Posted on 10/31/2007 11:58:37 AM PDT by tuffydoodle
Somebody should tell teenage girls that a high school homecoming is no place for a Carmen Electra lap dance.
And by somebody, I don't mean the stodgy Argyle school superintendent.
High school girls themselves should tell one another to turn around. Stop grinding. Make the boys look up.
Parents should demand it.
If you think I'm just old and out of touch with teenagers -- ask a counselor.
In all the reams of news coverage about Argyle High School's crackdown on "dirty dancing" and its homecoming-night cleavage ban, I have yet to see anyone ask a counselor whether rumped-up dancing is psychologically healthy for girls.
So I asked.
"This is all about wanting to be noticed, and boys definitely notice," said Carolyn Kern, a University of North Texas associate professor and director of the school's successful Counseling and Human Development Center.
"But provocative dancing isn't going to get these girls what they really want. They get attention. But they want an emotional connection."
That doesn't happen with your backside turned.
The flap about Argyle's homecoming dance has now stretched across three weeks.
New Superintendent Jason Ceyanes, 34, a straight-arrow type from an ultraconservative Houston suburb, has apologized for a surprise dance-night crackdown against spaghetti-strap dresses and plunging necklines.
But he still says he might "bring in dance instructors" to teach students other dances -- perhaps the foxtrot.
After two public meetings -- including a special trustees' meeting Monday -- school officials now promise to let parents help revise the dress code by Nov. 9. In other words, school officials are listening.
But some parents, and even one local newspaper, also seem to think Argyle officials should quit worrying about the "freak dancing" or "dirty dancing" that was interrupted at the homecoming dance.
In an editorial, the Denton Record-Chronicle wrote that schoolteachers shouldn't have to worry about whether teenagers "shake too much booty" and generally made it sound as if adults were wasting their time policing dances.
Look, I don't think Ceyanes' idea will work. I don't think teenagers want to learn the waltz. (Maybe the cha-cha.)
But I also don't think parents and school officials can just let every school dance turn into tuxed-up Greco-Roman wrestling.
And if some parents think low, hip-grinding dances are OK for high school seniors, then what age is too young?
Sophomores? Middle school? The Little Miss Argyle pageant?
The Argyle dispute "is a picture of what's going on today in society," Kern said.
"We're struggling to define what's OK for young people and at what age," she said. "A lot of research says that adolescents aren't emotionally ready to be sexually active, from a psychological perspective. But here they are, and we're left struggling over where to set boundaries."
What's fun -- and what's hurtful?
Unlike some national experts, Kern didn't go so far as to say that suggestive dancing is particularly demeaning to women or that it reduces teenage girls to faceless, twistable toys for boys.
But she did say that girls risk more.
"They don't realize that they're sending the message, 'This is what I want.' They might have to explain later that it's not what they want. That explanation might not be easy."
Argyle school board President Debbie Cantrell, a doctor, has defended students. They're not "dirty," she said, and she wishes we wouldn't describe the dances that way.
"We have some very good, intelligent young adults who stood up at our meetings and said, 'We don't know any other way to dance,'" she said.
All they have to do is turn around.
It’s not the kids fault.
Theres nothing wrong with grinding. I did it, and not every girl that did it was some sort of skank.
In a country where the phrase “for the children” is trotted out a million times a day, when someone actually does something that may REALLY help the children he is excoriated.
Personally, I think it’s going too far but given how far the OTHER way things currently are, maybe that’s whats needed?
Check your freepmail.
Um, you’re kidding right?
That's actually a brilliant idea. Fact is, these kids do NOT know how to dance. It would also be an opportunity to introduce them to actual music.
R. Kelly sure doesnt think so...
I saw 2 of the high school girls on the news recently. They stated that they knew of no other way to dance. Are high school girls really that stupid?
Agreed. Teenagers literally have no idea how to dance as couples. Ten Salsa lessons per person would solve a lot of problems in America.
If you do put up the sign, don't act all shocked and baffled when folks come up looking to buy a llama.
Nope. I remember grinding with Mrs SoldierMedic at our Senior Prom.
Dads - this is all on YOU.
I heard a great idea on Christian radio.
You should take your daughter out on “dates” - just the two of you. Show her how a gentleman treats a young lady. For example, open doors (car doors even), etc. Teach her to simply wait for the man to open the doors for her by failing to do so once in a while and telling her how to respond.
You also have to teach about messages that go out (from her method of interaction, dress, etc), and messages that come in (who she is friends with, what she listens to, etc).
LOL
It’s not stupidity. It’s ignorance.
Ignorance is curable ... in this instance with some dance lessons.
Yes they are.
When you and Mrs. Medic have a 14 year old daughter, your opinion might change.
For the girls that weren't just skanks, there was another name for them.
Dude, don't bring your mom into this discussion. Have some class.
ping for more on the dancing story
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