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Q - Many people believe that the P.M.R.C. was formed, because you and the other members who make it up, were bored housewives who had nothing better to do. Why did you start the P.M.R.C?
A - The Parents Music Resource Center was formed because we were mothers of younger children. We noticed that at 6 and 8 they were starting to ask questions about music videos they saw or lyrics they heard. That's fine. The concern is not that I don't want to communicate with my child about anything. I happen to be very open and feel that parents should communicate for more, about sex and all kinds of controversial or disturbing themes, when the child is ready to deal with it. But, I get a little angry with rock stars or someone in the public domain setting the agenda and my kid coming up and asking me why somebody is being chased with a whip and without many clothes on, sadism, or that kind of menacing image they pick up from a music video. So this is what happened two years ago. My children (I have four); I was letting them watch MTV anytime they wanted, because it was music. There wasn't any problem with that in my mind. At that time, there was Van Halen's 'Hot, For Teacher', Motley Crue's 'Looks That Kill', The Scorpions 'Rock You Like A Hurricane - I mean there were some very violent images. Through the eyes of a 6 or 8 year old, when they see these scantily clad women kind of rounded up by the band members and put in cages, and there's whips, and there's a sort of menace and there's sort of a sexuality, they pick up on that. They pick up on the weirdness. They ask you. Great, I'm explaining short-of sadism to my 6 or 8 year old. And I'm going, I'm not letting her watch Miami Vice and yet look what she just saw on MTV. Granted, that many of the videos were positive, and innoviative and terrific and just plain fun; I have no problem wtih that, but, mixed in were some I was noticing were very degrading; the woman as a sex object. I mean that was pretty standard fare. And, in the Van Halen video, 'Hot For Teacher', my kids said, "Mom, why is the teacher taking off her clothes? How come there are only boys in the classroom?" A 16 year old might laugh at that, but they have a real different view of it. They really were a little disturbed by the over sexism. And again, the 16 year old might laugh and think it's campy entertainment and so what's the big deal, why is anybody upset. But to that I would say, as we continue to just make women into sex objects, particulary for the next generation with kids, how healthy is this? It's not that you're going to have this perfect, pristine society where everybody's equal, but we need to work towards that. That's why people are concerned about it, because it's become of comic book proportions now. You turn on MTV, and you get a big dose of sexism. I think you also get it in television. It's not just the music. Most people my age, and I'm 38, grew up with rock and roll. There were always some songs on the cutting edge. We knew that. But, you didn't have this proliferation of songs that were becoming more explicit and dealing with violence, brutality against women, rape, like the Moley Crue song. They have several songs about forcing sex with women, or rape. It sounds like it's rape. It's not that we're anti-rock music at all, 'cause I still like it. I don't have any of those bings that I think existed perhaps a generation ago. So, a lot of times people say, isn't this just a generational agrument, and aren't you jut a fuddy-dudddy parent. I'm really not, and neither are a lot of folks that are concerned. They actually like the music.
I was looking this up, and I was like Wow what a stupid Bitch. She let her 6 year old watch MTV, well what did she think she'd see the fucking smurfs!? I just find this really amusing, In this interview she remind me of Katydid, anyways Hot For Teacher Is One Of The Gratest Videos Of All Time and To have her Offended by it makes it all the more better
. (Can I post the Video In Here BTW?)
A - The Parents Music Resource Center was formed because we were mothers of younger children. We noticed that at 6 and 8 they were starting to ask questions about music videos they saw or lyrics they heard. That's fine. The concern is not that I don't want to communicate with my child about anything. I happen to be very open and feel that parents should communicate for more, about sex and all kinds of controversial or disturbing themes, when the child is ready to deal with it. But, I get a little angry with rock stars or someone in the public domain setting the agenda and my kid coming up and asking me why somebody is being chased with a whip and without many clothes on, sadism, or that kind of menacing image they pick up from a music video. So this is what happened two years ago. My children (I have four); I was letting them watch MTV anytime they wanted, because it was music. There wasn't any problem with that in my mind. At that time, there was Van Halen's 'Hot, For Teacher', Motley Crue's 'Looks That Kill', The Scorpions 'Rock You Like A Hurricane - I mean there were some very violent images. Through the eyes of a 6 or 8 year old, when they see these scantily clad women kind of rounded up by the band members and put in cages, and there's whips, and there's a sort of menace and there's sort of a sexuality, they pick up on that. They pick up on the weirdness. They ask you. Great, I'm explaining short-of sadism to my 6 or 8 year old. And I'm going, I'm not letting her watch Miami Vice and yet look what she just saw on MTV. Granted, that many of the videos were positive, and innoviative and terrific and just plain fun; I have no problem wtih that, but, mixed in were some I was noticing were very degrading; the woman as a sex object. I mean that was pretty standard fare. And, in the Van Halen video, 'Hot For Teacher', my kids said, "Mom, why is the teacher taking off her clothes? How come there are only boys in the classroom?" A 16 year old might laugh at that, but they have a real different view of it. They really were a little disturbed by the over sexism. And again, the 16 year old might laugh and think it's campy entertainment and so what's the big deal, why is anybody upset. But to that I would say, as we continue to just make women into sex objects, particulary for the next generation with kids, how healthy is this? It's not that you're going to have this perfect, pristine society where everybody's equal, but we need to work towards that. That's why people are concerned about it, because it's become of comic book proportions now. You turn on MTV, and you get a big dose of sexism. I think you also get it in television. It's not just the music. Most people my age, and I'm 38, grew up with rock and roll. There were always some songs on the cutting edge. We knew that. But, you didn't have this proliferation of songs that were becoming more explicit and dealing with violence, brutality against women, rape, like the Moley Crue song. They have several songs about forcing sex with women, or rape. It sounds like it's rape. It's not that we're anti-rock music at all, 'cause I still like it. I don't have any of those bings that I think existed perhaps a generation ago. So, a lot of times people say, isn't this just a generational agrument, and aren't you jut a fuddy-dudddy parent. I'm really not, and neither are a lot of folks that are concerned. They actually like the music.
I was looking this up, and I was like Wow what a stupid Bitch. She let her 6 year old watch MTV, well what did she think she'd see the fucking smurfs!? I just find this really amusing, In this interview she remind me of Katydid, anyways Hot For Teacher Is One Of The Gratest Videos Of All Time and To have her Offended by it makes it all the more better
. (Can I post the Video In Here BTW?)
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