Kids These Days
February 25, 2009 "They just grow up so fast." [wiping away tear]
"I mean, first Holly was asking for thongs for her 8th birthday, and now her very own Playboy-themed party at 12. Wow. Can you believe it? I'm just so...so... proud.
[blowing nose] "I mean, every parent wants her little girl to grow up dreaming big dreams, padding her trainer bra, and looking to attract men as a means of personal validation, but to see it actually happening...[sniffle] I'm sorry, it's just a dream come true. Why, in another 6 years she could even be on The Girls Next Door - not that I want to get her hopes up too much, of course; there's no telling how much longer Heff's gonna be around, after all.
"I know, right? It IS unbelievable. You know, the Smiths over there made their Jenny wait until she was sixteen to have her playmate party. Isn't that awful?
"I mean, geez, how stifling can some parents get? Although, to be fair, I hear they had a great pole-dancing instructor come in for the girls. In fact, I need to get that number for Holly's party, if you'll excuse me..."
Now, Karen P. & Sarah G., remember to keep everything in perspective: these cakes still aren't as bad as this one.
UPDATE: Apparently the prosti-tot pole-dancing class includes an age-inappropriate audience. Check it out, and don't miss all the priceless expressions on the kids in the crowd!
Reader Comments (180)
That actually sickens me. I think it should fall under some category of Corrupting Minors.
These are just appalling. Shame on their parents. The patriarchy will live on, I suppose. Ugh.
Ummm, your own comment about getting the phone # to the 12-yr-olds party is creepy. And waaaaay inappropriate. Maybe you meant something else, but it sure sounds like you're excited to get over there and watch young girls dance. Care to clarify?
-Kendra
www.sugarplumboutique.blogspot.com
Okay, so maybe the Bunny IS just a logo, and maybe people who buy the products morally oppose the man behind the logo, but HELLO- buying the products is a passive way of condoning everything the logo stands for. I don't care how much you hate the magazine/Heffner/nude modeling/etc... Buying the product is still throwing support their way via money.
I can only hope the kids are ignorant of the meaning behind the symbol, but the parents should be aware enough of the world in which their children live to know better and should act accordingly...
I will concede that liking the logo doesn't mean they want to be street-walkers or strippers, but supporting a magazine that encourages men to lust after women other than their girlfriends/wives is one of many reasons that families end up so dysfunctional these days.
The fact that so many of you are equally appalled and disgusted is a ray of hope in such a discouraging situation.
Nicely executed cakes for the Little Miss Sunshines. So what was the party song? Super Freak?
As for the 'Logo' defender -- oh, I agree. It's all harmless, pretty pictures -- like the pentagram, the swastika, Enron, the star of david, the crucifix, Mr.Yuk, a blue or red cross, the middle finger ... Each a thousand words of something. :(
Give you two-bits or the going rate to guess Playboy's
and they say rock music is evil....
playboy bunny aged 12... wrong!!!! so bloody wrong!
Guess my husband and I just aren't the cool parents. He blocked most of the video-music channels because he didn't like the way they objectified women to our teenage sons.
Yes, our SONS. It's not just about teaching our daughters.
(and no, the cake wasn't mine and I'm not a rich girl and I never dressed up as a Playboy Bunny!)
The first one, 12 is a bit young. 16? I had Playboy bunny stuff... it was funny BECAUSE it's inappropriate, and plus that logo is just too cute!
So whatever, I don't see these as wrecks. At 16 you can do whatever.
When I was 13 one of my friends got one of those cakes with the plastic stripper male on the buttercream bearskin rug for her birthday party. Her family and everyone at the party thought it was hilarious when she wanted to lick the icing off of his backside (Ok, yes, including me. Hey, I was 13! Besides, it ended up being the closest I would get to seeing a naked guy for the next 10 years) The next year she had to drop out of middle school cause she was pregnant.
At the time I didn't think anything of it, but it really should have been a sign of things to come. I feel bad for the girls who got these cakes. It's not funny or cute.
When I was an innocent little kid, I thought that a pair of playboy bunny earrings for my sis would be pretty cute (until my mom told me what they actually stood for!! WAY TO GO, MOM!!!)
Logos are just logos and they don't stand for anything.
Wrong.
If I see the logo for Hooters or Playboy it stands for something the same way a Neo-Nazi walking around with a swastika and the words white power isn't just a nice young blond man in a cute t-shirt.
It's like those little t-shirts that say Porn Star or Jail Bait or Slutty. Oh, but it's just words on a t-shirt. It doesn't mean the girl wearing them *really* is a Porn Star or a Slut. But why would *anyone* want to be identified as a Porn Star or a Slut?
Why is it OK for a 10 year-old to have her Playboy cake and her t-shirt that says Hot Stuff?
By that same token, maybe we should dress boys in Man-Whore t-shirts and Future Gigolo outfits. Hey, they're not really male prostitutes. It's cute!
Girls are sexualized at an earlier and earlier age. But boys ... oh boys are just boys but an 11 year old is a mini-adult in sexy minaturized clothing.
