Written by Ingrid Schlueter

“Those songs, I now see, were indeed insidious, fed as they were into a vulnerable society; Mr Blair was moving into No 10 with his guitar, and cool new Britannia was upon us. If Wag culture was to take over; if too many newly empowered girls were to end up with monstrous credit-card debts from buying too much bling; if little girls in the playground would move up to anorexia, bulimia, failing livers and chlamydia from too many alley encounters after pub and club, blame it on the Spice Girls. They took the inheritance of the serious, middle-class feminists of 30 years back and squandered it. This was not the girl power we had in mind. We didn’t believe the law of unintended consequences applied to us. Whoever does?”

--Faye Weldon, The Times Online, on the social legacy of the newly reunited Spice Girls

Over 12,000 fans screamed in ecstasy this last week as rocker Miley Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana, strutted her stuff on stage at the CenturyTel Center outside Shreveport, Louisiana. Most of the fans were little girls between the ages of 6-12. Outside the arena before the concert, thousands of little girls gathered in anticipation as speakers blared their favorite star's biggest hits. Swinging their hips and mouthing the words to the hit,  these girls could easily have been years older in their behavior and dress. One anxious fan, still missing her front teeth, lisped to a reporter how she was preparing to “go nuts” when she saw her beloved rock star. Huge earrings and eye shadow were the norm among these small girls. Their entire world had obviously been shaped and molded by the media-created sensation of Hannah Montana. As I watched the news video of the event, I was struck with sadness at what has become of the world of young girls today. The word “tragedy” comes to mind.

Faye Weldon wrote a column in London's Times Online this week that describes the impact of the female rock group, the Spice Girls. Even mainstream media columnists are observing that something has gone terribly wrong with girlhood. Ten years ago, the Spice Girl hit, Wannabe, became the best-selling song recorded by females in recording history. Girls were finally unleashed to prove that they could be as vulgar, sexually predatory, and immoral as any of the guys. “Girl power” apparently meant you could toss newborn babies in dumpsters or give birth in toilets and walk away. Abortion on demand (particularly in the UK) is now viewed as a form of birth control. There has been a huge increase in sexually transmitted diseases as girls prove that guys aren't the only ones who can initiate a “hook up.” Binge drinking and alcoholism is at an all time high among girls in the West, proving that females can drink themselves under the table, too. Looking at the countless ruined lives of young women today, it it should be evident that “girl power”, as expressed by the five vulgarian Spice Girls, was a bad idea. Actually, ten years after their peak stardom, the fast-aging five are hitting their Botox vials and preparing to leave their children behind for yet another world tour. There's more money to be made off young girls.

The era when little girls were allowed a latency phase in which to grow up emotionally and physically is gone. Sexuality and its burden did not used to be a part of childhood. Those who sexualized children used to be called criminals. Now they are called pop stars. Today we have stupid mothers and fathers who push their little girls onto the latest consumer bandwagon, designed by marketers to make money. Who cares what little girls are learning? Who cares what messages they are receiving about their worth? Not Mom and Dad who are online buying tickets for the latest kiddie rock concert.

There was once a world in which little girls played with tea sets and baby dolls. Barbie and her skanky entourage had not been invented yet. Baby buggies, doll clothes, jump ropes, roller skates, bicycles and good books were the stuff of girlhood. Being allowed to put some cake batter in one of my battered play cake pans and baking it was so exciting to me that I still remember it. That kind of girlhood was centered around my mother who spent her days at home raising her children. Eye shadow and face glitter and rock stars would have been the stuff of another planet to me. Why would I have wanted or needed that? I had Anne of Green Gables, A Little Princess, and Little House on the Prairie. I had my dolls and their clothes mom made on her sewing machine, and best of all, a sister who was more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Who needed more?

I grieve for the painted little girls of Sodom today. Their mothers and fathers have not protected them but have thrown them into the dangerous stream of popular culture. They will be destroyed by that stream—pulled under by the powerful currents of lust and greed and hedonism that wait beneath the glittering surface.

As Christian parents we must not allow the cultural icons of this world and its system into our homes. How many evangelical parents are completely unconcerned that their little daughters are feasting at the trough of the Disney Channel? For those who don't know, Disney long ago ceased to be about Mickey Mouse. Hannah Montana and High School Musical and the like present a world without God. They are humanistic to the core, and they present a girlhood that is in direct opposition to God's instructions for womanhood. As Christian women we are called to be modest, sober faced, unselfish, and to have a meek and quiet spirit. Our daughters need to seek to please Jesus alone and to turn their backs on the world's value system. They cannot do that if what they learn about girlhood comes from the entertainment media. Parents will be held responsible by the Lord for the influences they allow and the examples they set in their homes. It is a very serious matter.

The world's version of girlhood will only grow worse as Western culture slips farther and farther into corruption and decay. Christian girls must be cherished, protected and prepared for a world that is increasingly hostile to holiness. But in the darkness, a girlhood and womanhood, consecrated fully to Jesus Christ, will shine all the brighter.

“...that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace...”  (Psalm 144:12)