Respect is cool. Don’t believe me? Well it is and it is making a comeback. From Taylor Swift, the Jonas Brothers, Jordin Sparks, Emma Watson, Dakota Fanning and a host of others, some young celebrities are setting an example and their fans are following.
Ah, but that’s just it, the fans aren’t “following” the celebrities, they are just listening to their parents’ lessons since these celebrities seem to be doing it.
Wait! Teenagers…listening…to the advice and teachings of their…parents!? Has hell frozen over? No, respect is cool. Being polite, listening to your parents and realizing that life is a lot easier and pleasurable when you get along with people and show them decency is, well, hip. Who wants to be angry, fighting and stressed out all the time? Not these smart new wave of cool and respectful celebs. Wait…cool…and respectful…in the same sentence?
How do I know that young people are respecting their bodies, minds and opinions and are starting to reject the slutty and promiscuous examples set by MTV, Amy Winehouse, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and others? Because I have two younger sisters, 19 and 25 and because I meet new college students every day. One of my sisters is in a sorority at the University of Miami and the other is a typical young professional former sorority girl from Villanova. My girlfriend is a 21 year-old Fordham University senior and I notice this trend in talking with other college students and young professionals every day.
Seemingly disappearing are the girls from my high school who had to have sex ASAP because it was “in” or my UMiami peers who only cared about screwing on the third floor VIP section of Mansion nightclub, one of whom which now has an STD. Heck, my 19 year-old sister yells at me for being rude when I talk about crude guy things around my parent’s home. The first time she did this I was floored. A popular, attractive, intelligent South Beach rock star telling me to “respect girls you pig!” I felt out of touch.
When did things change? When did talking about and glorifying sex become taboo? Young girls with class? Is this MTV’s worst nightmare as they launch their stupid show “16 and Pregnant?”
The same trend is noticeable in my girlfriend and her friends at Fordham University and also the many other college girls I know around New York City. Things are just different now and it’s interesting to see this cultural starting point. Heck, even Facebook is littered with groups for purity rings (rings you wear to show that you are saving yourself sexually for the person you marry), respect for girls and more.
Could MTV actually put on a show that promotes…gasp…responsibility and respect for ones body and mind? I know that may be stretching it but they may want to consider putting on a television show that isn’t complete trash.
Maybe that’s why my sister says her and her sorority sisters “don’t watch that stuff, it’s boring.”
More important than the “what,” are the reasons “why” this cultural difference is appearing between the younger celebs of today and older celebs of yesterday; and the younger girls of today and the old behavior of the girls of yesterday.
The why is simple: with the expanded access that we all have today from the internet to any hobby you desire and the ability to find ways to undertake them, girls are taking life by the horns. From leadership, singing, sports of every kind, reading, writing and more, girls may be running the world in 50 years. And hey, with the way Congress is acting right now, that may be a good thing.
To be honest, sometimes I feel lazy compared to this new generation of girls. They are like superwomen. Not all of them are superwomen and I don’t want to speak for the entire youth female population of the United States, but a sizable portion and the trend is growing. This new group of young celebrities are the real role models for the younger women in our lives.
Who wants to be a drug addicted loser in and out of court like Amy Winehouse or having sex on tape for the world to see like Paris Hilton when you can aspire to be a multi-million dollar success because of tremendous confidence, security and respect like Taylor Swift or the Jonas Brothers?
Losers are out. Respect is in.
