<p>^^^^^
Agree with that wholeheartedly. Those that would lead girls to believe that they should use their bodies as a power ploy and are in control when they do, are not serving the interests of those girls. They are only pretending to.</p>
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<p>Hahaha! Very true!</p>
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<p>Thank you. You are absolutely correct. I was heavily involved as a parent volunteer with this program and have known many of these kids since middle school. I knew which parents would not think twice about their daughters showing up like this because I saw the other decisions they allowed their daughters to make and didn’t think twice about it. And most importantly, I knew these families well enough that I knew their lives were in shambles with lots and lots of family dysfunction to the point where this was just not a battle their parents (or single parent) were going to choose.</p>
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<p>…And this is a huge part of the issue that male victims of abuse have–and yes, there are male victims of abuse, including rape. The idea that “men don’t get abused/raped” and "if you are a ‘real man’, you could have/should have stopped the abuse/rape.’ are REALLY damaging statements to male survivors that led many of them to never report or seek help. Yes, women experience more abuse/assault, overall, statistically, than men, and I’m not denying that that’s a very serious issue (I do/have done research both on violence against women and violence against men, so I’m sensitive to both issues), but that doesn’t mean mean can’t or never experience abuse or rape. They do.</p>
<p>^^^
True. And since the point of the thread is the inappropriate nature of some fundraisers, we should mention that exploiting teenage boys in the same way would be just as inappropriate as it is with the girls. As far as the firefighters go, I think we all agree that anyone, regardless of gender, once they reach adulthood can parade themselves around in whatever they want. Many of us may not like it but, they are, after all adults.</p>
<p>I don’t think that rape is really the important issue here. I mean, of course, if teens are washing cars wearing nothing but swimsuits, one worries about them attracting crazy people. The real danger though, imo, is the damage that this activity does to the emerging sense of self in these children.</p>
<p>I thought of this thread today as I drove through an unfamiliar part of town. In the MEDIAN of a 4 lane road there were all these kids in baseball jerseys (interspersed with some parents) begging for money. Their signs said “Help Our Team!”. I assume they were gathering funds for a trip to the playoffs, but I couldn’t make out the smaller print.</p>
<p>This is wrong on so many levels, but foremost DANGEROUS, cars were whizzing by these idiots. I wanted to call the police, but I didn’t have the non-emergency # for this town in my cell. Then the lesson it teaches the kids - beg for what you want? </p>
<p>Unbelievable!!! At least with a carwash the kids are working!</p>
<p>Happykid’s high school has one Booster organization that runs several massive, well planned, fully-dressed, fundraisers each year, and then divvies up the money between the various organizations. No candy bars. No car washes. I have no idea what it cost the parent groups back in the ancient history of that school to put aside their individual grievances and rivalries so that they could create this one umbrella organization, but I blessed them every day of her high school career. </p>
<p>More schools could benefit from following that model.</p>
<p>^^You are taking the fun out of a fund raiser, support xxx is more meaningful. My kid does many bake sales. Sorry about the sugar but now it seems better that a car wash.</p>
<p>This weekend I took my 11-year-old daughter to an end-of-the-school-year video game party. She wore jeans and a long-sleeve, checkered, flannel shirt and black, braided-leather straps on her wrists. Not a molecule of makeup, as usual. She was the only girl there. The boys were all nerdy-but-nice types. She had a wonderful time and was in a great mood the rest of the weekend. I thanked God that my daughter is not type who would ever participate in a bikini car wash.</p>