Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Just a little easy -- the High School Musical fallout

It turns out that little miss sweetheart Vanessa Hudgins (currently 18) was 16 when she sent her little nudie pics to a crush -- an actor who was then 17 (there are both blurred and, apparently, unblurred reprints of the pics on the 'Net). She took and sent the pics two years ago. There are words for that type of girl, including slutty and easy. Bikini pics are one thing -- after all most teen girls will trot around in bikinis on the beach. But full monty?

I'm surprised and disappointed Disney has not fired her. Both she and the actor (who said he did not receive the pics) were underage.

Unfortunately for us, but not so for our parents' fears, Wongdoer and I grew up in the age of the AIDS scare. Back then, college graduates had more than a 20% virginity rate. Nonetheless, despite their parents' laissez-faire attitudes and the media idea that teens are catting around like Sinatra (see about 1/4 of the episodes of House, the CBS Without a Trace teen orgy scene that spurred the largest ever fine for a major network, etc.), teens today have less sex than the Reagan Era generation.

Perhaps there is a level of revulsion with the ever-present images and themes of sex in the media. Few media outlets are more vulgar in their sex-is-life ethos than MTV, but that channel is failing fast. Maybe Vanessa Hudgins' small star will fade like Lindsay Lohan's or Paris Hilton's. After all, few things are less surprising than people's ability to live up to the standards set for them -- whether high, middling or low -- and there thankfully remains some stigma that attaches to 16-year old girls who bare all to get noticed.

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