At age three my grand daughter Faryn has no shame about her body. In fact she is happiest sans any clothes at all. All the others, ages 5 to 14, have become aware of themselves in the march towards puberty and prefer to keep private things private.This is a normal part of growing up in our western society.
Other cultures also have a sense of this although what parts of the body to be kept private varies from culture to culture.
One of the trends in our society is the desire to tell all, show all and be all to all. Discretion (healthy boundaries) a sign of a maturing individual and a maturing society seem to be out of vogue.
We could blame media and the celebs who make their living by shocking us with one disclosure after another. (And if there is no news– make some “alternative” news with a suggestion and lead with a provocative question.)
These provocateurs would not exist if we did not support them with our attention.
If we want a society that distinguishes between real news and the latest real or imagined titillating detail of lurid stories of just how low we as a society can go, then we must start being more discriminating about how we get our news.
When actual factual news becomes synonymous with X-rated entertainment we all suffer.
On a three year old it may be charming behavior to bare all but for a democracy that is more than 200 years old it is an embarrassment.
Joy Sylvester Johnson
