Does that kind of language offend you? It really bothers me.
My ten year old is off school with a cold. Last week he told me about an ad he'd seen where they used those words. I told him that he must have misheard. This morning when it came on, he called me in and I heard it myself.
Those words were being used to advertise a new website for kids called "The Big Rip". I've been to the site and it seems harmless enough. Kids play games, post videos and chat. What bothers me is that this was being advertised using those words 'pimp your crib' during Jacob Two-Two on YTV. He was watching YTVWest between 9:30 and 10 a.m. EST, which means the show aired between 6:30 and 7 a.m. here on YTVEast .
That show and the website are geared toward kids 8 to 12, but no doubt younger kids are watching too. Am I alone in thinking that this kind of language is vulgar and inappropriate, despite its recent emergence in popular culture and media?
When we blur the lines that delineate child and teen or between teen and adult, we are saying that what is acceptable for one group is acceptable for all.
Language matters. Words can elevate or corrupt. They can inspire or degrade. That's why the way we speak to and around children is so important. Perhaps ripping a foul word and modifying its meaning in order to make use of it commonly, serves a purpose amongst the younger generation -- maybe it makes them feel edgy and shocking. Maybe they need that to validate their feelings or some other such angst-ridden thing. Or maybe it's an juvenile form of rebellion. In most societies when the young rebel, the older generation looks at them and thinks 'they'll learn' but our boomer TV execs and media seem to get swept up in the excitement of saying dirty words and actually expand their usage -- the Toronto Star recently had a contest 'Pimp My Kitchen'.
"Pimp" might have a dual meaning these days, but most dictionaries I can find maintain the commonly understood definition. Either way, it doesn't belong on a TV station geared to kids. Let the teens and twenty somethings have those ugly words and keep them on their MTV -- but when it comes to YTV and young kids, they should keep it clean.
email YTV via Corus Entertainment.
canadianna
8 comments:
No, you're not alone.
I also find that to be inappropriate.
I would go even further though with many cases where some words or phrases are innapropriate even for adults.
I think we (society) have done a disservice to ourselves by defining things as "adult" because we have bundled a lot of garbage in that category.
Perhaps we should have the following categories:
- Child
- Family
- Teen
- Adult
- Vulgar garbage that should never be produced in the first place.
I guess that last one is not too likely though.
I don't want my five-year-old using words like "pimp".
My 5 year old watches Jacob Two-Two all the time. I am glad he hasn't started using such terminology yet.
We did start him on the media manipulation education program about 2 years ago though, to make him aware about how the TV tries to "trick" him. Hopefully it takes.
Unfortunately that's the way language works. Phrases gain new meanings and become less vulgar in their new context. The word "suck" obviously has very sexual undertones but it can commonly be heard on programming for preteens and teens and is no longer considered foul language. Even phrases like "golly" and "gee" and "shucks" at one time were considered to be unacceptable. (Don't think I'm exaggerating!) Although the base meaning of "pimp" remains the same, it's taken on a connotation of a flamboyant lifestyle outside of prostitution. Perhaps in 20 years we'll find ourselves with a new word for real pimps and "pimp" will become toned down.
Of course, that's not to say that using the word pimp during Jacob Two-Two is necessarily appropriate, especially considering that JTT is one of the few children's shows that features children of loving parents in a stable home where foul language *isn't* used.
It's the verbal counterpart to Bratz dolls (and their ilk) - just part of the 'pornographication' of our so-called culture. If we have a duty to protect children's innocence, we need to guard words just as much as images. Yes, our language does change over time (will 'pornographication' become a word?!) and meanings are altered through usage, but we can always choose to resist slang we find inappropriate or offensive. Then maybe it won't catch on. Not that I hold out much hope for that in our current environment...
It's the verbal counterpart to Bratz dolls (and their ilk) - just part of the 'pornographication' of our so-called culture. If we have a duty to protect children's innocence, we need to guard words just as much as images. Yes, our language does change over time (will 'pornographication' become a word?!) and meanings are altered through usage, but we can always choose to resist slang we find inappropriate or offensive. Then maybe it won't catch on. Not that I'm holding out much hope of that...
Agreed Linda. We have to listen carefully, and we can't let our kids away with the gutter talk because sometimes, they don't even realize that's what it is.
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