It’s no secret we live in a sexual-ized culture. Maybe all cultures are so, but look through the eyes of an abused child. It is then that every vulgar presentation of sexuality, every “sexy” media star, every unasked-for visual hits you in the face. Suddenly a trip past Victoria’s Secret in the mall while shopping for school clothes becomes cringe-worthy. Every song on the radio reminds this child of some abhorrent event.
Children even in quaint Victorian times were often subject to sexual abuse. Maybe the lines between children and adults were more fluid and maybe our society is moving in that direction once more, but suddenly, seeing with the eyes of someone who’s been wounded, television, fashion and music are jarring in the extreme.
What would the Victorians think about Victoria’s Secret?
Here is a case to ponder:
Minnie Rae–A 19th century girl
And here’s some history:
Exploitation 19th century style
It feels like I’ve been away forever from my little blog home and still another week looms before school begins and I can take stock of history again.
See you all soon.
Author Adrienne Morris 
16 responses to “Innocence: The New Dirty Word”
Welcome back :).
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Almost back! Today we sign up the new kid for school 🙂
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I love your choices of paintings. The implied connection between the picture and what you write brings the painting to life. I would never otherwise have seen the reproachful look on her face.
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Thanks, I love that part of blogging–it’s like being a magazine editor with no boss!
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Oh my dear, this was too too much before breakfast! It’s so sad. Now this will be in my head as I try to write 30 poems in 30 days . . . .
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Now I can’t get this out of my head.
And I heard that Victoria’s Secret has been abusing animals btw.
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Yup, back again. I don’t believe that Minnie Rae has any connection with Peter Pan. I have taught that book (both prose and play) and the presentation of Wendy is by a writer who was an extreme misogynist and mother-hater and has very little to do with sexuality in a sense that would involve a child prostitute. Wendy was an adult to Peter’s perpetual child.
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I hope you’re right. I hadn’t heard anything about Minnie and really didn’t know the background of Peter Pan. There definitely seems to be some controversy over the subject (at least on the all-knowing internet–haha).
Perpetual children annoy me anyway 😉
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You can’t be serious!! You know I actually have no problem with women who want to exploit their sexuality for personal gain, but I don’t think it should be forced upon all of us everywhere we go.
I remember the Calvin Klein ads with Brooke Shields and how scandalous they were. Now we have 10 year-old girls being proclaimed as the most beautiful women in the world.
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Good luck!
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Good to see you. I think too many adults have forgotten what childhood is like, and therefore deny the next generations the opportunity to experience it
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VERY TRUE. Here in the states some people are so smitten with the idea of getting a leg up on success that childhood is pushed aside for clubs, sports and achievement studies.
Girls who play with dolls at ten are considered developmentally behind. Without childhood I think we become stunted adults.
Hope to be back reading your peaceful and lovely blog next week. I hope you’re having a nice summer, Derrick.
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Thanks, Adrienne. This summer has been a bit mixed, but c’est la vie.
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[…] The idea for the poem first came from reading Adrienne Morris’ post about innocence that alerted me to the story of the pint-sized prostitute Minnie Rae. […]
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welcome back – you have such wonderful words, I agree with you….Thank you for sharing it!
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Thanks for stopping by. It’s always great to know there are kindred spirits in the world. Have a wonderful week.
A
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