8 year old "single ladies"
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iCS2W9zF9o

First off, its absolutely awesome how amazing these girls are at dance!!! i cant imagine the talent and training it must take to be that good by the ages of 7 to 9. but.... some of the moves and the outfits are causing an uproar.

personally, i find the outfits cute, but better suited to a 16 year old. not appropriate for 7-9 year olds. i dont have a problem with the dance itself though. a little risque in a few moves, but i am in awe of the entire dance itself!

I'm fine with the dance- just not the outfits. I guess with the outfits AND the dance, it is a little strange. The girls are fab dancers though! a one-piece outfit could have worked just fine for this dance!

prostitots!

It amazes me that in a society that is all too aware of sexual predators parents are still willing to keep pushing their kids to do this shit. Who only knows what some dirty ass old man is thinking when he sees this.

Damn. Video is gone already.

http://www.popeater.com/2010/05/14/s...-little-girls/

Mad skills but I don't know about it...

the last sentence of the article summed it up for me:

they danced really well but i HATE that outfit.

outfits are not only inappropriate, they're ugly.

but those girls are insanely talented... their timing is pretty much perfect!

The dance wasn't too bad, except for the crotch shots, but the outfits were waaaaay inappropriate! People push girls to be attractive to boys, to dress provocatively, wear makeup, etc., the wonder why they turn up pregnant when they're 15.

Totally agree. It's disgusting that parents teach their kids that it's ok to dress like this. These girls are YOUNG, they don't know the difference between wrong and right yet. Yes, they are just dance costumes, but do they really know that?

As for the dance, very talented, but why does an 8 year old know how to pop their booty like that? Inappropriate. There's a way to showcase their skills without making them look like minihos.

Some "dirty ass old man" will jerk off at kids playing fully clothed in the park. Just like it's wrong to tell a woman to cover up so she won't get raped, it's wrong to dress your child based on fear of pedophiles. Besides, most child molesters are in the home, not out of it.

It's not the coverage that bothers me, it's the making them look like bordello-esque lingerie. I wouldn't think twice about a girl their age wearing a bikini on the beach covering probably less than that outfit.

I think they're very good dancers, apparently that frenetic style is 'in' right now. Beyonce doesn't even move that much or that fast during the video.

Really??? I never meant to imply that you should cover your child up solely to evade pedophiles but what do you gain as a parent from decking her out in "sexy" attire?

I believe it's wrong to over sexualize your child; I'm sorry if you don't see a problem in putting a 7 year old on youtube dressed and dancing like that.

They put them on stage at the World of Dance IIRC, not specifically on Youtube. (The parents that is.) My argument is not about how they should dress, but the reasoning behind it. You said, "in a society all too aware of sexual predators." Sexual predators should have no bearing in how you dress your child. There are children at nudist camps, children on the beach in swim suits, children raised with strong taboos about modesty. Kids are raised with the values of their parents and that is what their clothing should be based on. Judge it all you want, that's what we do when we have these discussions.

I just take issue with the concept that sexual predators should be a part of that decision making process. (The same that I take issue that rapists should be a part of my thought process when I put clothes on.)

FYI sexual abuse/molestation/rape is not driven by lust; it's a crime of violence and abuse of power. Blaming the victim on immodest dressing or enticing behavior only exacerbates the perception.

What about the babies who are molested? Or the rape of a 70-year old grandma in an ankle-length dress and sensible shoes?

I agree that the costumes and many of the dance moves are inappropriate for 7-9 year olds. Some people will claim that the style of dance recital/competition costumes are skimpy to allow freedom of movement, but the tiny Moulin-Rouge inspired two-piece and thigh high boots can be replaced with one-piece costumes and jazz shoes.

Perhaps it's the song itself that is the root of the problem. What do 7-9 year olds understand about being single adult who is looking not for casual hookups, but a marriage. Modern music is fine, but perhaps choose a song without the adult themes and overtones, and you won't have to put in suggestive movements to express the lyrical sentiments of the song.

There is a rebuttal interview of the some of the parents of the girls, found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs8sui4N3wE

Some of the parents said that the dance was based on the Chipmunks movie. One dad said that his kid "has real high energy" and "really doesn't know what she's doing". He said that parts of it wasn't even choreographed, that the kids came up with it themselves. EXACTLY. If some of those movements come naturally to these kids, that scares me.

The mom also said that the kids only wear the costumes for 2 minutes on a stage, and not out on the street. Hello, you're still exposing your child to dress and perform suggestively, and it's obvious that the kids spent more than 2 minutes rehearsing the routine.

I used to dance and perform in musicals, and in HS, some of my dance costumes were a bit revealing, but I never even showed my midriff. If the tops were skimpy, there was a skirt. If the bottoms were skimpy (leotard), the top was high-necked or long-sleeved.

