‘Dancing Boy In The Red Shirt’ Calls Appropriateness Into Question

By Akela Talamasca on September 7th, 2009

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There’s a video making the rounds of a young boy and his older sister dancing around to Flo Rida’s “Get Low”. Go check it out, and then come back. (Or, better yet, just go to the bottom of this post.)

I thought it was funny, like most people do. That boy’s got moves! Then some part of my mind started paying attention to the lyrics, and I started to have second thoughts. Here’s a sample: “So sexual, she was flexible/Professional, drinkin X” and “Work the pole, I got the bank roll/Imma say that I prefer them no clothes/I’m into that, I love women exposed.”

Now, to stave off any immediate reactionary comments, let me say this: I have no doubt that the kids in this video have very little understanding of what that song is about. They probably aren’t paying that much attention to the lyrics. Nor do I hold with any of the negative comments that apply the term “abuse” to that video. Kids just love to dance, and they love attention. And let’s face it, that song’s really catchy.

At the same time, however, that song is clearly lyrically inappropriate for young children. I’m not here to cast aspersion on anyone who isn’t obviously harming their kids, but there are different levels of what’s a good source of entertainment. A song about watching dancers in a strip club is thematically outside the limits.

Obviously, the recording adult feels it’s above-board, or he wouldn’t have posted it. And it’s unlikely that he’ll take it down based on a few negative comments in a sea of positive ones. So, it’s sort of a close thing to judge. Is this video something to get upset over, or is it just innocent fun for the kids?