It has been a week since the Super Bowl, second fiddle to the real show apparently, and that would be the half time show.  It has been the most interesting week of reading on social media as the conversation concerning the half time show goes between how powerful the performers were to how it was, and I quote “soft porn”.

I will save my feelings on the show for later in the blog, but what I want to address is not just the commentary, but the reaction of others who might disagree with said commentary.  As with everything else these days, it seemed to become political quickly, with those on the more liberal side making fun of those who are so obviously “close minded” or “backward thinking”, sharing memes of women in amish clothing as what ALL conservatives believe is more appropriate and those on the more conservative side using the term “soft porn” and talking about this country going to hell.  I hate to break it to both ends, but there is a middle ground way of thinking.

I find myself torn between the two ideologies.  On the one hand, I would love to believe that we’ve evolved to the point that women can wear what they’re comfortable in without being judged but on the other hand, why can’t women be powerful and still wear clothes?  I rarely see men peel off their clothes (at least in public) and gyrating just to prove they’re powerful.  Not saying it doesn’t happen of course (I can think of several court cases going on right now) but maybe most are smart enough to keep that in private. The other conversation involved the camera angles, perhaps run by men, but then the main event was a football game, traditionally something that men do and watch (I haven’t read the stats about how many women were watching) and the cynical part of me is thinking, what did we expect?  Am I selling men short or merely observing what is?

Some of my friends sent their daughters out of the room during the halftime show.  One child asked their parents if the show was “inappropriate”.  And yet some women were celebrating the power they saw on stage with their children.  I know plenty of powerful women who share their brains, their talent, their business savvy and many other things without sharing their bodies on national TV.  I would like to think we can be powerful without having to take off our clothes.

I believe most women realize that using their bodies can be very powerful.  Women’s bodies are beautiful but some use their bodies to get reactions, make money or to manipulate others and that manipulation can manifest itself in many different ways both subtle and not so subtle.  To add more to the conversation,  according to some articles, the dance/performance reflected cultural backgrounds.  I don’t think I know enough about that to speak intelligently on the subject so I will leave that to others who can.

On the other hand, it was dance. Dance is beautiful.  Like music, it is an innate part of what it is to be human.  I love watching a great dancer who can interpret beautiful music through movement.  The technical aspect of the dancing in this show was stunning, well choreographed, well rehearsed, completely professional.  I understand that dance tells a story and that that story can be about anything.  I’m just not sure that sexuality, also an innate part of being a human being is something we need to share during prime time in front of kids.

Closed minded?  Perhaps I am to some of my sweet liberal friends.  But as a teacher of nearly 30 years,  I also see the effect on kids who are exposed to things they’re not developmentally ready for.  Whether it’s what they see, the language they hear, the adult conversations they participate in, kids are kids and there’s a reason they should not be exposed to certain things – it’s because they’re just not ready.  Allowing them to see things that aren’t appropriate for their age can be confusing.  When I have some 6 year old tell another 6 year old that she’s “hot”, he didn’t make that up.  He’s heard it somewhere and he’s repeating it.  He doesn’t understand what it means. So the 6 year old girl then thinks it’s funny that someone says she’s hot.  And the cycle repeats.

I would like to believe that I am growing to become a more powerful woman.  I was one of those girls who grew up believing that boys would only care about me for one reason and sadly dressed and behaved in ways that I hoped would make them care.  It didn’t. But I’ve figured out that I can be much more powerful using my brain than I ever could using my body.  Maybe not as rich as the ladies I watched last weekend, but powerful in my own way.  I think it’s time that we teach our girls that powerful women come in many different forms, most of which include being fully clothed.