M.I.A.'s Flip-Off Wasn't the Worst Part About Watching the Super Bowl With Kids (VIDEO)

on February 6, 2012 at 4:09 PM

M.I.A. halftime As we all know by now, people are outraged -- outraged! -- that singer M.I.A. flipped off the nation while performing with Madonna during the Super Bowl halftime show Sunday night. NBC and the NFL have apologized (after pointing a few fingers themselves) and M.I.A. later explained that she'd just sort of gotten "caught up in the moment," blaming "adrenaline and nerves," and didn't mean to offend.

You know what? I watched the Super Bowl with my two young kids, ages 6 and 8, and while I don't exactly salute M.I.A.'s gesture (what finger would I salute it with?), I'm actually not really terribly offended or outraged by it.

My just-bathed, sweet-smelling, pajama-clad kids watched the first half of the game and the halftime show alongside me and my husband as a special treat before we tucked them into bed. I can't say I felt they'd been sullied by M.I.A.'s impetuous gesture. Mostly because they totally missed it -- if not the gesture itself, then certainly its meaning. As far as they know, a middle finger is pretty much the same as any other finger.

But you know what I do think is obscene about the Super Bowl -- the thing that as a parent I object to -- is all the freaking beer commercials and the winking, scantily clad, busty ladies. It seems to me those Go Daddy ads, just for instance, are sending a far more objectionable message to kids than a single finger. The idea that alcohol (in particularly, crappy beer) is essential to "grown-up" fun and that it's totally OK to objectify shapely women are two messages I wish my kids didn't have to get with their football. Do I really need my 6-year-old girl and 8-year-old boy to learn those very unwelcome (officially sanctioned) messages?

More from The Stir: 11 Best Super Bowl Commercials of 2012 (VIDEOS)

In fact, it gets me so worked up (blame adrenaline and nerves?) that I almost feel like cursing the universe and extending a middle finger myself. Thankfully, of course, I don't have to. M.I.A. just did it for me!

As a parent, do you think some of the Super Bowl commercials are more objectionable than M.I.A.'s extended middle finger?

Image via YouTube

About the author Amy Reiter

is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband/work spouse, two kids, and very demanding laptop computer.

Filed Under: books & media, celebrity, in the news

Comments (13)

Nonmember comment from Robyn

on Feb 6, 2012 at 4:22 PM

While I agree that ads in general nowadays are really "charged" sexually, I wouldn't expect anything different during the Super Bowl. Companies pay so much money to have a spot in the Super Bowl Commercial line ups, and of course they are going to use their hardest hitting ads during that time. That isn't to say that as a woman, I don't cringe when I see the almost-entirely-naked supermodel selling beer to my boyfriend on the couch, and I don't agree with the overall message.I wouldn't want these ads to air during my weekly Grey's episodes, but I expect to see outrageous, over the top and unfortunately, sexually focused ads during the Super Bowl.

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jalaz77

on Feb 6, 2012 at 4:27 PM

I guess I don't care but when my adrenaline is going "F@$K you" doesn't really come to mind?! Again this is why celebrities should never be role models. My kids were running around with 15 kids to even notice!!

JAFE

on Feb 6, 2012 at 4:39 PM

I didn't miss a minute of it and I have to be honest, I didn't notice when this happened. I just didn't see it. Now it's obvious but at the time I was taking all of it in.

I think everything is overly sexual but I do have to agree the above 2 commenter's. This is the most highly watched television program of the entire year and they pay a lot of money to have these slots so......it's the way it is.

powermom2four

on Feb 6, 2012 at 4:51 PM

No kidding! The commercials were much worse than the gesture. That makes the "controversy" over MIA seem silly. The men never seem to find any problem with the scantily clad women. I wonder if David Beckham made them reconsider!

J_andrews8081

on Feb 6, 2012 at 5:16 PM

I get antsy and uncomfortable with commercials that come on during shows that SHOULDN'T have dirty ads. That's what gets me the most. Super Bowl ads are just intensified versions of the kind of ads that always run, and it made them that much more freakin obnoxious. I don't think you have to be a prude or a feminist to sit back and wonder why message our kids are getting. Personally, I think they're getting the exact message intended. To me, that's "Eff women, drink beer, watch ball-you DEFINITELY don't need to grow up." But I may just take it too seriously.

Nonmember comment from Prude

on Feb 6, 2012 at 5:24 PM

Maybe my parents were overly prude, but when I was growing up, I was not watching the Super Bowl. I think I was a Teenager before they would let me sit down and watch stuff like that. I still feel that way now, my kids don't need to watch the super bowl. It's just another game.

MIA0223

on Feb 6, 2012 at 5:30 PM

I don't see the big deal honestly. Its a gesture. She did it during a song that the video had worse in it.

KBW2

on Feb 6, 2012 at 5:46 PM

Agreed! Nothing gets my husband angrier than watching sports w the kids (5 & 1) and a horror movie commercial or violence filled commercial to come on. We just had to start telling our oldest to close his eyes.

Ksmomy

on Feb 6, 2012 at 6:05 PM

I think as an adult you know that during any televised sporting event there will be beer and women. So change the channel so your children aren't exposed to it! Not too complicated!
With that being said I was STUNNED by the mattress firm commercials. Those were tacky, in my opinion!