Sex and the Single (Preteen) Girl: Gossip Girl

Breakpoint with Charles Colson ^ | April 3, 2006 | Charles Colson

[Mr. Silverback]

When writer Marcia Segelstein headed to the bookstore to scout out books for her 12-year-old, she wasn’t sure what to expect. But she certainly didn’t expect rampant drinking, drug use, profanity, and explicit descriptions of sex and nudity.

Nevertheless, that’s exactly what she found.

Segelstein’s daughter had been clamoring to read the Gossip Girl series, which “‘all’ of her friends were reading,” she said. After seeing what was in the books, Segelstein was floored. But a school librarian confirmed, “They’re very popular among sixth and seventh graders.” Even worse, the librarian added, “Some parents are so happy that their kids are reading anything, they don’t care what it is.”

The series, described by Teen People magazine as “Sex and the City for the younger set,” is set among a group of wealthy, spoiled students at an elite New York high school. And the drugs, drinking, and various kinds of sexual encounters aren’t their only problem behavior. Both teen and adult characters engage in binging and purging. Also of concern is the unfettered materialism. With the constant name-dropping of expensive stores, clothing designers, cosmetics, and other pricey name brands, some of the pages in these books read like advertisements.

Perhaps the worst part is that no moral judgments are made at all. As Segelstein put it in an article on our BreakPoint website, “The fact that the Gossip Girl books are nowhere close to being well written pales in comparison to the fact that they are utterly amoral. . . . They smoke, they drink, they have sex, they do drugs—yet they never have problems like getting AIDS or becoming pregnant or getting arrested or flunking out of school. Consequences don’t exist in the lives of these ‘chosen ones,’ as they’re called. The fictional world of the Gossip Girl books is a dangerous one, yet it is never portrayed as such.”

Gossip Girl author Cecily von Ziegesar admits that she wrote the books that way for a reason. She told Colby magazine, “It’s completely unrealistic to have a group of kids who are constantly reforming or who are being punished because they’re ‘naughty.’ And I always resented that quality in books I’d read.” She goes on, “I don’t know what it is that redeems the characters, exactly, but deep down, they’re still good kids.”

I can answer the author’s question—there’s very little redemptive about her characters. And that’s why parents of preteen girls need to do their job and keep these corrosive books out of their homes and out of their daughters’ lives. Von Ziegesar herself tipped her hand when she wrote in one of the books, “Luckily Blair and her friends came from the kind of families for whom drinking was as commonplace as blowing your nose. Their parents believed . . . that the more access kids have to alcohol, the less likely they are to abuse it. . . . The same thing went for everything else, like sex or drugs—as long as you kept up appearances, you were all right.”

There’s no justification for that kind of parenting, in fiction or in life. And there’s no excuse for putting this kind of literature into the hands of young girls who need to learn better.

[imskylark]

"I read the series out loud to my kids last year. They loved it. DVD comes out today, BTW."

We listened to the entire series that was done by Focus on the Family. The kids loved it! We are going to go out and buy the DVD today.

[GrandEagle]

but you have to be there to interpret the spin
LOL! No kidding!
I am a History Channel buff myself.

[imskylark]

"My kids are being read the Scriptures, Shakespeare, Dickens, etc. from an early age."

My kids have been raised the same way. My oldest supposedly has a 79 IQ with learning disabilities. (He died twice at birth) His neuropsychologist said I need to continue what I am doing because he is farther ahead than he would have expected. Most people think he is gifted.

[Mrs. Don-o]

"One of my pre-teen daughters just read Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. She couldn't put it down."

OK, OK, --- are you home schoolers?

[imskylark]

"Thank you! There's alibris, too...."

www.bookfinder.com brings several bookstores, ABE, and alibris together making it easier to find the books you want. They are also connected to Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

[little jeremiah]

Another one. Parents need to be really careful what their kids read, see, listen to.

[Shimmer128]

Read Sam Campbell books to your children!
They are so great, he was a guy and wife from the 40s and 50s that lived out on an island in Minnesota and he wrote books and did talks. What a wonderful, intelligent guy. The kids and I still quote from those books years later.
It's amazing how the level of language has deteriorated over the last few decades. He wrote at a level that most 8th graders of today would be hard put to read. Heck, most 12th graders! Public school kids need extra help with his books, lots of times. Most home educated kids can read better though. (most, not all, I know)

[Shimmer128]

Oh, also Holling Clancy Holling books. You can teach geography from them, they're so good and the illustrations are WONDERFUL.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Chronicles of Narnia is, in my opinion, excellent morally, artistically, and spiritually, and the best read-aloud there is: wonderful storytelling, great pace.

