Tweens

ILLUSTRATION ESSAY OF: TWEENS GOING ON TEN Many have fond memories of their teen years. The hottest and most adorned female and male teen ICONS of my generation, hung on glow-in the-dark posters in many bedrooms across America. The tragic 2009 passing of 1970’s teen-idols Farah Fawcett-Majors and pop-music legend Michael Jackson, metaphorically at least, seemed to be the death of the innocence of teen idol fantasy. Yes, those were the days. Being pushed out the door after the American Bandstand Show, on Saturday afternoon, to go play outdoors until dinner; or, making that trip to the park with your best friend for a little pond critter harassment; lastly, arriving with starry-eyed anticipation at the recreation center, hoping that the shapely little brown-eyed goddess would be wowed by your athletic prowess. Dominating the other scum-bags on the playground during the kick-ball game could net you a date at your local Ben Franklin’s five and dime, a long walk with her hand in yours, or the libido fulfilling French-less peck on the lips. In The Longmans Writer textbook, freelance writer Kay S. Hymowitz, a contributing editor for the Manhattan Institute for Policy’s quarterly publication, The City Journal, writes extensively about the education process and the child rearing challenges in America. Her essay titled, “TWEENS: TEN GOING ON SIXTEEN”, clearly illustrates children between the ages of eight to twelve, or tweens, casting themselves in sexually pronounced adult behaviors by the age of twelve. There are quite a few interesting connections that seem to validate kids now are eight going on eighteen. In illustrating one of her key points, Kay wrote, “Scorning any symbols of their immaturity, tweens now cultivate a self-image that emphasizes sophistication. The Nickelodeon-Yankelovich Youth Monitor found that by the time they are 12, children describe themselves as "flirtatious, sexy, trendy, athletic, and cool” (Nadell, Langan, and Conodromos 246); a radically unhealthy shift in tween self-perception from the norm of generations past. She goes on to write, “They're very concerned with their "look," Friend says, even more so than older teens. “…tween girls who scorn old-fashioned, little-girl flowers, ruffles, white socks, and Mary Jane’s in favor of the cool—black mini-dresses, platform shoes, and midriff-revealing shirts.…” (Nadell, Langan, and Conodromos 246). Tweens appear to be feeding the craving spawned in a sensually based counter-culture of sexually explicit music, movies, and clothing. In pointing out the sharp decline in age of lost innocence and virginity, for tween boys and girls, she wrote, “It seems that kids who are having sex are doing so at earlier ages… she went on to say...” Christie Hogan, a middle-school counselor for 20 years in Louisville, Kentucky, says: "We're beginning to see a few pregnant sixth-graders." Many of the principals and counselors I spoke with reported a small but striking minority of sexually active seventh-graders.” (Nadell, Langan, and Conodromos 248). This may be further evidence, of what has been paraphrased in many social-political circles, of the slow desensitizing of fundamental morale/ethical principles within our American society. Whatever term you care to use, preteen, young adults, or tweens, the common tread is the declining age of children participating in adult behaviors. The days of libido fulfilling French-less pecks on the lips, hand holding after kick-ball games, and critter catching at the pond on Saturday afternoons are over! Access to pornographic media, targeted sexually suggestive clothing marketing, and pedophile filled chat rooms, are a mere click and drag away. Parents, take charge of your children’s lives, until they can learn to respond responsibly, to the dangerous slippery-slope of eight going on eighteen. Works cited Nadell, Judith. Langan, John. Comodromos, Eliza A. The Longman Writer: Rhetoric, Reader, and Research Guide, Brief Edition, 7th, New York, NY, Pearson Longman, 2009. 246-49. ----------------------- Written Communication 23 March 2010