On October 23, 1998, American pop-star Britney Spears released her hit single, Baby One More Time. The music video that would later be released would show Spears scantily clad in a schoolgirl’s uniform–purchased from K-Mart–dancing around a high school setting. The video would cause international controversy, and would act as the predecessor of the many revealing outfits Spears would show the world in the years of stardom ahead of her.
Today, more and more high school girls are beginning to look a lot like Britney in her Baby One More Time days. Skirts have inevitably become shorter, and the shirts a tighter fit. With girls dressing in a more sexualized fashion each and every day in our society, we must ask: How far is too far?
For most high school students, the media directly helps to set standards. It indicates what is too risqué, and what is not.
The downside of these standards, however, is that media has always been saturated with sexuality. Between television, magazines, and music, sex is everywhere. Perhaps this has made a direct influence on the way teens have begun to dress as what they see as ‘acceptable.’
Take Jersey Shore, the hit television show following the lives of eight young adults as they party through various cities. Within the period that season one aired, character and (seemingly) worldwide phenomenon, Snooki, started a trend with her signature hairstyle, the “poof.” With more and more girls sporting the “poof” in the months following the show’s finale, it is easy to question whether or notJersey Shore had influenced any other fashion trends, like JWoww’s collection of revealing t-shirts or Angelina’s short dresses. Truth be told, nobody on the show had actually created anything new. These trends had been around for years; thanks to the pop culture media, it just spread like wildfire. (Which should be put out soon.)
Outside of the TV realm, companies are targeting teen girls’ appearance to make a profit. One in every three teen girls magazines focuses on appearance and beauty. And more than half of the advertisements targeted toward adolescent girls regard beauty.
But media is not to blame completely. Some teen girls admit to consciously dressing “sluttier” mainly for male attention. (Wow, no kidding?)
While many girls have the perception that “slutty equals attractive” to males, several teen boys beg to differ. “I find a girl that respects herself, in a clothing way, is more attractive because it shows that she could have more emotional depth,” explains one senior student. “Not saying that slutty girls don’t, but that is an impression I get.”
With so many influences present in today’s society, young girls often get caught in the crossfire–dressing the part just to fit in. In fact, statistics show that one third of girls feel pressured to dress a certain way.
While Britney Spears is still making questionable fashion choices, and as predicted, many up and coming pop-stars are following in her footsteps, other influences tend to be more vigilant in their fashion choices. Celebrities like Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, and Selena Gomez are all advocates for dressing respectfully, and act as great influences for young, impressionable teen girls.
So girls, instead of buckling under the pressures of our society, try to be unique. Unlike the message that Britney Spears sent in her first music video, you do not need to show skin in order to be attractive. Rather, be yourself and express that in the way you dress. You’re bound to be more comfortable and you will definitely be showing a lot more respect to both yourself and those around you.