Wake Up, Look Up

Hello everyone, and thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch, and in today's episode, we're asking the question, are pop stars shaping your daughter? This was prompted by an opinion piece that I read recently in the Wall Street Journal by Kyle Smith entitled Sabrina Carpenter, Please get dressed. Smith was looking at, I wouldn't call it a rising trend, more like a reoccurring one in pop music dating probably all the way back, I don't know, to the 80s and Madonna, where periodically it becomes in vogue in pop music to sell female sexuality, to highlight it in the way artists dress and the way they act. And we're at a particular peak part of that cycle. You're seeing it in Taylor Swift, who's moving more and more that direction, and album covers and music videos. Tate McRae, Olivia Rodrigo. All these names of female artists that are making sure their sexuality is at front and center in their music. And maybe the most egregious example, and the one Smith actually titles his article about is Sabrina Carpenter, who recently on an album cover, poses in not just a sexual position, but in one that is really dominant and are domineering and demeaning to women as a man really does take dominance over her. It's a really disturbing image, and I've already talked to my kids about it because I was bothered by it before the article. But what Smith is saying is that all this messaging is getting to our daughters, that the, kind of key females of their generation are clearly telling them, go, part of being out there in the world is leading with your sexuality and reinforcing not just a message of sexual liberation, which is, I'm sure, how they would spin it, but more that that is the value of women, that actually their value is in their sexuality. And the second one is the one I think is a father of three daughters. So that is the most troubling. women are more than their sexuality. They're more than their physical experience and expression, but not according to pop stars. Listen, we have to be contrasting this as a church and as fathers, as parents, as educators, with a different message. And the Bible gives us 1. In first Peter 3, 3, 4, Peter says, Let your adorning be the hidden person. In other words, Peter says, what is the biblical message, which is true beauty is about who you are, who you are in your relationship with God, how you understand yourself and who you are to other people in a culture that tells a Woman you are, how many clicks you can get, how many eyeballs you can move, how many DMS you can amass through aspiring men who. Who want to sleep with you. The Bible says, no, no, no. You are who you think God is, who you understand yourself to be and how you treat other people. And the thing is, I always think we underestimate and overestimate the influence of pop stars. Here's what I mean. I don't think Sabrina Carpenter is shaping my teenage daughters if I am. But if I'm not, then they have to turn somewhere. I hope that makes sense to you. Because in other words, I think the kids that are being shaped by pop stars are the kids whose parents are not talking to them about what makes them valuable. Like, let me give you an example of this. If you have not extolled the virtues of your daughter in anything other than her physical appearance, then you are creating a vacuum into which the Sabrina Carpenters, Tate McRae's Olivia Rodrigos and Taylor Swift's will speak. She will say, I don't feel valuable. And the only voice she'll hear is the voice of a pop star saying, well, if you want to be valuable, just pose like this, wear this, act like this, sing like this. And have you noticed that even in the parents who are talking about the value of young women so often, what do we say? You look beautiful. You're so pretty. Well, the problem with that is what that is reinforcing is, is that her value is in her appearance. Now, it's okay to tell your daughter she's pretty. It's okay to tell her she's beautiful. I hope you do. It's also okay to tell her she's smart, she's kind, she's generous, she's creative. You know, the idea here is that women who feel valued in a multifaceted way will not be at risk, or at least they'll be less at risk of blowing any one FaceTime out of proportion. And by the way, a woman who thinks their only value is in physical appearance to men, of course we know, is in a cliche position to go down some pretty dark roads, she's also in a position where her value is diminishing every day. So when she's 40, 50, 60, and she's a little less pretty, a little less beautiful, as we all are, what's her value then? Creativity, generosity, kindness, love for the Lord, participation in the church. Those things don't fade. So let's do this. Let's make sure there is no void for pop stars. To speak into in Daughters in the Church and Men. I'm specifically speaking to you. Call out your daughter's tenacity, her toughness, her kindness, her creativity, her generosity, and tell her you are beautiful, but you're so much more. And maybe tell her to make sure she has better taste in music. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app, where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have an article you’d like Pastor Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!