Even though I wouldn't consider myself a morning person, I find myself treasuring those scant few moments before Connery wakes up. I have a cup of coffee, lovingly prepared by my husband and our auto-grind coffeemaker, and read a little of the Bozeman Chronicle before Connery can rope me into recounting Beetle Bailey's adventures with Sarge for the fifth time. My favorite part--isn't everyone's?--are the kooky letters to the editor, which provide us with so much mirth. It's true that the Chronicle has a long way to go to reach the sheer wackiness factor of larger papers such as my hometown favorite, the Great Falls Tribune (Dance break: All the crazy people...where do they all come from? It's Great Falls!)
Anyway, after our friend from Belgrade's popular anti-birth control letter, I thought I would share a little gem from some Bozeman parents, since you all, sadly, cannot read it online. These parents are shocked, shocked I tell you at the style of dancing present at Bozeman High's recent prom. While they were not there personally, they have it on good authority that "more than half of the dancers engaged in this overtly sexual behavior, while the rest avoided it uncomfortably."
Oral sex on the dancefloor? Party rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn following the dance? No. It's the "Bump and Grind," which these parents helpfully describe for Bozeman's breakfast crowd:
The letter ends with a stirring call to arms:
My point is that in a world in which teens routinely leave the prom to party all night in hotel suites that their parents pay for, what is more harmful? Sexy dancing or the stuff that goes on off the dancefloor? Or how about that these formal dances can cost couples in excess of $500, and that's in "cheap" Montana? Today's teenager has more pressures to be bad thanks to the media and the continual sexualization of younger and younger "tweens"--and probably less information about how to navigate the waters safely, given the "abstinence-only" dogma that passes for sex ed--than kids did when I was in high school. And instead of helping their kids learn how to handle these pressures--which they will continue to face even more strongly in adulthood (and especially on college campuses)--these parents are most worried about today's equivalent of the lambada.
How about we ratchet down the fear factor on the vertical mambo and worry about what's really important for teens? Here's a couple of examples: Let's start by making sure public schools have enough money to provide a quality education and by keeping teens from working 30 hours a week at the local fast-food joint so that they sleep through their classes but have enough money to buy a smokin' ride and some meth to go along with it.
Anyway, after our friend from Belgrade's popular anti-birth control letter, I thought I would share a little gem from some Bozeman parents, since you all, sadly, cannot read it online. These parents are shocked, shocked I tell you at the style of dancing present at Bozeman High's recent prom. While they were not there personally, they have it on good authority that "more than half of the dancers engaged in this overtly sexual behavior, while the rest avoided it uncomfortably."
Oral sex on the dancefloor? Party rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn following the dance? No. It's the "Bump and Grind," which these parents helpfully describe for Bozeman's breakfast crowd:
First of all, this is a great mental picture, and I don't mean that in a perverted way. Secondly, do you know what else I heard? If you watch Elvis doing pelvic thrusts on TV, you could get pregnant through the TV and your girdle!"This dance fad is typically done to rap or hip-hop music, often with sexually explicit lyrics, and is also called 'Freaking,' 'Booty Dancing' and 'The Nasty.' It generally involves boys and girls rubbing their private parts all over each other."
The letter ends with a stirring call to arms:
They go on to ask other concerned parents to call the school and attend a special meeting about dances and dance behavior. They even threaten to organize an alternate prom! I assume that one will be thick with chaperones armed with Merriam-Webster's Third Collegiate dictionaries to place between those couples who get too close on the dance floor, like they used to have at the Mormon dances I attended as a teen. And perhaps everyone can wear high-necked dresses that button up to the chin.If the message you want taught is of self-control, dignity, abstinence and selfrespect, then perhaps this “Bump and Grind” sexual stimulation at the public high school dances is not acceptable to you either.
My point is that in a world in which teens routinely leave the prom to party all night in hotel suites that their parents pay for, what is more harmful? Sexy dancing or the stuff that goes on off the dancefloor? Or how about that these formal dances can cost couples in excess of $500, and that's in "cheap" Montana? Today's teenager has more pressures to be bad thanks to the media and the continual sexualization of younger and younger "tweens"--and probably less information about how to navigate the waters safely, given the "abstinence-only" dogma that passes for sex ed--than kids did when I was in high school. And instead of helping their kids learn how to handle these pressures--which they will continue to face even more strongly in adulthood (and especially on college campuses)--these parents are most worried about today's equivalent of the lambada.
How about we ratchet down the fear factor on the vertical mambo and worry about what's really important for teens? Here's a couple of examples: Let's start by making sure public schools have enough money to provide a quality education and by keeping teens from working 30 hours a week at the local fast-food joint so that they sleep through their classes but have enough money to buy a smokin' ride and some meth to go along with it.
