"Walt Disney's Selena (Wizards of Waverly Place) Gomez & Hurricane Duane"
Pretty Things na Girlz, Girlz, Girlz!
*Footnote:
She's cute, talented and 16 years old, and stars in her own weekly show on the Disney Channel. I'm tall with blue eyes, in my fashionable '50's and one foot in the grave! Not really… but I guess we make a strange pair even as friends. She asked my advice once and I gave it you her and of course…with her being 16…she didn't take it. But still, Im glad she bothered to care what I thought. Right or wrong and unclear to me, I just seem to have a way with girls and women of all ages.
I get the MySpacers and Facebooker's from 14 to 104 who flirt up and down. And here at Ford Motors, I get more than a few out of the 1,800 here at World Headquarters that call me everything from "D", to 'sexy' (and that’s a stretch!). They bring me everything from cupcakes to edible arrangements. I don't know what that says about women who do those things. OR about me in general. But hey! I'm a guy! Not that I don’t appreciate it. I do. But that seems to be the least of my problems in life. I've never had any problems hooking up with girls and women of all ages. Been there and done that. But as I mellow out and have cleaned up my act, it doesn’t seem to change the attraction level. But it does prompt me to write some observations I've had for awhile. Being a guy with a still healthy appetite and appreciation for the ladies, this week I thought I'd address an issue that leaves me….and Im sure not only me…shall I say…confused?
It was a changed world for teen and pre-teen girls when Madonna hit the scene. And then it was Britney. All the pre-pubescent girls stared wearing underwear and lingerie OUTSIDE and OVER their clothes, and starting layering up the make-up and jewelry to the max. And all because of Britney and Madonna. So, now its Miley Montana or Hannah Cyrus, whichever you prefer. The young audience pours over every facet of "Hannah Montana", gleaning what they think is cool in the way she acts, dresses and speaks. "Fer-sure! Hurricane Duane say-what?!"(thanks Miley!)
Now-a-days, 10-11-12-13 year old girls are more like 35 in their dress, actions, and expectations of what they THINK they should have, be and do in… and with…their lives. They dress and act like the movies and tv shows they see. They live in a world of fantasy videos, movies, games, Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez. Watch either of these two talented young ladies…and in general, its hard to tell they are only 15-16 years of age.
Society pushes and pushes the limit of what's considered 'normal' and acceptable, over what SHOULD be normal…and what IS acceptable. The "BRATZ" dolls are made-up, dressed-up and shoved out there to the 7-8-9 year old girls as though they are the norm. They are portrayed as hip and out-for-fun. The real world as we all know, is nothing like that. You need more than 'sex-appeal' to succeed in our world-gone-crazy.
Selena plays a wizard on Disney's "Wizards of Waverly Place". Smart and cute, she at least, has a brain and singing talent to match. Still, she looks and acts like like a 20-something street smart kid who knows it all and has been around the block Actually? Selly (Selena)…what with her friends Miley and Vanessa Hudgens, who both put out some completely inappropriate photos of themselves in underwear and sexy come-hither poses…she at least appears to be grounded. Recently Vanessa's totally naked photo hit the Internet when she was only 15 (and another just a couple weeks ago) .
Its difficult to understand why a lot of young 'tweens' want to be just like them. I guess its ok if you’ve come to that style and way of thinking if you’ve been around enough to know yourself, and what style you feel you fit into. But what about young girls who don’t know where they fit in yet? They often copy the styles, language and bad-sweet-sexy images of those girls in "High School Musical" and the Pussycat Dolls and Christina Aguillera. So what? I'll tell you what. Personally, I'm glad at least they don't emulate Mother Theresa or Joan of Arc!
With the age of female 'maturing' getting younger and younger, at what age do we find it appropriate to act and dress like the 'tween' female entertainers and the Pussycat Dolls? Is there one? There have been many shows of late about Beauty Pageant Mothers who push their tiny daughters into a world of glitz and glamour they can not possibly be ready for. And true…probably to fill some void…not in the daughter, but some unfulfilled dream of the mother. To look at them, you'd never know. And to most guys, we cant tell by a photo, and admittedly? We can get just as overly-stimulated by a made up pre-teen as much as we can for an older lady or woman. Of course, this too makes the hormones wink and tug. No matter what age she really is. Does that make us letches? And there-in is the problem. Girls trying to…and successfully at that…look and act like they are much older.
