Oh Justin Bieber! The sound of his name makes me want to stick cotton balls in my ears and drink copious amounts of alcohol. It's not entirely his fault, really. It's more the pitch at which the Biebs' name is generally said -- or should I say shrieked? -- by tweenage girls.
But the way Bieber tells it in an ad for his new overpriced perfume, Someday, we should all be grateful our girls are crushing on him. And now for the truly scary part: he may have a point!
When our girls start gushing about guys of the celebrity variety, I think I speak for all moms when I say our stomach flips over and we have to physically clamp our fingers over our mouths to keep from yelling, "No, no, no boys! You are a strong, beautiful girl, you don't need a boy to make you start acting like a brainless twit!"
Call it sexist if you will, but I think we all remember what we did in high school? It's a wonder that notebook covers can still degrade in landfills with all those heavily inked hearts and Mrs. X doodled all over. Going guy-crazy is a surefire way to lose your way in high school.
And yet, Moms, it seems we have it all wrong. If they're mooning after a Justin Bieber, we should be happy. Because they're not mooning after their science lab partner! See, the Biebs spoke directly to dads in this commercial, and reminded them what they were thinking when they were that age. Having a daughter crushing on a mega star instead of the boy next door means keeping them safe from those thoughts. Totally patriarchal, sexist thinking.
But goshdarnit, I like it!
What scares me about my daughter dating real boys isn't so much the idea that she'll end up 16 and pregnant -- we're going to have a LOT of talks about contraception and love over the years. It's having her heartbroken, having her self-esteem plummet when "that guy" doesn't notice her, having her put a boy in front of her dreams.
Justin Bieber, is, for lack of a better word, safe. He won't be breaking her heart. He won't be texting her when she should be doing her homework. He won't be convincing her to break curfew.
Sounds pretty good to me. How about you? Check out the Biebs' message and tell me what you think:
See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.
Image via YouTube