Joy W. Lucius

Guest writer

January 2012 – A simple article of clothing recently created a national public outcry against retailer JC Penney. This provocative garment proclaimed a politically incorrect message that was profoundly offensive to the company’s Web site shoppers. After a deluge of negative media attention, the corporate giant issued a written apology and agreed to pull the item from its Web site.

The item in question is a T-shirt for girls 7 to 16 that carries this message: “I’m too pretty to do homework, so my brother has to do it for me.” Surely intended as harmless humor, the T-shirt was, in reality, not humorous, harmless or wholesome in its message. In contrast, girls and boys alike might better be taught to achieve their full potential through personal responsibility, determination and perseverance.

It’s not hard to fathom how such a slogan printed on a simple T-shirt could eventually sway the thinking of little girls and boys alike. It’s no wonder that shoppers complained about a message so degrading and demeaning to girls. But where is the public outcry against other equally negative elements of our promiscuous, media-driven and fashion conscious culture, constantly bombarding the bodies, spirits and souls of American girls and boys?

Self image, media impact, personal values, fashion, peer pressure and modesty all figure into the confusing mix of things that influence today’s young girls and teens.

Many consider this cultural battle against young girls a minor skirmish compared to the spiritual warfare raging within our society. A simple shopping excursion to any mall will quickly dispel such a notion. Try it. Just try to find little girl clothing that is age-appropriate and acceptable to the child without being too suggestive or too revealing.

Or go to a local bookstore. Visit the children and teen sections to search for a book or magazine without profanity, vulgarity, explicit sexuality, new-age propaganda or demonic influences. Decent choices are limited – almost non-existent in some stores.

The same scenario often plays out when parents shop with children for movies, games, music and toys. The messages and propaganda expounded through every retail avenue are seldom simple or harmless – much less family friendly or godly. The retail world is a culture war zone, constantly attacking the minds and souls of our youngest, most vulnerable citizens.

Tiaras sought
The same culture war constantly rages on the screens of American television, as well. Surf the channels for a family-friendly show to watch with young girls or teens. Violence, nudity, promiscuity in its wildest form, and every deviant lifestyle conceivable can be viewed on almost any given night on most mainstream media channels. Even reality shows designed for family viewing offer few positive, wholesome messages for young girls.

Take Toddlers and Tiaras for instance. Sweet little girls who just want to be pretty little princesses. Sounds harmless enough, right? Think again. Even promos for this show on The Learning Channel leave viewers cringing. Doting parents, mothers and fathers alike, spend considerable time and money pursuing beauty pageant tiaras for their toddlers. Cameras document it all – the trials, the triumphs, the tantrums, the tears and the beauty treatments.

For example, hair treatments alone are mind-boggling. The little girls are exposed for the world to view as their childlike tresses are repeatedly shampooed, conditioned, chemically colored, curled, straightened and teased into dizzying adult styles of pageant puffery.

These innocents also endure facials, manicures, pedicures, eyebrow waxing, false eyelashes, fake nails and airbrushed tans. And of course, the hopeful parents must purchase the most basic of items in order to assure their toddlers certain success within the pageant circuit: designer gowns, elaborate costumes, fantastic wigs, plus, if the situation arises, false teeth (called flippers).

Besides investing in these obvious pageant necessities, parents sometimes even hire make-up artists, costume designers and talent coaches to give their child an edge in their chase for that coveted crown. On top of pageant entry fees and hotel tabs, parents must foot the bill for the food and gas required to travel in pursuit of their toddlers’ tiaras.

Lessons taught
This all-consuming pursuit of a superficial pageant title and glittering tiara must take its toll on the body, spirit and soul of a precious child who was ultimately made in the image of God. Sadly, Toddlers and Tiaras has been renewed for another season.

These toddlers chasing tiaras (and all the precious children viewing such exploitative programs) are being taught that not only is the behavior displayed on such reality shows acceptable – it is desirable. Television viewers honor such actions and behaviors with their time, their attention and subsequently, with their money.

For any young girl seeking affirmation, worth and value from the world around her, the goal behind such honor is crystal clear: Do whatever it takes to make the outer appearance as alluring and attractive to the viewer as possible. Audience acceptance is the crowning purpose of life.*

But does it really take such an expensive and dramatic process to make a little girl feel like a princess? Isn’t there a better way to teach a child that she (or he, for that matter) is beautiful and precious in the eyes of God and man? Christian recording artist Jaime Jamgochien believes so. She is devoting her time, energy and talents to taking one simple message to the young women of the world – how much they are loved by God.

Modesty caught
“The biggest thing God did when I got saved was restore hope in a lot of areas,” Jamgochien says on her Web site (www.modestishottest.com). “I was searching for hope in all the wrong places, in temporary things – relationships, body image and success.” She believes that once true hope is found in the love of Christ, filling and solidifying the hearts of young girls, then “what they wear, what they do, even their relationships will flourish out of that.” In essence, modesty for the Christian young lady is simply an outward sign of the inward reality of God’s saving and sanctifying grace, according to Jamgochien.

Jamgochien saw the catchphrase for her message – modest is hottest – scribbled on the cover of a journal carried by one of her fans. Those three simple words captured her completely. Through Jamgochien’s concerts, her Modest is Hottest conferences, and even emblazoned on her event T-shirts, that one little phrase is quickly becoming the central anthem for a movement among young girls seeking “true purpose and identity.”

Girls attending a Modest is Hottest ministry event will receive Christ-centered affirmation of value and worth. With the aid of guest speakers and artists, Jamgochien teaches her young audience that purity and modesty can be maintained in a fashionable, trendy manner, in spite of the totally immodest culture surrounding them. Jamgochien believes this is the ministry God has specifically called her to, explaining, “I’ve always felt a burden for teenage girls.”

Through that constant, simple message, along with other forthcoming ministry resources – a new album, her first book and her new educational curriculum, Jamgochien desires to help equip the church to teach girls about God’s definition of beauty and purity: value, hope and self-worth are found through the love of Jesus Christ. Now, that is a concept worth pursuing. A crown worth chasing.  

* This critique of Toddlers and Tiaras is not intended to indict all pageants.

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Resources 
purefreedom.org Bob and Dannah Gresh offer resources and events designed to “equip men and women of all ages to live lives of purity.” They help moms “to raise their tween girls to be sexually pure, modest and emotionally whole teen girls.”

secretkeepergirl.com Bright, trendy graphics appeal to young girls while opening the door to a world of helpful, supportive and fun opportunities to learn about modesty and purity.