The Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton Role Models and the Wrong Female Image of Self-Worth

By Melissa Barnhart, Managing Editor Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Parents who strive to keep their daughters chaste are battling social media and a celebrity culture that rewards women who gain fame and fortune by over-sexualizing themselves at a young age.

With the accessibility of social media on iPhones, Skype, and sex-texting and videos, an increasing number of women, especially young girls, are being negatively impacted by their bad decisions.

Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, who has often covered the wild antics of college students during spring break on his program, "The O'Reilly Factor," reported the recent scandal involving Miss Delaware Teen USA, Melissa King, who was forced to give up the pageant title after a video was released that allegedly shows her reading her name aloud off of a release form prior to participating in an amateur pornographic film.

"It breaks my heart when I hear of another young lady compromising her self-worth and her future," said Penny Nance, president and CEO of Concerned Women for America, the nation's largest public policy women's organization.

Teenagers have grown up admiring the fame, popularity and fortune that Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian achieved as a result of being exposed in the sex tapes they made as young women.

But what many young girls don't realize, is that if they choose to follow in these celebrities' footsteps, they won't gain fame and fortune, but they will instead be taunted and ridiculed by fellow students and even strangers who can watch their acts being displayed all over the Internet, says Nance.

"Today's young ladies are growing up in a highly sexualized culture," said Nance, who laments situations in which young women choose to degrade themselves, because "women worldwide have worked so hard to be taken seriously for our contributions to society."

Nance pointed out that Bruce Jenner and Richard Hilton are not demeaning themselves by exploiting their sexuality, "because it's not smart and it's not right."

"Can't these celebrities see that they send mixed messages by standing up for valiant causes and being successful businesswomen, then demeaning themselves by exploiting their sexuality," she said. "God gave women great gifts, including their beauty to serve the world and His purposes, not to be exploited and exposed. To see a woman fall to the lie that we are only as good as our bodies look in a photo is sad."

According to Nance, America's instant-celebrity, fame-driven culture is only part of the problem, because the dissolution of the family unit is also to blame.

"Statistics show that this generation is already the most stressed out and self-conscious, not to mention the 'daddy dearth,'" Nance said. "We know that by the age of 17, only about 45 percent will have lived their entire childhoods with both of their biological parents, and about 43 percent of our kids are born out-of-wedlock."

Nance believes that young girls are emulating the self-promotion that sent Kardashian into the lime light and "many of our young girls are starving for the normal male attention that should be coming from a father."

Kardashian is a rich woman, but her "choices will live with her forever," added Nance, who believes that women should learn from other's mistakes, as opposed to repeating the same errors in judgment.

"They are so much more than bodies taking up space to look cute and get 'likes,'" said Nance, who suggests that girls should buck the system and become extraordinary leaders. "This is a generation of consumers. Let's push our kids to be producers of good things: great writings, beautiful art, and powerful purpose in the world."

Likewise, because advances in technology and social media make communication faster and easier, it "raises the stakes," thus "allowing our kids to send words and images into cyberspace at the click of the button."

Parents must keep pace with new apps that might hinder their ability to keep track of their children's online communications, and teach their children that predators are lurking online, unseen and unknown.

"New apps like Snapchat and Vine have made it even harder to monitor your child's online presence," Nance said. "It's not about being a helicopter mom, we must teach our girls the value of their purity and how easily one's reputation and name can be tarnished, and not just among a few peers, but for years among people around the world."

"Our kids have to know that there are people who search online for their next target and that once a picture or text is sent, there's no getting that back. This isn't just a 'girl ' problem. Case in point, former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.)."

For parents, Nance's advice is to instill both humility and self-respect in their children, because part of growing up is being accountable for one's actions.

"Character is who you are when no one else is looking, or should I say, when you're alone and taking pictures of yourself," Nance said. "It is never too early to talk to your kids about the risks of online activity and the importance of having morals and sound judgment in all areas of their life."