Mama Kelly
Lady Rose
Put this into the category of I couldn’t make this up if I tried ….
“A new national web campaign that encourages young people to post strip-tease videos of themselves as a way of raising clothing donations for homeless youths has quickly run into a firestorm of protest from some of the groups it is supposed to benefit.”
“They asked young people to post videos of themselves stripping to music. In exchange, clothing companies would provide donations of new clothes based on the number of times the videos were viewed.
Called “Strip2Clothe,” the campaign carries the tagline, “You take off yours, we donate ours.”"
I rarely find myself on the side of Catholic Charities. In fact, my only association with them in my life is that through them that I was adopted 39 years ago this coming November.
Rebecca Lentz, a spokeswoman for the group called it “distasteful and inappropriate and exploitative.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Yes the body is beautiful and natural. Yes our sexuality is nothing to be ashamed of. But in this day and age of internet predators and easy access to child pornography asking minors to strip for charity seems misguided at best and potentially very very dangerous.
Strip2Clothe is sponsored by VirginMobile and the site promises “a new piece of clothing” donated for every video uploaded as well as donations for every 5 video views as well as for text messages sent in.
Yes posting striptease videos is alluring and bound to attract attention.
Yes sex sells.
But is this really the way we, as a society, want to take care of our homeless?
What does it say about us, as a society, that this is our “solution to the problem?”
Your thoughts are welcome.
Blessings
Mama Kelly
PS Thanks to GoldenFeri for the heads up
UPDATE:
I played around on the site and the video submission form does require you to be 18 or over to participate. However, I think we all know that underage kids are fudging their birthday to “play along.”
Anything that allows (even if it technically doesn’t encourage) potentially underage teenagers to use stripping to elicit clothing donations for the homeless just rubs me very wrong.
Filed under: * author - mama kelly, Kids & Parenting, News & Current Events | Tagged: News, current events, opinion, teens, society, Sex, charity, teenagers, sexuality, culture, striptease, stripping, homeless
Thanks for saying it better than I did. I wrote it in the middle of the night and apparently wasn’t making myself clear about what the issue was. Those who didn’t find it upsetting kept going back to people being prudes and nudity being ok. That’s not the point. This campaign is appalling.
I am speechless! But I’m sure once that passes I’ll have plenty to say! But yeah it’s totally so wrong on so many levels.
And no I’m not a prude - heck I would be a stripper myself if I had the body for it. But children!!!! No way, no how, so…. I can’t even find the words.
SHOCKING!!!!!!!!!!
I guess I wouldn’t care about the charity if it didn’t suggest children… Children? As a mother of a 14 year old beautiful little girl that I have to monitor for pictures that are to sexy anyway, I just can’t believe it!
Although, when I look through her friends pictures (well when she is and tells me “OMG mom look at this”) I am surprised at what parents will either allow or don’t look at. Ya’ I don’t care if it is technically a swim suit, if they are 13, 14 or even 17, that much flesh shouldn’t be exposed on the internet.
That of course if just my opinion… And I am with you normally I don’t go for the Christian causes, but that is shameful… UGH yuck
Ok, if I had the body for it, I’d probably be stripping myself, but honestly - doing this in a manner that they know is going to have underage kids possibly fudging birthdays so they can participate - frankly it’s wrong. Even asking adults to do it is wrong. That’s just - weird.
What’s the big deal? There’s no nudity on the website. None. At worst, people strip down to underwear or bathing suits. It’s no more racy than what you’d see in the Sears Catalog.
Jed
The main problem I have with it is that it is all too easy for underage teens to post a video of themselves stripping. Yes it is only down to underwear (or a bathing suit) but I do not think that we need to encourage the further sexualization of our youth.
Insofar as the Sears catalog, I wouldn’t want my own children posing in underwear in a catalog for any pervert to look at them.
Just my 2cents
ditto As a mom of a 12 year old girl - NO way!
[...] Teens Selling Sex to Help the Homeless? [...]
I love how all of you are so concerned about children “fudging” their birthdays to be allowed to participate in this campaign. If, as mothers or whomever to underage children, you are this concerned about them doing anything you disprove of behind your back, there is a deeper issue here than a radical fundraiser.
J.L.
I expect my children to do things I don’t approve of behind my back at some point. That’s just being realistic.
What concerns me is not them fudging their birthdays but that by doing so they are engaging in behavior that is exploitive and potentially dangerous.
[...] - Now This I Can Support Posted on August 1, 2008 by Mama Kelly About 2 weeks ago I posted about a new charity program by VirginMobile that had young people posting striptease videos as a [...]
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