you got to use an autopilot but I guess, wtf why not). And then there's all this talk of her "tech crew" who are thousands of miles away apparently. There's supposedly no ship closer than 400km away form where emergency beacons were activated. Seems to me I would have been in a seperate ship nearby if MY daughter were doing this, but hey, again... this is TOTALLY symbolic/symptomatic of spoiled-overgrown-baby rich-parents child-rearing style. "Just call me on your sat phone in you need anything. bye bye!"

It's fucked up but also an exceedingly rare case. This is no danger of becoming a trend, at least not in this form. Also, round-the-world like this is always very high risk, no matter who does it.

At 16 the more common case is that parents good or bad lose any control and must watch them go do their own stupid things, without enabling it like in this case.

[Cordelia]

Thanks to Tom & Katie for letting Suri be in charge of her shopping.........

High heels for girls are sexualising children, parenting groups warn

Retailers are selling high-heeled shoes to girls as young as three, according to parenting groups who fear the new fashion trend is prematurely sexualising children.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... -warn.html

[Pele'sDaughter]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/s ... M5v3s23ULK

Here's a dose of reality.

The father of teen sailor Abby Sunderland told The Post yesterday that he's broke and had signed a contract to do a reality show, "Adventures in Sunderland," about his family of daredevil kids weeks after she set off on her doomed and dangerous solo sail around the globe.

Laurence Sunderland, a sailing instructor who lives in the middle-class Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks with his pregnant wife and seven kids, opened their home to film crews four months ago.

"The show might be about family, it might be about Abigail's trip. It's something that was shopped around," he said.

Abby, 16, set sail last January, but got stranded in the Indian Ocean last week after storms smashed the mast of her sailboat, Wild Eyes, knocking out satellite-phone reception. The near-disaster triggered a frantic international rescue effort.

The solo voyage ran into heavy criticism for its high risk and the allegedly poor planning that put Abby in the treacherous Indian Ocean right in the middle of storm season.

Yesterday, she remained aboard the French vessel that rescued her, according to the ship's captain, and was making her slow voyage home.

The boat, Ile de la Reunion, is scheduled to transfer the teen to another ship tonight. It will take her about a week to get to land, the captain said.

Standing in the driveway outside his home, Sunderland explained the theme he envisioned for the show.

"We thought it might be a good idea if it was encouraging to kids to get out there and do things," he said. Sunderland said he didn't initially get many bites.

But Magnetic Entertainment of Studio City, Calif., is already promoting "Adventures in Sunderland" and "Abby's Journey," a documentary, on its Web site.

The studio didn't reply to e-mails and calls for comment yesterday.

Sunderland insists Abby's trip wasn't just a stunt.

The reality show was, he said, "the last thing on my mind.

"The wheels in motion for this trip had actually started when Abigail was 13 years old," he added.

Sunderland also defended his decision to let his daughter take the risky journey.

"I love my daughter dearly," he said. "I love the passion of sailing dearly, and this was about Abigail following her dream. She followed the criteria that I had set out, and met all the requirements to embark on this trip."

Yesterday, Abby blogged that she was undaunted by her misadventure, and was considering writing a book.

She called her wild ride on Wild Eyes "the best thing I have ever done or been through and I don't ever want to forget all the great times . . . or the bad ones for that matter."

The large family has long been a curiosity in the community, neighbors said. All seven children are home-schooled.

"They rarely leave their house, and they rarely talk to neighbors," local resident Brian Gonzales said.

Additional reporting by Ginger Adams Otis

[IanEye]

Sunderland also defended his decision to let his daughter take the risky journey.

"I love my daughter dearly," he said. "I love the passion of sailing dearly, and this was about Abigail following her dream. She followed the criteria that I had set out, and met all the requirements to embark on this trip."

Yesterday, Abby blogged that she was undaunted by her misadventure, and was considering writing a book.

She called her wild ride on Wild Eyes "the best thing I have ever done or been through and I don't ever want to forget all the great times . . . or the bad ones for that matter."

Man, balloon boy's dad must be so pissed.

'a boat. why didn't I think of that?'

[Cordelia]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/sail_kid_parents_set_cour_for_tv_crGRuKCVBcBCM5v3s23ULK

Here's a dose of reality.

The father of teen sailor Abby Sunderland told The Post yesterday that he's broke and had signed a contract to do a reality show, "Adventures in Sunderland," about his family of daredevil kids weeks after she set off on her doomed and dangerous solo sail around the globe.

I wonder (I mean sunder) if he'll be charged the costs for the Australian flight search, French rescue boat, etc. If he's broke now....

[Nordic]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/sail_kid_parents_set_cour_for_tv_crGRuKCVBcBCM5v3s23ULK

Here's a dose of reality.

The father of teen sailor Abby Sunderland told The Post yesterday that he's broke and had signed a contract to do a reality show, "Adventures in Sunderland," about his family of daredevil kids weeks after she set off on her doomed and dangerous solo sail around the globe.

I wonder (I mean sunder) if he'll be charged the costs for the Australian flight search, French rescue boat, etc. If he's broke now....

The production company should be liable for those.

If the Dad he's, then he's a moron. Oh wait ....