If you walk around a Jr. High, there are play boy shirts everywhere! Do the kids just buy them and NEVER wash it I in hopes their parents won't see? I mean seriously girls! No wonder hundreds of teens are getting to be parents at a a young age!
UGH!!
At first, I thought the first cake was supposed to be a 21st birthday cake and the numbers got transfixed. The second cake, however, saw my hopes fade away.
My second thought on seeing these: I can't wait to see playboy bunny cupcake cakes!
This brought tears to my eyes, too...
My heart breaks for those kids and the thousands like them!
Going to read Dr. Seuss to my children...
-Susie
I remember when I was 20 I saw a 'cute' bunny t-shirt. I didn't buy it at the time and when I went back to buy it it had gone. I described the t-shirt to my husband who then explained to me the meaning of 'the bunny' and I almost died! Thank heavens I didn't buy it (it's just wrong), and to think I was going to wear it to a church function!
I love your blog! Have you ever seen Food Network: Challenge. They have amazing cake challenges sometimes that have featured at least 3 of the people you have cited for your sunday sweets!
You're hilarious, never stop, i will die. (A little over-dramatic? Nah.)
I love the social commentary and food for thought that supplement today's bit o' humor. People insert their own connotations into meanings, which is why the Playboy bunny is so risque when it's technically just a bunny and a bowtie.
I wouldn't let my hypothetical teenage daughter have a Playboy bunny cake, but Playboy logo doesn't necessarily equal future stripper either. When I was in high school, we put on a class play that required "party people." One of my friends got a conservative (non-revealing) Playboy bunny shirt for the play from another friend, which turned out to actually be owned by another girl in our class who ended up attending a pretty snazzy East coast school for college.
OMG! I'm going to totally ignore the playmate cakes because I only just now realized the stripper cake was doubly wrecky since it was for a 14 yr old. I didn't catch it the first time around (being so horrified by the male stripper).
It's stuff like this that makes me start to contemplate parochial school or homeschooling.
I think I'll go cry now...
Kendra,
I'm happy to clarify. The character who is speaking (it's a fictional dialogue, so that's not meant to be me personally) is saying she needs to get the # of the pole-dancing instructor, presumably so she can book the instructor for her own daughter's party. I think if you'll re-read the post you'll see there's nothing creepy going on. Well, nothing creepier than a parent booking a pole-dancing instructor for her daughter's birthday party, that is.
okay seriously those parents need to be taught some parenting lessons!
Oh my goodness, I thought the cakes were bad until you posted the parenting fail! Holy cow!!! Got to love all the young boys with gigantic grins on their faces though.
I can see this being intentional... I was horrified when my evil step-cousin showed up to a family Christmas party with the Playboy bunny professionally manicured onto each of her fingernails. She was 12 at the time - I was 17 or 18. The worst part is that her mother a) knew about it and b) thought it was perfectly OKAY.
This girl knew perfectly well what the bunny symbol meant and prominently displayed it from a very young age... what a message to be sending. I'm not foolish enough to think it will turn her into a prostitute, but I'm damn well sure that this sort of validation of objectification of women, this sexualization of pre-pubescent girls, simply because it's now a "pop culture symbol" is going to come back to haunt her later in life.
Oh yeah, and did I mention that this girl's older brother is 15 years older because her mom had a teenage "oopsie" herself?
Oh. My. Gosh. That is DISGUSTING.
Seems like exactly the sort of thing my sister-in-law would do for her nine-year-old daughter's birthday. These girls are going to turn out really well, aren't they... Ugh. It's days like this when I'm all for parenting licenses.
I recall on one of my perusals of the Sears catalogue seeing Playboy bunny merchandise aimed at younger girls. I think it was bed sheets, comforters, pink cute furry pillows, etc. Totally inappropriate in my opinion! Kids aren't allowed to be kids anymore...seems like they are adults shortly after leaving the womb!
Obviously no fathers in those homes. Dads know that goal number one in raising a daughter is "Keep her off the pole." Way to go mom. Way to go. The cake decorators obviously have no scruples either. I'm sorry, you CAN refuse to make a playboy bunny cake for a 12 year old. Yes, you can.
-Nikoli
*sigh*
I find these cakes disturbing on some levels (especially as the parent of a pre-teen daughter) - but I'm likewise disturbed by some of the (over-)reactions in here.
There are A LOT of assumptions going on without knowing any back-story. The "bunny" in question - that many of us identify with Playboy - was chosen by Hugh Heffner for very specific reasons - and not all lewd. I wonder that people who make assumptions have worse dirty minds than the makers of the magazine being assumed as the source of these wrecks.
Bunnies also symbolize many other things in addition to the Heffner/Playboy identification here. Granted, this particular symbol is not something I would allow on my daughter's cake - nor on my son's for that matter - but neither am I going to just jump to some ill-gotten conclusion that the parents are bad or irresponsible in ANY way. What if that 12 was supposed to be 21? What if the 16 yr old in question is already emancipated (and yeah, newsflash, it DOES happen)? These parents could very well be guilty of all the things assumed by so many here...but they also might not be.
As a parent, I would never want ill-gotten assumptions made about me...since EVERY parent has made mistakes. There's no such thing as a perfect parent.
