Mmm. There's nothing like photos of teenage girls covered in rats and snakes to make you lose your lunch. But as startling as the images used in a new "Baby Can Wait" PSA campaign to discourage statutory rape are, who they're directed at leaves me unimpressed.
The ads from the United Way of Greater Milwaukee are trying to scare parents with a warning that older men having sex with their daughters isn't just "creepy." Those rats and snakes are committing statutory rape.
Uh. Duh.
Pardon the naivete here, but are there really parents who don't know that old dudes need to steer clear of little girls? If so, please, get them a meeting with CPS pronto.
The ads certainly make you stop and read the words to figure out why in the heck a teenage girl would allow a photographer to wrap a big ol' snake around her neck or (shudder) let rats run up her shirt. They could certainly be used to scare the crap out of teen girls who need to be reminded that dating a college guy or -- God forbid -- someone even older is not romantic. It's just plain creepy. He's a rat, a snake, and possibly a pedophile.
So why do the ads direct parents to a Baby Can Wait website where they can "learn how to encourage healthy relationships"? I mean, I think it's for parents. Kids don't "encourage" themselves to do something, right? If this is kid-directed, the language is awfully awkward.
I say this having dated -- and eventually marrying -- a guy who was several years older: parents don't need this message. Kids do. KIDS need to be taught about the intentions of an adult who wants to date down, waaaaay down, the age scale.
Parents should be able to separate predator from "appropriate" a mile away. My then-boyfriend was four years older when I was 16 going on 17, approaching the age of consent in New York. My parents kept a careful eye on things because although we kept it legal, the age difference "just" skirted the line.
That's any parent's job. And sadly, the ones who wouldn't do it probably wouldn't be swayed by a creepy campaign ad anyway.
But I remember being that teenage girl enamored with an older guy. I was smart. I was headed to a good college. I got good grades. I never got in trouble. But the way I saw it, age was just a number. That's the way most teenagers operate.
So you can scare parents all you want with creepy ads. But I think we're already scared enough. Now we'd like someone to help us scare our kids.
How do you talk to your kids about appropriate relationships?
Image via AdRants
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Comments 7
I am offended by this campaign. Older men preying on young girls are disgusting and creepy. Rats and snakes are not.
How would people feel if this were dogs, since people call men dogs constantly? Comparing a predator to a household pet, is an insult to the pet.
Btw, snakes do NOT attack unless threatened, or hungry. They don't "hunt" for fun. So the analogy doesn't even fit.
4mutts, I agree with your comment about the rats. We have 3 of 'em at our home. :)
Snakes, however, do make me squeamish. :\
It just bugs me when people fear monger in a manner that sets a precident of fear of something that is perfectly safe in most scenarios.
If she were being chased and cornered by dogs, many more people would be upset that they made dogs appear as something to be feared and avoided.
Comparing these type of creeps to any animals is an insult to the animals. And my wife happens to be afraid of rodents (a phobia, no explanation was ever offered, she is aware there is no logical reason) but she thinks that using rats as a comparison is an insult to the rats.
when i was 14 i had a "boyfriend" who was 24, and had already been to jail for having relations with a 14 year old. but i thought i was different, that i was just so mature and that's why he wanted me. and i was heartbroken and insanely angry when my mom reported him to the police and got him sent back to jail. i was so mad. it wasn't until i was around 18 that i truly realized he was a pedophile, and how hard my family worked to protect me. i mean the police actually warned my mom that retaliation from his family was VERY possible for getting him sent back to jail, but my mom never wavered. so i don't think there needs to be ads telling parents to keep pedophiles away from their teenage daughters. it's common sense. and if i ever have a daughter, God help the man who tries to come near her.