[elfismiles]

Prime Time TV 'Objectifies and Fetishizes' Underage Girls, Study Says
By Hollie McKay / Published December 16, 2010 | FoxNews.com

LOS ANGELES – Long gone are the days when Marcia Brady’s sweet smile and Winnie Cooper’s brains and beauty were how television represented teen-age girls.

According to a new study conducted by the Parents Television Council (PTC), Hollywood is shockingly obsessed with sexualizing teen girls, to the point where underage female characters are shown participating in an even higher percentage of sexual situations than their adult counterparts: 47 percent to 29 percent respectively.

PTC’s report, entitled “New Target: A Study of Teen Female Sexualization on Primetime TV” is based on a content analysis drawn from the 25 most popular shows in the 12-17 demographic throughout the 2009-2010 television season.

“The results from this report show Tinseltown’s eagerness to not only objectify and fetishize young girls, but to sexualize them in such a way that real teens are led to believe their sole value comes from their sexuality," said PTC President Tim Winter. "This report is less about the shocking numbers that detail the sickness of early sexualization in our entertainment culture and more about the generation of young girls who are being told how society expects them to behave."

“Storylines on the most popular shows among teens are sending the message to our daughters that being sexualized isn’t just acceptable, it should be sought after,” Winter said. “It is outrageous that TV executives have made it their business to profit off of programs that depict teen girls blissfully being sexualized by casual partners.”

The female stars of 'Glee' were criticized for posing in their underwear in the November 2010 GQ magazine.

Examples used by the PTC to illustrate their findings, all taken from prime time broadcast television, included Taylor Momsen’s character in bed with Ed Westwick on “Gossip Girl,” Annalynne McCord taking a swig of alcohol while donning a bra and panties on “90210,” and a lesbian kiss between cheerleaders on “Glee.”

The data, based on factors ranging from the genre of the program to the gender of the initiator and the participant’s attitude toward the sexualizing incident, also revealed that 98 percent of the sexual incidents involving underage female characters occurred outside of any form of committed relationship, and that 73 percent of the underage sexualized incidents were presented in a humorous manner or as a punch line to a joke.

Winter also claims that TV networks can’t be trusted as 75 percent of the time they leave off the “S” descriptor to warn audiences about sexual content. However, Adam Temple, the Coalitions Director at the TV Watch Organization, a broad-based coalition that opposes government control of TV programming, said that examining the age appropriate rating is the most important factor to take into consideration.

“You have to look at the whole story. First and foremost shows are rated based on age, so before you even get to the point of those content descriptors (such as ‘S’ for sex, ‘L’ for language and ‘V’ for violence) parents have to decide what is appropriate,” Temple said. “As with other PTC studies, it is very subjective, so 'reader beware.’ It is important to remember that parents are the ultimate authority, and that this seemingly ‘scary’ study based on vague methodology is subjective.”

Nonetheless, the PTC and its supporters don’t simply just want networks to slap more warnings on programs – they’re calling on parents, actors, and advertisers to take action and demand that the trend to air content based on teen sexualization be reversed. However, Temple argued that end of the day it is up to parents to take control over what their children can and cannot view.

“Parents understand that all programming is not for all children and, according to polling conducted solely among parents, take seriously their efforts to ensure their children view what is appropriate based on their age, taste and values,” he said. “What is increasingly difficult to take seriously, is a patchwork of studies characterized by vagaries and omissions, apparently intended to raise money because the group has the word 'Parents' in its name."

But another expert not associated with these studies or organizations firmly believes that Hollywood is indeed sexualizing underage characters on its shows for profit.

“Certain shows, advertisers, etc. sexualize underage people, which does double damage: it sends a message to youth that their self-worth depends on their sexuality, and provokes inappropriate sexual responses from adults. This is irresponsible programming and is disrespectful to youth,” Los Angeles-based psychologist Dr. Nancy Irwin said. “This (PTC) study is not being blown out of proportion.”


http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/20 ... -airwaves/

[Wombaticus Rex]

does it need a separate thread? what about the 16yo girl now lost at sea. some amazing parents there. Just think of the money involved. The goal was to be youngest person to circumnavigate the globe non-stop. that "failed" upon pulling into south africa for a broken autopilot (I didn't think you got to use an autopilot but I guess, wtf why not). And then there's all this talk of her "tech crew" who are thousands of miles away apparently. There's supposedly no ship closer than 400km away form where emergency beacons were activated. Seems to me I would have been in a seperate ship nearby if MY daughter were doing this, but hey, again... this is TOTALLY symbolic/symptomatic of spoiled-overgrown-baby rich-parents child-rearing style. "Just call me on your sat phone in you need anything. bye bye!"

That is not even remotely fucked up and it blows my mind you'd see it in such a judgemental light.

I see it as an incredible example of having faith in your children and their dreams.

It's fucked up but also an exceedingly rare case. This is no danger of becoming a trend, at least not in this form. Also, round-the-world like this is always very high risk, no matter who does it.

At 16 the more common case is that parents good or bad lose any control and must watch them go do their own stupid things, without enabling it like in this case.

Again, baffle-faced. She's not getting pregnant, she's not hanging out with older cokeheads, she's not deciding to become a death metal groupie, she's sailing a solo mission around the fucking world. That's impressive, that's exactly the kind of DNA exactly we need to be encouraging. They didn't just put the kid on a boat, she was trained, she was in love with the idea, she studied up and passed tests.