The biggest travesty of Janet Jackson's bare-breasted performance at the Super Bowl half-time show is not just that it happened on live network television in front of millions of families.

Most American youth have been exposed to nudity. Any children who have gone to the grocery store with their parents and scanned the magazine rack in the checkout line have probably seen similar or worse images on tabloid covers showing the stars at various awards shows. (Lil' Kim, for one, has worn some memorable ensembles.)

To me, the travesty is that Jackson, who once corrected chauvinists by belting out, "No, my first name ain't baby, it's Janet," has now played into the current culture that, in order to be a successful female entertainer, you need to be naked. I guess Jackson, who was the first artist to have seven Top Five singles from one LP on the Billboard singles charts (1989's 5x platinum "Rhythm Nation 1814"), is worried about competing with the new generation of female performers.

But what about self-respect, Janet? Or one your favorite topics, control? What will the girls who watched Sunday's broadcast learn about control of their bodies and their sexuality?

Unfortunately, Jackson is not alone in adhering to the new bare-it-all standard. My husband subscribes to Rolling Stone. With few exceptions, every female entertainer on the cover is nearly nude while the male actors and singers are fully clothed. (I can recall that Alicia Keys was clothed on her post-911 New York cover while Janet's pal, Justin Timberlake, bared his torso on one RS cover.)

The current crop of entertainers seems to have engaged in a race to be the least clothed. Soon, the only difference between Christina and Britney and the pole dancers in Santee will be that the strippers are baring less.

As any school administrator will tell you, the blonde singers' reveal-all style has infected teenage fashion. But did you know their influence has even spread to 1- and 2-year-olds?

I discovered this trend during a shopping trip last summer with my aunt and cousin. My cousin was trying to spend a gift certificate that had been given to her after her first child was born a few months earlier. She confided to me that she didn't really like this particular store because the clothes didn't look like kids' clothes. "I don't want my baby to look like Britney; I want her to look cute and like a little girl." The gift certificate remained unspent.

And what about the movies?

I am tired of seeing random -- the key word here is random -- female nudity at the movies. How did the nude scene of Halle Berry reclining pool-side advance the plot of "Swordfish"? Did I really need to see breasts covered with whipped cream in "Varsity Blues"? What about Katie Holmes' exposure in "The Gift"? The examples are endless -- and one-sided.

Why is it that entertainment executives happily prance female performers around naked for no reason but don't expect the same from males? The only frontal male nudity I can recall was in the locker room scene in "Any Given Sunday," and it could have been cut, too.

Can we put our clothes back on, please?

Nudity in entertainment can be dramatic, fearless, empowering and appropriate (a la Kim Cattrall in HBO's "Sex and the City" or Holly Hunter in "Thirteen"), but right now it leans toward the crass and degrading as Super Bowl viewers saw Sunday night.

Miss Jackson, I expected more from you.

You must be logged in to comment.