I don't agree with the song choice, the costumes or a lot of the dance moves, but I'm not the parents, so my opinion doesn't really matter.

I'm going to be the voice of descent here and you can flame me....you wouldn't know it by looking at me now...but I basically was a dancer up until I was age 21, some of those moves you need freedom of movement.

I don't see anything wrong with the costumes nor the dance moves...

but meh whatever

Precisely. There are very few people who are truly sexually oriented towards children.The vast majority are crimes of opportunity combined with ... well far to many things to get into but suffice to say violence/power/completely screwed up coping skills and thought processes.

As some one who danced, whose sister is a start at dancing and has another set who also dances I do not have a problem with the clothing or the moves. These girls know this is for competition purposes. It is very common to wear skintight, mid-riff, "booty" shorts, tons of makeup (sometimes bordering on pageant) etc. If you haven't lived it you have no idea of the world behind it. I even wore a midriff top in one dance when I was 8 and I am known as "Molly Mormon" in some circles now! My sisters do/have already/or will wear this and possibly even "worse". The outfits are usually chosen based on the song and the "flair" of the dance. I don't see pedophile types at dance competitions or recitals either. The audience is mostly stressed out moms, other dancers, siblings that are mad they've wasted a whole weekend in a random auditorium, and camera crews.

I showed the video to my 14-year-old son and college-aged daughter last night and asked, as objectively as I could, what they thought about it. They were both familiar with the Beyonce video, but hadn't heard about this rendition. My daughter danced through high school, and her response was, "Wow, they are really incredible dancers, but those outfits. . . ouch." My son, who is a very normal middle schooler and who thinks many things (ie You Tube videos, TV comedians, etc) are OK that I think are NOT, said this, "That is really skanky." I didn't know if he was just trying to figure out what I wanted to hear or not, so I asked him, "do you really mean that?" He said, "Mom, I'm in 8th grade and I don't think much is skanky. That is." He was totally repulsed by 8 year olds dressed like that and dancing like that. Trust me, if it had been high school aged girls, he would have had no problem with it.

From the mouths of babes. . .

Once something gets on the Internet or goes viral you have no way to limit access to it.

I think if the dancers were high school aged it would be more forgivable in a lot of peoples eyes and not even newsworthy. I guess I'm taking more of a protective stance on this issue, just the thought of someone referring to my 7 year old neice as a skank makes my blood boil.

They are filmed because parents buy tapes or for other purposes and HAVE BEEN FILMED at least since the 80s before the internet as we know it existed. The point of taping it has never been to put it online. At least not by the professional crews. Most likely this tape was a parents or the studio director for their youtube page (which if that is the case is most likely for sales/bragging purposes for their platinum medals).

Just because it got on the internet and some people didn't like the clothes is not going to change the long-standing tradition of dance competitions and dance studios. They only people that can do that are the people who are paying for it and they obviously don't have a problem. The teacher picks the costume and I have never heard of a parent objecting. If they do they are free to remove their child from the dance but I don't see that happening because of the politics of studio culture. If you have a daughter and she does this/or you were the daughter then you KNOW.

while i still think the outfits are cute, i just dont see them as appropriate for girls that age. i was in dance for 8 years as a kid, and my sister still does competition cheer and dance (she's 18), so i understand how dance has evolved over the years. i understand its a performance art. and honestly, that dance was AWESOME. but as a mom... i would NOT be ok with the instructor picking out that costume for my 8 year old. i would have spoken up.

as for pedophiles... you cant live life worrying about them. if I did that, we'd never go to the park, the mall, the gym, shopping ,etc. perverts like that should be more worried about ME than I am of them. doesnt mean i'm not aware of the goings on in my house, neighborhood and community. but i'm not going to forbid my 4 year old from wearing a bathing suit in the front yard sprinkler out of fear of a pervert.

I showed the video to my boyfriend and though he was impressed with the level of skill these girls demonstrated, he was shocked when I told him the girls are aged 7-9. He thought they were much older.

I understand these girls are performers. But there is no reason why an 8 year old girl's butt cheeks should be hanging out of her costume.

There's a difference between a 7 year old in a bathing suit swimming and a 7 year old dressed up to be a sex object, and thats what bothers me about this. It's not just the outfits or the dance routine but the idea of having 7-8 year olds emulating adults and adult behaviour. I remember when the talk of oversexualization typically applied to preteens but now Its hitting younger kids. What's next, thong diapers?
People need to let kids be kids.

i bet people are ok wit kiddie thongs, too.

i don't want my 8 year old talkin about putting a ring on anything.

Not sure I like the dance, but they are really good and honestly it is the style of dance now, especially for that type of music. However I do have a serious issues with the outfits. Not only were they skimpy, they were designed to be sexy, which is all kinds of wrong for that age.

ITA. This is the point I was trying to make.

