Barely Clothed

I mentioned to my mother in passing that my six year old daughter wanted to go see the Hilary Duff concert in Baltimore that was coming up.

It was really meant as a joke when I said she should buy the tickets.

But she bought the tickets anyway (floor seats mind you).

Do you realize what this means? It means that in just a few hours I am going to be driving to Baltimore to attend a Hilary Duff concert with perhaps tens of thousands screaming tweenagers.

I'm seriously considering earplugs.

But it could be worse. My daughter fell in love with Hilary mostly because of Lizze McGuire and the daily re-runs of the show that play on the Disney Channel. It's a nice little show for the most part and Hilary, unlike some of her counterparts, has remained fairly G-rated. My daughter won't really understand the angsty lyrics - she just listens to the music. And when I've seen her perform, it is without the belly-baring, barely clothed antics of some.

So I can deal with Hilary - though I can hardly help but wonder how long she will stay clean and remember her very-young fan-base. So many of these teens decide at some point that they have to outgrow that image and doing that often leads them to the scanty clothing, sexy dance moves and R-rated music videos. When I was growing up, Tiffany was a big thing (I actually even saw her in concert - I remember she performed in overalls) as well as Debbie Gibson. Debbie was just in the news recently after posing naked in a magazine so that she could shed that bubble-gum image. Miss Lohan is always splashed in the tabloids and is known for partying and her "soft-porn" music videos. Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson both bare as much as possible.

Sigh.

I wonder when "growing up" became first and formeost about sex & nudity and not mature, responsible behavior? And since I have three little girls growing up in this culture, I worry about the messages they are being sent.

I would despair if it weren't for my faith that my kids can forge a different path, set a different standard. It's hard to go against the flow, but that's sort of what Christianity is all about. Jesus said, I did not come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword. If we live His life, then we'll make waves, and enemies and be misunderstood. It's part of belonging to Him.

So I'll support Miss Hilary for as long as I can. We'll see where the next few years lead her. May God bring His light and truth into her life, and surround her with His presence.