For Parents: Understanding the L.E.T.S. Phenomenon

The following is an excerpt from a magazine interview on parenting and popular media:

(Q) In your opinion, do you think that Reality TV featuring young children opens doors to pedophilia? (You would probably answer that "some may run the risk of doing so," so maybe you can elaborate on well-constructed shows that protect the dignity of children as compared to those that leverage on young children's vulnerability).

(A) This is a really difficult question to answer, because scientifically it is a bit difficult to make the claim that reality TV leads to pedophilia. That being said, however, I think there is a bigger issue at play and Reality TV is just one aspect of it. There has been an explosion in reported cases and incidents of pedophilia and sex crimes against children across the planet in recent decades. Now there are many possible factors that could be contributing to it, but one factor without a doubt is the explosion of what I like to call the L.E.T.S. phenomenon -- the Latest Expendable Teenage Superstar. This is the Britney Spears phenomenon; the young – too young, sexy, anorexic, paper cut-out superstar that is good for a few million in sales before they are discarded for the next, big upcoming LETS. I’m not sure if people in Malaysia heard the news, but the most recent controversy is over a new LETS named Miley Cyrus. She starts in the hit Disney Channel show Hannah Montana. This young woman is 15 years old and is now embroiled in ‘controversy’ over racy photos in a popular U.S. magazine named Vanity Fair, in which the young woman is seductively shown wrapped in a bed sheet. The thing about the LETS phenomenon is that the girls are getting younger and younger. The next big up and coming star is another 15 year-old named Selena Gomez, also a Disney product. The irony is that others like Britney, Christina Aguilera, Hillary Duff and Justin Timberlake are all former Disney products. Disney is becoming a major contributor to the LETS phenomenon. As we see, for many of them, like Britney, life gets pretty gruesome and by the time they are in their 20s many of them are burned out, on drugs, broke, divorced, etc.

The LETS phenomenon most definitely creates a very dangerous norm, that is, it not only objectifies woman more than they are already, but now involves teens as well, for these girls are only 15 years old! Fifteen year olds wrapped in bed sheets on the cover of magazines is as pretty close to exploitation as it gets. Soon it will be 14 year olds, then 13, then 12 -- the trend is getting younger and younger. So when does it become a ‘contributor’ to pedophilia? I don’t know, but again, look at the statement that they are making by using such young girls as sex symbols. Having a popular, half-naked 15 year old in seductive poses in adult magazines is not about selling children’s shows for Disney! It’s about the sickening reality of sexual attraction to very young women and girls, and when it becomes a norm and part of the culture, we can see what the results have been.

If you notice, many of the young, female music stars now are young and young-looking, which is what they are selling. They’re taking pretty, young girls and using their sexual allure to sell records, videos, and everything else. Of course, the bottom line is still about economics but it just shows the lengths they are willing to go now to sell – pushing the boundaries of what’s considered decent, ethical and acceptable. Being old is not cool and now, being 30 is old! That’s why we see older stars trying to desperately to appear young – the lengths people are going to in order to appear young is astounding. They are even injecting poison into their bodies and faces to attempt to slow down the aging process (e.g., Botox). Youth truly is king and getting old is very uncool. That is the message that Disney and others are constantly sending by plastering LETS across the TV’s and every other form of mass media.