I think South Park covered this phenomenon perfectly in their Paris Hilton episode. Premise: Paris is coming to South Park to promote the opening of her chain store Stupid Slutty Whore. The store sells only hookerwear and caters to the 10 and under crowd. The store also helps the girls to become "empowered" by being stupid, slutty whores. Long story short, Paris is run out on a rail by having a slut-off against Mr Slave (Mr Garrison's gerbil packing major slut boy toy). Mr Slave tells us all the important lesson, that being a whore is a bad thing, not empowering. Paris takes offense and promptly tries to "outwhore" Mr Slave by popping a pineapple (a la Janes Addiction) into her hoo hoo. Mr Slave counters by inserting Paris into his mo mo (a la Lemmiwinks the gerbil).

OK, bit of a tangent, but you get the gist. Paris Hilton is the reason preteen girls want to be stupid slutty whores (in the SP episode, she coughs up a wad of jizz every other sentence). The too short skirts, the "empowering" boob tops, the complete lack of self-respect, all this comes from a society that puts a rich, pointless heiress on a pedestal of infamous celebrity all because she got busy with a Limp Bisquick. Why is Paris Hilton famous? Why do we give her TV shows and movie roles and create a fashion revolution around her? Because she's the new black. Whore is the new black. Or is it pink? Whatever, it's seriously disturbed.

I think the media is trying to create a culture of whore to justify the religious right's crusade back to corsetry (and not the fabulous dominatrix kind, think binding of women). The further the "mainstream" goes into the world of "sin" the easier it will be for the conservatives to assert their domination. No one wants to be a stupid slutty whore, they want to be "in". Western society, perhaps the whole of human existence longs for a sense of belonging –preteens are the worst. Even people who don't belong, don't belong with everyone else who doesn't belong. Just a few years ago people were being "different" (just like everybody else), now the girls have glom'd onto the whore=empowerment movement and the boys are jerking their bells in raucous approval.

Yeah, we’re getting older, but it’s the same game that’s been played. The whore’s from the underground, she’s the new hip hop. And the religious right? They’re not just from Tennessee anymore, they’re everywhere western morality exists. And lets not leave out the sandy people and the labor market (um, China). They’ve got just as many issues on morality if not more than western society. It’s just 1984 vs Brave New World. The “others” (dark, slanty sandy folk) use the 1984 model of oppression and terror to keep morality enforced. Westerners use the model of entertaining ourselves to death and the feelies and soma to keep our moral high ground firmly in the right. Preteen girls are just an easy market to feed off of and their stupid parents (who are just as worried about fitting in as their slutty whore spawn) are buying into it. Thanks WalMart, for censoring decency and then selling hookerwear.

And I’m spent.

Okkay, so the thing that's funny here? I was going to post a comment about how it's all Paris Hilton's fault too. I put the blame for the downfall of society squarely on her shoulders -- she somehow made it cool to be slutty. I think it's because she's obscenely rich, so she's not slutty because she HAS to be. She's a total utter ho-bag because she WANTS to be.

Power to the Me + Ross Anti-Paris Hilton And Her Legions Of Marauding Parisites Crusading Conglomerate, yo.

So, you're going to point this place out to me when I'm there, right? I just, uh, need to do some research.

I agree completely, and no, you weren't absent when all the little girls decided they wanted to be slutty... It happened because ... (conservative/family values riff coming - stop reading if you aren't interested):

When women started thinking and acting like having sex whenever they wanted (without the normal marriage/monogamy thing as a PROTECTIVE device FOR THEM) was empowering, the slutwear trend took on meaning because it was a means to an end. I.e., if "being in control of your sexuality" meant power, then looking slutty (and therefore available for and interested in sex anytime/anywhere) meant looking powerful. The younger girls always want to emulate the older ones who seem to know what they're doing, particularly if the older ones have a lot of boys hanging about, and so they want to look like their heroes (um, I mean, heroines).

OK - riff over.

It's Paris Hilton's fault and Britany Spears' fault and Mariah Carey's fault, and the fault of just about every other slut wannabe you can think of .... but ultimately, it's their parents' fault for buying them stuff like that and not telling them they are too young to go out of the house looking like little tramps! :)

[Yes, my mother refused to let me go out of the house looking like one, and yes, I actually got over it without serious damage!! :)]

BTW - I should have started with this, but: Nice blog! :)