Pro Wrestling: Adult Entertainment Marketed to Kids
You've heard about
the incidents and you've read about them in the newspapers:
Five-year-olds making obscene gestures at other five-year-olds;
grade-schoolers swearing, hitting and kicking, even "body-slamming"
each other; children violently and obscenely defying the
authority of teachers and parents because they think it
is normal. Tragically, we've even seen deaths resulting
from kids imitating the action they see on TV.
I'm talking of course about the effects of pro wrestling
on young children. The more of these incidents we see, the
more difficult it is to ignore the fact that pro wrestling
"entertainment" is having a profound impact on young viewers.
Can we say that these incidents are the fault of the WWF,
WCW and all the rest? Of course not. It is impossible to
blame these behaviors on a single cause. Wrestling is far
from the only thing in young people's lives that affects
their behavior. What we can say is that exposure to pro
wrestling, along with many other factors, contributes to
a child's view of the world.
In the world of pro wrestling, it is appropriate to swear,
to make obscene gestures, to engage in violent behavior,
and to objectify women. This is a violent, unpredictable
place where it is okay, for anyone, to give in to any impulse.
It is a place where people are rewarded for being loud,
crude and aggressive. Sexual violence, simulated sex acts,
foul language, and over-the-top crudeness are the norm.
And the more often kids watch this world on their TV screens,
the more these attitudes and actions seem normal in the
real world.
Wrestling is not the root cause of violent, lewd behavior
and inappropriate, dangerous attitudes, but it is contributing
to what I call the "culture of disrespect." Kids spend more
time using television, movies, electronic games and the
Internet every year. We want our children to learn and live
with certain values like creativity, friendliness and respect.
As the media diet of young people increases, those values
conflict with and are even replaced by values taught in
the media. Pro wrestling is wildly popular, and it teaches
our kids that there are rewards for embracing other values--obnoxiousness,
aggression and disrespect.
WWF's "RAW is WAR" has been rated the most-watched program
on cable with more than six million households tuning in
every week. Over five million households a week watch WWF's
"Smackdown" on UPN. What's more, over a third of the pro
wrestling audience is under 14 years old, and the programs
are heavily marketed to kids. Action figures and clothing
for kids as young as 18 to 24 months are staples of the
marketing machine. In one TV ad, wrestling fans, many of
them children, were encouraged to imitate "The Rock," a
popular WWF character, for the camera.
This so-called "entertainment" is inappropriate for children.
It is not just the unrealistic violence that can be harmful
to children. According to a study by Indiana University,
"RAW is WAR", the most popular show on cable, depicted 128
incidents of simulated sex, 42 incidents of simulated drug
use, and 1,658 incidents of grabbing one's crotch in its
1999 season alone. We need to keep this sort of entertainment
away from our children.
Teachers and schools can only do so much. They can ban
wrestling clothing and make it clear to kids that wrestling
moves and obscene gestures will not be tolerated. The real
responsibility is up to us parents. A simple "No" should
be our response to the shows, the clothing, the action figures,
and the games. Yes, it is obviously fake, but that doesn't
mean that millions of kids will realize that imitating the
behavior of pro wrestlers in the real world is not okay.
Dr. Dave's Picks
Every month I find the best in family-friendly children's
books, electronic games and other media. This month I highlight
some of the best children's books in bookstores and libraries.
Here are some of my family's favorites:
Ages birth - 2 Animal Crackers: Bedtime by Jane Dyer (editor). Little
& Brown, 1998.
Preschool - 5 Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London. Illustrated
by Frank Remkiewicz. Puffin, 1992.
Ages 5 - 8 Abuela, by Arthur Dorros. Illustrated by Elisa Kleven.
Puffin, 1991.
Ages 7 - 10 Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel. HarperTrophy,
1984.
Ages 8 - 11 Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery by James Howe.
Illustrated by Alan Daniel. Aladdin Paperbacks, 1979.
Middle Grades Bud, Not Buddy by Paul Christopher. Delacorte, 1999.
Winner of Newbury Medal and Coretta Scott King Award
