I Kissed A Girl
Well I have kissed a girl, but that’s not what I’m talking about! Jonathan over at thesource4ym has flagged up a new song by female singer Katy Perry called “I Kissed A Girl”.
This song isn’t so much about homosexual activity as it is just “doing what feels good at the moment.” Just like current hit songs “Lollipop” or “Love in the Club,” this song preaches, “follow your gut in the moment.” Another misleading message for our kids.
The tune is currently at Number 3 in the US iTunes Store and will likely be a big hit over here too as it’s a catchy, funky, singalong song. The provocative video (below) is going to be a big deal in the lives of many of the teenagers we work with so you should probably be prepared to discuss some of the issues it raises around exploring sexuality. In my mind, it’s no better or worse than other over-sexualised music such as The Pussycat Dolls, we should just be aware of what young people are listening to and help them to critique the messages they are being sold.
Update: YPulse just posted a good summary of teen sexuality trends based on discussion drawn out of this particular song.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Hi Jon
After having written just recently on my blog about LGBTU provision in West Sussex its interesting to see the different views taken on this.
From my perspective I agree it is about knowing what music and hence information or messages or topics young people are talking about so that we can support them. I also see it as a great opportunity to talk about sexual identity with young people and give a positive message that being LGBTU is ok and acceptable.
May 28th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Excellent point Hilary and thanks for commenting.
There are obviously going to be differing views on sexuality and how it is portrayed in the media (especially in the Christian world). I would hope to avoid that particular argument!
I pointed out this song because of the conversations it raises, and the hope that we can use it as a tool to bring a positive message to all young people regardless of sexual orientation.
I may have posted this one a bit too quick without realising how it could be read!
May 29th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Hey Jon
I think we’re agreed on the opportunities for conversations and discussions that the song raises for youth workers (from whatever perspective!)
I too would want to avoid any arguements - just felt the quote you put in needed a bit of a response!
Good for discussions though!:)
May 29th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Jon,
I’ve solved the problem:
Play the “I Kissed A Girl” track but with the Mr. Bean video.
It takes a lot of the innuendo out of it! I may put it together just for the fun.
Dave
June 12th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
This is soo gross seriously!
June 12th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
this is worse then pussycat dolls.
how do you think pussycat dolls are worse?
June 14th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Hi Sam, thanks for the comments! I don’t think the content of this song is any better than any of the Pussycat Dolls stuff.
Both are overtly sexual and encourage an agressive sexuality in young women which can be quite a damaging message without thoughtful dialogue.
Personally I want teenagers to be encouraged to critique the messages they are sold through the media!
June 16th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
lol now I feel old - the songs rubbish! Surely young people over here have better taste than that?!
I realise the sexuality issue goes a bit deeper for some Christians but for me personally I don’t in anyway care other than I would say I think there is a much stronger need for people not to judge others on that basis.
In terms of being ’sexual’ I think this is a really interesting debate. I remember when we started youth disco’s (about 11 years ago) and very young girls (as young as
would turn up in very provocative clothing and my gut reaction was that this was wrong and probably made some people uncomfortable (and then add to that the way in which they danced to some songs). When I thought on this further though I wondered is the issue that innocent young girls shouldn’t be allowed to wear such clothing - or is the issue actually that there’s nothing wrong with the clothing people choose to wear - what’s wrong is in how people interpret that?
I never finished that inward debate and I’ve since seen much worse (ask any of our Trainers about G Strings on show during painting sessions or cycling!). In any case I think I’d tend to side with the right for women & girls to choose what they wear & how they wear it - but I also can’t help from time to time thinking ‘what are your parents thinking?!’
June 16th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
er random smiley! the little fella with glasses should be an ‘eight’!
June 16th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Hi Mike,
Thanks for stopping by! I totally agree with your comment on judging people. Christians are usually the worst at this!
As for the fashion choices of young girls, I’ve been working through that same dilemma for a while now. The current trend is really, really small hotpants…
From my observations, provocative clothing on girls can tend to attract sexual interest from boys - however the girls do feel confident and attractive. It is after all what they have chosen to wear!
June 17th, 2008 at 12:43 am
lol well I’m not Christian and I definitely judge people - I’ve just had to learn that I’m often wrong!
For the fashion thing the worst I saw was when everyone was wearing ‘hipsters’ - we take a lot of photos on our courses and had to be very careful with which ones we selected because for any activities that involved bending down there was a good chance someones bum was half on display.
On one of our trips to Malawi I had to pull one of the girls aside and suggest she ‘belted up’ because the locals weren’t so liberal and it could be taken as disrespectful -this was kindly backed up later in the day when apparently a Malawian approached her and told her to ‘cover your backside’!