It's not the same level of literature as Tolkien, but in terms of reading aloud it's even better, because you don't get bogged in Tolkein's long, detailed background digressions and setting descriptions. (Though Tolkien is superb for older readers.)

[weegee]

Perhaps the worst part is that no moral judgments are made at all.

Exactly what the Sex Positive Agenda pushes for:

1) Everyone sexually active at every age.

2) No moral judgement regarding sexual pairings regardless of age, sex, number, relation, marital status, or specicies of partner.

[little jeremiah]

Can you ping me, too?

[weegee]

If they were explict tales about pre-teen sex orgies written FOR adults, would you have a problem with their regulation by government?

Then why tolerate such works being shelved in the childrens section of public libraries?

[lil_rebbitzen]

I read Tolkien the year the first movie came out. So about 7th-8th grade (not sure which.) I loved them. I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in 6th grade. Loved them too. My father was thrilled that I was reading Tolkien though (he's a big fan himself, and got me hooked via the cartoon movies). I've always considered most teen literature to be a waste of time. We had to read "The face on the milk carton" in 7th grade, and I hated it. It was so boring, and there was little morality in it.

Give me the classics any day.

[SoftballMominVA]

I've read a couple of these books and I hate them. That's a strong and unusual statement from me as I encourage my students to read anything they can get their hands on--comic books, magazines, trade books--as long as they are reading, decoding and comprehending, it is helpful. But these books are vile!

There are no redeeming features to these books. I know the article says this, but it is much worse then they admit in the article. They are poorly written with little character development or plot. The theme for each seems to be "let's all go be deviants and laugh at those who are good." There is a air of normalizing harmful behavior with the idea that "this is what all families are like." Well, no, all families AREN'T filled with druggies and alcoholics and girls who are just plain mean and nasty.

One of my students brought one in last month and we spent an entire class period reading it aloud and pointing out areas that we disagreed with. I read aloud every day from Bill Bennett's book and we compared the lessons taught in the different books and discussed which one makes you a better person. Even my learning disabled kids were disgusted with some of the descriptions. I had to be very very careful with what I read because some of it is pornographic.

I would never allow my daughters to read these, and thankfully that is not a fight I will need to make as they have already formed their tastes in books. But for those of you with 'tweens' just pass these by in the book store and find something else.

[jwalburg]

Wow. Mainstream. Yuck. Sad.

[CharlieOK1]

this is the current fad for the younger kids.

My 5 year old daughter has been told that even if her friends have them, which they already do, that she will not be getting them.

Bratz Babyz were in the media spotlight during Christmas 2005. It so happened that the undergarments these dolls wear are "outrageous". A mother and her Bratz fanatic daughter have told ABC. The underwear is a thong, which is very disappointing as the dolls are supposed to be idols for young girls. The manufacturer though doesn't agree, and has said it is simply a small underwear! The strip of fabric is merely to hold the skirt down.

Link

[jwalburg]

I have never understood the attraction of these dolls. They are so unpleasant looking. My 5-year-old is happiest with her little ponies and baby dolls. These dolls look ready to slap someone.

[PleaseNoMore]

I have found my younger son (9yo) loves the Louie Lamor books.

[Element187]

If they were explict tales about pre-teen sex orgies written FOR adults, would you have a problem with their regulation by government?

Then why tolerate such works being shelved in the childrens section of public libraries?

Any government regulation of anything is a bad thing. I do not like to see government expanding... These are just books... peices of literature... no children were abused in creating and distributing these books... giving up and putting your hands in the air and asking the government to come in and do the work YOU as a parent failed to do, is not the fault and responsibility of the rest of us Americans... I hate this attitude in this country "if i dont approve of it, i want it banned, i want laws" nonsense... this is supposed to be a country that represents freedom, not oppression or suppression.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Good for you! You'll enjoy this great literature for life. And you'll hand them on to your children. They'll never be out of date. They're immortal.