They LOOK of age….so why not? And its somewhere between lost-and-found that the young ones push it to look even older, and the boys and men drool and imagine things they shouldn’t be thinking of. Been there myself…guilty as charged. This creates a HUGE problem with identity. Both for the girls trying to look older, and the guys looking at them like they ARE older. It’s a no-win situation for both.
Several years back, a very close young lady friend of mine (still) turned17, and I was struck by the fact that she was street-wise beyond her years, and had a lot of 'experience' already in the teen party scene at her school. She, like many other girls, took to wearing really fancy Victoria's Secret lingerie around age 14. Seeing that she already partied and drank some, I suspected she was a whole lot more experienced with other stuff as well. I had mentioned to her how old she made me feel! "Wow kid! I really do feel old around you now! You've done a lot! You grew up fast! Man, are you a wild-child! And a few times, I covered for you when you came in stoned". Her response to me? "Huh? Hey Duane! You think Im wild NOW?! You shoulda seen me when I WAS 13!" I about fell over because I WAS there at that time in her life and was covering for her, getting her inside and upstairs before Mom and Dad found out what condition she was in!
Sigh…so will the boys ever catch up to the girls at this rate? Will the boys ever go thru the same thing? Or are they destined to continue clue-less regarding the opposite sex? Will it be ok for a 13 year old girl going on 40 something, to go out with a 20 or 30-something young man? Where will all this end for the youth of today? In India, they have arranged marriages between 3 and 4 year olds. I hope it doesn’t come to that being accepted. But, the way the world is pushing young girls to jump right into "adult-hood' if you can call it that…we are headed for disaster. Its becoming so that almost anything is acceptable to do, say or wear. And put that pink lingere on Miley, and all the malls around the world have a fast run on pink lingerie. If she can wear that……well! Then the image machine has done its work. It has changed the perception of all the girls enthralled with the further adventures of "Hannah Montana". And so…they continue to dress like her and want to be just like her. Honestly? It would be better if they didn’t race ahead by way of Fredricks of Hollywood, Abercrombie & Finch and Lovers Lane.
Girls grow up way too fast these days, and theres all kinds of time left at age 12-13 to find your 'style', and what your'e into. Theres no rush. Time should be held close so that one can be a 'kid'…not 'jailbait in heels', or a 'slutty-ho'. It’s a shame that innocence can be lost by what kind of music they listen to, what it implies, and the fact that they all want to emulate the next 'tween Disney Star'.
Hum! That’s funny! The actors in High School Musical are all in their 20's now…and still, the young 8-9-10 year old girls fall over themselves trying to look like just like them…who themselves are paid to act and to look like teens! (Zak Efron is 22 and still playing a 17 year old. And the fans somehow believe he's still in High School!) Still, I'll always wonder. Just how old ARE those girls in the mall? I sure cant tell. And there-in lies the problem. If only they would see it that way. Theres time left to try and experiment with new things, ideas and clothes. And it should be more important for them to understand WHY they are copying the young stars today.
One of the girls from 'High School Musicals 1-2 and 3' has said regarding the papparazi:
"We have all these like 40 year old guys following us girls around all the time. Yuk! It's gross!" Well? Maybe she shouldn’t have posted that totally nude photo of herself at 15! I don’t think though they'll go back to the way teenagers were in the past. It's just a different world now. I wonder where it will all end? Good or bad, right or wrong, we'll still flip a channel, open a magazine, and turn our heads at them all. Thank God we've still got eyes! And frankly? If mine ever go on me…I'm joinin' a monastery! "Cause I KNOW I'm probably gonna burn in hell!
Please pass the sunscreen! Until next time my friends! "Hurricane" Duane
*Special Thanks to Selena and Demi Lovato, Pegasus, Stacy, Melissa, Michelle, Miley, Linda, Vanessa and Laura. You all ROCK m' WORLD!! Please hold the Viagra and pass the Geritol! Seriously...much love to you all Ladies! Always….Duane