As I said, when I danced, if the top was more revealing, the bottoms offered more coverage, and if the bottoms were skimpy (just leotards and tights), the top was more covered. You CAN have freedom of movement and wear a one-piece, short or long sleeved leotard and tights (gymnasts do it!). And instead of thigh-high boots, they could have worn jazz shoes. It's the SENTIMENT that is enraging people.

But is rage even appropriate here? I mean, annoyance, frustration, eyerolling, or resignation maybe, but rage?

I just got back from a dance recital and had this thread in mind as I was watching. The little girls were in little girl costumes and they were adorable :) Even the older girls were well covered in comparisons to the kids from this video. This was the case when my kids were in dance too. It's unnecessary, but, like Drolefille says, eyerolling, yes.. enraged? That seems like an extreme reaction.

THIS.

I finally saw the video-in-question. All I could think was "Didn't Mimi from RENT wear something very similar during her "performance" at the Cat Scratch Club?" Just the fact that these little girls wore something I could compare to a stripper's wardrobe bothers me.

The dance was okay for the most part but there was a little hunching and bucking that didn't need to be there. I was so torn between being amazed at their talent (especially the "lead" girl with the brown hair) and being aghast. Dance moves aside, I think they would be just as talented in more fabric.

If you've read any of the comments on Youtube or in response to the parents' interview, you will see rage from some people. People get really nasty in the comment section from any article/blog/video, but this one has really brought out some strong opinions.

I used the word "rage" to imply that some of those people opposed are very angry and disturbed by the sexuality of the young girls (costumes and certain movements).

Perhaps "rage" isn't the best term; controversial might fit better. No matter the word used, there are strong reactions. I apologize if my description was an exaggeration. I did not intend it to be so.

I agree that some people have been enraged, though thanks for clarifying it wasn't your feeling specifically, but I think that's so... excessive. Even anger kind of crosses a line somewhere. Odds are the kids have no idea that the moves are sexual, they're learning them because they're skilled and are doing more advanced 'moves' than girls their ages. Unfortunate? Yeah. But I think it says more about society as a whole than even about the parents.

I just hate the way their parents justify it. "It was for a dance competition...they weren't meant to be seen by millions" doesn't make it okay for 7-8 year olds to be gyrating. And those costumes may have been the same size as a swimsuit, but little girls don't wear f*ck me boots and thrust their pelvises while wearing swimsuits. Its not about the size of them, its the fact that they were very sexy looking, with fishnets and knee-highs. I don't think this makes them bad parents or anything, I think the dance was just a bad judgement call. The whole dance wasn't inappropriate, and those girls have amazing skills, but some of it could have definitely been toned down. I think most people aren't necessarily enraged but just shocked and a little weirded out that little girls are doing a dance like this. It would have been better suited for high school girls.

I don't see why any of this is relevant. If we find it inappropriate for girls of that age, a million moms okaying it doesn't make it right.

If anything, the fact that there's a whole culture pushing this makes it worse in my eyes. I'm pretty disgusted by the possibility that some moms disapprove, but say nothing because of "studio politics." Those moms need to get their priorities in order. If you think the studio is sexualizing your child, speak up and get out.

Ballet and tap dancers have plenty of freedom of movement and opportunity to display technique and character without fishnets, boots, hip thrusting, etc. They were wearing far more provocative outfits than even Beyonce wears in the video; these were Lady Marmalade getups. I'm not exactly a prude when it comes to young people -- I'm all for condom dispensers in junior high -- but 7-year-olds should be riding the Good Ship Lollipop in dance class as far as I'm concerned.
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Avandia attorneys

They are wearing less than Beyonce did in that video!

My niece, who's been dancing since she was 3, thought their outfits were intense, but that they were "good dancers." Those little girls were going hard like it was their JOB!

Thank You!!

(I'd insert a Stewie Griffin gif here but I suck)

I think it's inappropriate.
The dance could have been scaled down a bit to be more suitable fr their age, and I think the outfits are too skimpy and suggestive. They look like they're training to be future strippers.

I agree, though, that the girls are very good dancers.

Choreography seemed alright, but the outfits definitely should've been different. Maybe single-piece-swimsuit-like outfits.

They could have dressed like the Chipettes, if they wanted to emulate them. And let me clarify that, not in chipmunk outfits, but with mini skirts and tights.

No.

We didn't wear lingerie when I was a senior in dance troupe. I don't know where you took dance, but it's not "normal" for 8 year olds to look like they just stepped out of a brothel.

The kids might not understand the totality of the performance, but odds are they have a strong understanding that the moves are "sexy". And while it does in fact say a lot about society, I think it also says a lot about the parents.

I wasn't that impressed with the dance (but I'm overly critical of most things), but coupled with the outfits and girls age, I HATE it. As a, hopefully, future parents, I can't see myself being okay with a display like this for my 7-9 year old daughter.

As someone else pointed out, DAMN, even Bey and her dancers had more on in the video than these little girls do!