Kids Just Want to Dance!

That I had to confirm I was 18 years of age or older in order to watch the video was clue number one.  LMFAO's video of the song, "Sexy and I Know It," has explicit content and requires parental control.

Ok, I'm over 18. Heck, I'm the parent! So I double-clicked, then watched and listened.

"I got passion in my pants and I ain't afraid to show it," repeats the refrain. "I pimp to the beat." "Ah, girl look at that body." And so forth. Wow, I think to myself, these lyrics ARE explicit. Then the camera zooms and my vision fills with wiggling penises. Seriously?! The more I watched the more confused I became.

Why is my 7-year old daughter singing LMFAO music and practicing the wiggle dance AT SCHOOL?



Hubby and I discovered Magda's new curriculum last night when she was signing the song aloud in the kitchen. Hubby asked her where she learned the tune. "At dance class Daddy!" she continued enthusiastically. Then, she noticed Daddy's growing displeasure and frantic web searching on the computer...

Let's be real. Kids are sponges. They want to learn. They want to know what the words they use mean. They especially want to know what the words adults use mean. BlabberMouse offered a creative response when her child asked her what "passion in my pants" meant. Her immediate response was that the words were simply inappropriate. However, the child's curiosity was not satiated. Inappropriate doesn't address the meaning behind the inappropriateness after all. So when prompted again, BlabberMouse suggested, "the singer's mom sewed a patch in his pants with the word passion. " Pretty quick thinking for sure. But I'd bet that the child's curiosity did not end there.

So what do we tell our kids about explicit lyrics? For example, do we tell them that the acronym of the band LMFAO stands for Laughing My Fucking Ass Off? And that the band's motif is explicitly about partying and drinking? And that one of the featured 'actors' in the Sexy and I Know It video is porn star, Ron Jeremy?

Yes, I understand that Sexy and I Know It can be read as a parody. The lead singer is anything but sexy according to the narrowly defined standard of (American) masculinity. Thus, some would say, the song and it's catchy beat encourages everyone to own their sexy self and flaunt it, literally. The video of sexy people at Wal-Mart captures the parodic momentum of the song. Heck, even classic rockers, Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young's rendition pokes fun at LMFAO's hit.

Pic @ Kitsilano Community Centre website

But 6-7 year olds don't quite grasp parody. They are still working on sarcasm. Further, they aren't sexy. They are children. And children love to dance.

More so, they love to dance to LMFAO's Sexy and I Know It. It's a catchy beat. The rhythm makes you want to wiggle.

So what's the problem?

Check out this video of a 6-year old dancing to the tune at a Canucks hockey game. Not only has the YouTube video been watched over 700,000 times, the audience at the game loves his performance! Their cheers encourage the exaggerated moves. One man standing behind him takes several swigs of his alcoholic beverage during the boy's 'show.' LMFAO would be proud.

Remember the toddler dancing to Beyonce's Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)? Over 2 million hits on YouTube!

Or how about the TLC show, Toddlers and Tiaras?

The problem is young children are learning culturally sanctioned and narrowly defined definitions of manhood and womanhood from wildly popular music. (LMFAO has been nominated for a Grammy Award, People's Choice Awards, and American Music Awards.) In this example, boys learn how to become a (heterosexual) man: they must use and know how to use their penis sexually. Girls learn that men can't always control their genitalia. Boys and girls learn that they might as well just have fun and party, drink, do drugs, and have promiscuous sex, often.

Interestingly, LMFAO even has a ready excuse for naysayers and critics (such as myself). "Sorry for Party Rocking" is not an apology but a way to dismiss parents (yes, on their website, they explain how to use this byline to dismiss parents' complaints of their "having fun." So they not only encourage partying, LMFAO teaches defiance as well. In. Your. Face.

Imagine what may happen if my daughter's friends find out it's HER parents who have put a stop to the wiggle wiggle dance? Will she be ridiculed because her parents 'don't get it' or are 'overly sensitive' or 'prudes'?

In the end, we cannot shield our children from pop culture. But we can and should be more critical and exclusive about the content we use to teach. A dance class for lower elementary children should not use LMFAO songs and dance moves. In doing so, we normalize the very limiting notions of (aggressive) masculinity and (docile) femininity. Instead, we should be introducing media literacy in the classrooms earlier. Our children are media consumers. Yet, that consumption often goes un-analyzed, particularly amongst the younger sect. And to me, kindergarteners and first graders are not only the most vulnerable to media, they hold the most hope--but only with early intervention (and alternative tunes with which to wiggle!).