I Heart Swearing....

Yesterday I had a bit of free time on my hands so I thought that I would head over to Domain Central and have a bit of a squiz. I'm not really sure why the word 'squiz' means 'to have a look around', but I quite like it, so let's just go with that. I had only been to Domain for four reasons in the past. Firstly, to buy an iron with Cam (we were there for about five minutes). Secondly, to go to JB HI FI (great music at great prices). Thirdly, Baskins (doesn't need to be explained). Fourthly, Gloria Jeans (I would go there after Kindy each week to write up my observations, the people who work there are so friendly...). I had heard that there were outlet shops there but I'd never had a look (or a squiz) for myself. That's partly because I'm really not a fan of shopping. Yes, I know that as a woman I am supposed to have an inherently irrational love of spending large amounts of money on useless things to adorn myself with... but I don't. I'm sure it would be different if I could find a way to justify spending huge sums of money for the sake of vanity (regardless of whether or not I actually had the money), but I just don't find shopping particularly enjoyable. Especially clothes shopping. The women's clothes industry is set on making women feel inadequate. From the second you walk into a clothes shop you are confronted with society's interpretation of the ideal woman, and how you fall short. The shop keepers greet you with a plastic smile that rivals the plastic smiles of the malnourished mannequins and regurgitate the same rehearsed line that they have been saying to each customer for the last five hours. If you're not partial to mind-numbing computer generated noise that is often mistaken as music by 15 year olds on a global scale, you won't last more than 3 minutes in one of these stores. So anyway... I went shopping and found a $5 t-shirt from the Cotton On outlet and a pair of well priced running shorts, so it was a successful day. As I was meandering around the shops I went into Trade Secret for a squiz and was very disappointed by one of the t-shirts I saw hanging on a stand. These t-shirts were in the children's section of the store and were in tiny sizes that 7-8 year old girls could quite comfortably wear. The front of the shirts proudly exclaimed "I Heart Swearing" surrounded by a red love heart. Now as mentioned in previous blogs, it is possible that I am old fashioned and overly conservative, both of which I am completely ok with, but it is beyond me how we can consider clothes that bare slogans such as these acceptable for children. Through clothes such as these we outwardly glorify the crude and degrading aspects of society. This directly contradicts what we are urged to value through the Bible: (Philippians 4:8-9) "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things".
Swearing does not fall under this category. Foul and crude language is increasingly becoming a behaviour that we ignore in children. If children swear in the schooling context, unless it is directly expressed towards a teacher the consequences rarely go beyond "I don't appreciate your language" or, even more terrifying; "I don't want to hear you say that in my classroom". More often than not foul language displayed by students is ignored. Why? Well, everyone swears. Parents swear, teachers swear, as a result students swear, what's the big deal? It's an unavoidable element of society, which I agree with, but that doesn't mean that we should not only tolerate it, but blatantly celebrate it. What hope do children have of growing up with moral groundings if society deems the ugly parts of life 'cool' based purely on the fact that they stray from what is right? From my experience with children (which is admittedly isn't overly extensive), such attitudes do not need to be encouraged. So many children are missing out on the beauty that is found in life because what they see is clouded by ugliness unashamedly highlighted by the retail and entertainment industries. I would like to know what is going through the minds of people who design shirts such as these and produce them in tiny sizes. Actually, I think I already know what they would be thinking: $$$. What a shame it comes at the expense of a child's innocence.