The Barbie Effect

Want to know where culture is going? Take a look at Barbie to see how things have changed:

Barbie is so unrealistic that she would not be considered healthy if she were a real woman. It is said that if Barbie were a real life woman she would be over 6' tall, over a 40 inch bust and a 22" waist. The average american woman is 5'3 with a 37" waist. This creates an extremely dangerous gap between the desired look of young girls and the typical reality. This simple "toy" creates anxiety and negative body image for young girls today. Girls today need to see an example of beauty demonstrated through a healthier lens. They need to see beauty as not defined by thin waists and large busts.

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." I Peter 3:3-4

Webinar: Pornography and your kids

I have discussed some of the crisis in our culture surrounding the issue of pornography, but what can we do about it? I love the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding ... they are a valuable source of resources and insight into youth culture. They are presenting a webinar this Thursday that is sure to be valuable time for parents, youth workers, and pretty much anybody that cares about pornography's disastrous impact on youth and our culture. The cost is $25 but don't let that stop you! I will be watching it on Thursday morning if anyone wants to join me.

Thursday, November 8, 2012
 11:00PM - 12:00PM MST

Seminar Description
 Gone are the days when a boy would have to look high and low to find pornography. New technologies have combined with our brokenness to create a world where even the youngest of our kids will be found by pornography. . . long before they go looking for it themselves. In this 1-hour live webinar, CPYU President Walt Mueller will get you started on a journey to understanding and responding to the powerful role pornography is playing in the lives of our children and teens. Youth workers and parents are invited to log on to learn how pornography is shaping youth culture and our kids, along with an introduction to practical hope-filled strategies for equipping kids to live godly lives in the midst of a culture where pornography has been normalized.

Webinar: "Pornography and Your Kids: What You Need to Know and What You Need to Do"

The Pornification of our Culture - Part 2

Two hours. It was exactly two hours after I posted my blog post "The Pornification of our Culture" to the web that I was walking the hallways of a local school connecting with students when "Out of the Blue" one young man who recently turned 18 says to me, "Guess what I just bought?" Over the past few months he and I have connected fairly well, but I wasn't sure what the big news was so I just said, "What." The surprising answer ... "A porn mag." He chuckled and thought that it was pretty neat that he could buy it and it was in his  possession. Normally I would have engaged in some discussion about why it is destructive and encouraged him to not view pornography, but in this moment (with my heading swirling in information from the research I had just finished) I unloaded on him with a mass amount of statistics, warnings, and questions. It was a good thing he had a spare because in the middle of the hallway we were going to class. We talked for a while and he definitely understood where I was coming from and why I felt the way I do about it, but the interesting thing to me is that for him, it seemed it was so much less about a desire to view pornography and so much more about access and opportunity. Being 18 now meant that he could. It was available and it was easy. Sure more difficult than clicking a few buttons, but still somehow convinced that because he can, he should. Reminds me of the great words of Paul in 1 Corinthians, “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." (1 Corinthians 6:12-13).  Now to explain that to an 18 year old boy who just bought his first porn magazine ...