Middle-Aged Ex-Jesus Freak

I’m sitting at my MIT Wednesday evening class – this is by far my favorite class, but we meet for 6 hours/week. There is this tradition at MIT for each class to have a “lab,” so our Wed night lab usually consists of watching flics. I usually doubledip and try to get some work done in the process. I just finished by stats/regression homework and thought I’d throw a blog post together because I’m having a major 1980s flashback.

As my “fellow” students are mostly in their mid 20s, I’m guessing that their observations of tonights’ video compilation is that of anthropological wonder and and disgust. The topic is Christian media, and most of the clips are from the 1980s – from rock music videos to JamesDobson’s “Focus-on-the-Family” videos – all media I both chose/was forced to consume in high school.

Oh, I did Jesus camp, went to Christian rock concerts, etc. but was in a very different position when I was exposed to the authoritarian message of evangelical hardliners like Dobson. I was the kid, and I’m now hearing his message as a parent. I can see while his message is so appealing. His message is somewhat hypocritical, of course, and frought with nuclear family closed mindedness.

But from these videotaped raps he did in the late 70s and early 80s, he said a few things that the progressive homebirth community embraces:

“Passed from generation to generation – until this century – intuitive, natural childrearing – this wisdom – originated by the creator himself was taught to her (mother), but with the breakdown of that support system of families – people are afraid to parent– don’t know how to do things, so people turn to the experts, the authorities (books) – they were better off before I came onto the scene (he jokes because he writes parenting books – thus, the contradiction) – if I have a mission in life – it’s nothing more ambitions than to connect us with the judeochristian ethic – my books don’t contain things new – they contain things old – my mother had a good grasp of these things beforehand…”

Of course he talks about how parents ought to take charge – I’ve heard all of this before – and like all advice – it’s not black and white, there is even some truth to his advice. I could go on and on how much I disagree with his parenting advice and the subtle and oppressing message that he gives to both parents (i.e. women) and kids, but here was one point that I thought I could totally agree with him on.

Again, this is from a conservative Christian evangelist (and psychologist) in the late 70s:

“Folks, I hate Barbie dolls. I have a crusade against Barbie dolls…I didn’t realize the impact of those dolls until it was too late – I wouldn’t allow them into the door (if I had known)…b/c Barbie sets up an image that it is impossible to meet later in life…”

“Barbie doesn’t have flaws. Barbie doesn’t have fat, her hair, her body… Barbie is busty – there is not a flaw anywhere on her body except a statement on her bottom that it’s made in Hong Kong>”

“When you give a girl those dolls – it sets up an image of what she (is supposed to be) when she’s 13 – the gap is dramatized by the perfection of her doll – even the creator of Barbie …not just the beauty of Barbie but the games with Barbie – gets her into …adolescent stuff - boyfriend…ken, who looks like superman himself – inspires adolescent things – puts kids on an unnatural timetable – this ought to come 10 years later (he was speaking of 3 year old girls playing with Barbie)– if possible, hold it off – watch Saturday TV – see how much is given an adolescent theme – hold that off until your kids get there.”

“Let adolescence come on its own ..(but) Prepare your kids for adolescence.”

He then goes on to talk about how when kids are just about to jump into puberty to really prepare them about the emotional stages they’ll go to – i.e. inferiority.

The interesting thing about this advice isn’t that it came from a right-wing Christian but that a lot of this has nothing inherently to do with Christianity – it could come from anywhere.