How exactly are they public property? What does that even mean? Honest question.
It means that in order to be seen as culturally relevant, performers must wallow in their sexuality in their PUBLIC personas and activities: on stage, in videos, photos, in their songs, rather than keeping it to themselves and sharing it only with their intimate partners. It means that the general PUBLIC is presented with the idea that this should be construed as "normal," and young people are taught that this admirable, and worth emulating. Displaying more modest/chaste attitudes and behaviors is considered uncool, prude, even socially backwards.
Is it "progress" to act shameless, immoral and engage in risky sexual behavior? Of course not, yet that is what the PTB want us to believe. Then we are left to wrestle, both individually and collectively, with a veritable maze of cognitive dissonances embodied in such a philosophy, and the destructive effects it can have on both individual (female AND male) psyches and our collective definitions of what is and is not acceptable.
This is, in part, why our society is currently undergoing such extreme paroxyms of social change. As we redefine sex, sexuality, gender and the social roles
and responsibilities attached to all of these concepts, including and especially in the Public Domain, we have a real opportunity to build a new paradigm that both encompasses and transcends these issues.
But consensus on this cannot be found by pandering to the Lowest Common Denominator. If we are to truly empower our girls, and give healthier guidance to our boys, they need to be taught to be gentle with each other (and themselves!). Overly aggressive behavior on either side will lead to people getting hurt, just like in the millions of generations before them. I get the sense that in the past, girls were overly-burdened with the
responsibilities part, and for boys it was barely touched upon, and in that, we have already made remarkable headway.
Destigmatizing the use of condoms in the 80's/90's gave men/boys and women/girls an equal chance to act responsibly in matters of sex. That is the momentum that I (for one) would like to see continue.
If anything, having some pop tart writhe around on a stage with no pants on is a clear step backward, not forward, on the journey to true sexual equality. Regardless of how she chooses to present herself to the world, I wish for the best for the talented Miss Eilish, and hope that she can retain control over her own sexuality and autonomy. If what has happened to poor Brittany Spears is any indication, she has an uphill battle on her hands.
Gen Z is doomed + Why do these folks look up to these people???
