I... just ugh. Little girls should play in the dirt with their goddamned dump trucks, kick soccerballs, and plant crops. Tricycles. Forts. Dolls, if they're so inclined. Dance for the sake of dancing, run around stark nekkid on occasion, whatever. But not this sexualized crap in front of a big audience. I think young women need a chance to just be themselves before starting on the whole appearance-altering fuckfest that adult women get thrown into. They need to learn who they are, so that when the world starts asking them to pretend they're something they aren't they can know what's happening. They're all right if they're a bit chubby or skinny, they're all right if they'd rather play with swords than dolls, they're all right if they're lonely, they're all right if there's too many people around. You need a sense of self before you can put on a mask without losing that self, and I think too many women nowadays lose themselves to a mask due to starting shit like this too soon in life.
Before you learn to be perfect, you should learn to be imperfect. Life will be gentler, that way.
I think this holds true for anyone. Keep in mind that the only audience here isn't all those people cheering for girls dancing to a sexualized song in a somewhat vaguely sexual manner dressed far more skimpy than Beyonce was... There might be other kids watching. What this becomes is a thing saying, "Yes, this is cool. Look at all the attention they are getting and no one is mad!"
I don't understand how people can say this is
not sexual. We are talking about
Single Ladies. This song is not a "Yay, let's dance!" song. The intent of this song is not a "Yay, let's dance!" song.
Adults picked the song,
adults picked the outfits, and
adults taught them the choreography. Why is it so hard to see that this is a bunch of little girls who, to
them are having fun and dancing... but to
random people on the internet it can be construed as little girls doing a very sexual dance to a sexual song with a crowd cheering them on? Earlier in the thread people have said this. People are still saying this.
Yes, it's what kids do. Yes, they're really damn good dancers. Yes, they were likely pushed into it by their parents. Yes, the crowd's likely intent is to applaud their dancing skill and not to critique the performance's unintended message, which is something about little girls doing sexy dances. It makes my brain hurt to think about.
I think we do this a whole heaping helping of disservice if we do not view it from all angles. Children dance and have fun and that's precious. They do this to any music. If you put on "I Like Big Butts", you can probably get a baby to dance to it. A pervert who would like to molest that child, however, will probably think that's sexy and that the kid likes big butts. When you have people dancing choreographed to a song, it is implied that they are carrying the meaning of that song. So if a group of little girls is dancing to a song about a woman going to a club, picking up a man, and having sex with him, then it can be construed (Arguably!) that the intended message is that these little girls do these things.
Children also do things that we don't want to see. They poop. It's natural. Do we want to see that? Hopefully, no. Would it be wise to post that on YouTube? Not at all. Children also run around naked from time to time. Hopefully no one here particularly
wants to see that. This would, likewise, be unwise to post anywhere. The question here is, do these girls realize what's going on? Do they realize that they are being simplified to the point where they are little more than very articulate dolls dancing around? Do they realize that what they are construing as fun is being interpreted differently by different people? Do they realize that their outfits, while costume clothes, are being seen and perceived in different ways with different connotations by different people? Likely not. I think this is why, to me, this is most disgusting. These girls are being objectified to the point to where they aren't human, anymore. They are toys for whoever dressed them up and made them dance. They are puppets. They are a conduit through which someone can live out their frustrated dreams and wishes.
Remember: While these are little girls, very adult ideas are being pushed onto them by adults.