Big Little Girls

Last night Kevin gave his big R-word speech at school. It was FABULOUS. (And if you haven't already seen it, check out the footage here.)

It was part of a program in which all of the seventh and eighth graders had to present either a visual art or a performing art (Kevin's speech was classified as a performing art: a monologue). There were lots of performing arts, including dance routines.

Man, oh man, some of these girls. Seventh and eighth graders - so, we're talking 12 - 14 year olds. Performing these very sexual dance routines. And wearing very form-fitting, sexy outfits. And they're all so developed, you know? Full on boobs and butts and legs. These aren't little girls. At least not physically. It was rather startling. And unsettling. They seem so . . . wordly. Very talented girls, these. But, just . . . wow.

Am I just becoming of the geeze? An old prude? Does every generation look at its teens and think they are way too grown-up and precocious for their own good?

I was watching these girls and trying to remember back to when I was that age. Were the girls in my peer group like that? Me, I was a total ugly duckling at that age: painfully thin, short, unflattering hair, glasses, and horribly crooked teeth - I'm pretty sure I was at least occasionally mistaken for a homely boy. I'm picturing my seventh grade school photo and cringing; I don't actually have it in my possession, but I can still picture the wire-rimmed granny glasses and the powder blue polyester blouse I wore. ::Shudder:: Anyway, my point is, I don't think I could have pulled off sexy at that age no matter how hard I might have tried (and I do remember that at the time, the trend among girls was to wear shorts so short that our butt cheeks peeked out of the bottoms - which I did, and which my mother proclaimed slutty. I'll have to give her that).

Then I think of my own daughters. Is that how they're going to be in fewer than ten years? I kept hissing at Michael last night as we watched these young girls writhe all over the stage, "What would you think if that was your daughter up there?!" He just shrugged. What can you say? It's almost impossible to imagine your sweet little girls becoming these aliens with butts and boobs when they're only 3 and 5 years old.

And how did these girls' parents feel seeing their little girls up there bumping and grinding? I'm thinking if it were me, I'd say something like, "How about a puppet show, honey? No dancing. Dancing is the Devil's work."

Oy.