To the guy with the neighbor with the pole-dancing daughter...THAT is profoundly disturbing, and the bunny pillow in THAT context is frightening. I can certainly understand and identify with that concern there. *nod*
My, my, what a controversy you started, Jen!
Thought I might put in my two cents...
So I'm of the Gen Y as well... and I have seen all these girls of my youth flaunting their sexuality at a very young age...
and to people who say it's harmless.... Yes, bunnies are cute and harmless; Playboy Bunnies aren't bunnies at all: They are WOMEN who market their sexuality.
I just don't think it's right to encourage young girls to be more sexual. They grow up too fast as it is. Why can't they be innocent and naive for just a few more years?
Bottom line is: Parents, shame on you for making your daughter think that being sexy is the same as having confidence and high-self esteem.
Alright, soap box is over. lol.
I know I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. Insane!
Those cakes are disturbing.
What's even more disturbing is that I'm aquainted with the type of people who would think those cakes are "cute" and "funny" and would absolutely order such things for their own little girls (and by little I mean even 6 or 8 years old)
It is no wonder kids think they are adults by age 13 these days... media is ridiculous. My husband and I were flicking through channels on tv the other day and came across a music video on MuchMusic that looked more like a porno than anything. When I was young watching MTV and MuchMusic was for watching music videos, not porn. Not that we were innocent as teens, but it is so much worse these days. I would not at all be surprised if both of those cakes were definitely on purpose... why do parents think stuff like that is "cute" or "funny" for their kids? 13 year olds should not be thinking about sex. But yeah, for an adult party, those cakes are well done :p
While the cakes are extremely well-done, like 99% of what's been already said, those are fine for adults. NOT 12 and 16 year-old girls. And trust me, even kids younger than 12 know what the Playboy symbol is.
---Bree
I love your site and am a hobby cake decorator, and have had some "wrecks" myself!
Now to the "wreck" at hand:
Yes, we reap what we sow. Yes Mr. President, that cigar thing wasn't sex.Connection - Now you see elementary school girls doing these things and it "isn't" considered "sex", the Pres said it wasn't.
If you like the logo but hate the meaning behind it why promote it? I wouldn't purchase or promote anything that I knew was inappropriate, morally wrong, hated the message, etc. How would the avereage person who did not know you, know that you hated the message behind it? By seing it on your clothing? I'm not trying to be sexy by wearing this, just trying to fit in with those who are. That is acceptance of it.
People continue to buy clothing that is "sexy" for their very young children and wonder why they are considered sexual objects. And think it is ok. Why do we have more pedophiles? We are marketing our children to them by helping them dress, act, speak and think the part. We help little boys desire it and grow into young men who take adavantage of it.
It's not just the younger ones either. All you hear is "sexy" now a days. Is that all a young girl or woman is? Something for a boy or man to use? I am appalled that these girls and women want that kind of attention.
Young girs (16) who think it is ok to have sex, many times. Octo mom in the making, Paris Hilton in the making. Small steps of saying it is ok, leads to more steps that lead to a lifestyle. It is easy to say something is harmless and then it leads you to say, oh, this isn't so bad either, and so on and so on. desensitisation. It is not harmless.
Society tells us that morality is is being "narrowminded", "religious right", "republican", "antiquated thinking", "backwards", "not for today", "is uneducated", etc. etc. Most of these posts don't seem to think so, but, I am sorry to say a lot of this world does.
Yes, I feel very strongly about what this has done to women in general and what it says about our worth, same story just years (centuries) later.
Ok, getting down off my soapbox.
i hate hate hate playboy
im 19 and i have never worn, and will never worn anything with playboy on it...
not just because its slutty, but because its cheap,and tacky- sorry but i have a bit more class than that!
on contrary to that, my boyfriends little sister had a stripper at her 17th birthday party... oh and she was arrested for drinking underage with fake id 2 weeks later...
i think theres a moral in there somewhere!
I can't think of a thing to say.
Not a thing.
*cringing mightily*
These ARE cake wrecks. Remember the definition proudly displayed on the home page:
"A Cake Wreck is any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it. "
These certainly qualify as "inappropriate" and possibly "creepy" as well.
nice cakes. Fred Smilek is the acting president of the Society to Save Endangered Species. It was founded two years ago by Fred Smilek along with his two best friends Charles and Jonathan. http://www.fredjsmilek.com
Oh my... *facepalm*
I'm not surprised though, as I once had to make a pimp-themed cake for a 10 year old. Boy, I wish I had a photo of that for you...
Wow, at 12 I was still playing with Barbies and Holly Hobbie...
guess I was really missing out!
Michelle
In response to Marie who said :"I would like to point out that just because an adult chooses to pose in the nude for a respected male-centric magazine does not mean she is a stripper or streetwalker, or has the aspirations to become one."
You're right Marie, However it DOES mean that she is willing to allow her body to be used for exploitation and sexually derived pleasure another at a level that demeans her credibility as an intelligent socially acceptable functioning woman.
Tuldas wrote: "You're all making out as if the only reason for liking that design would be if you wished to become a whore.
Go look around stores, the logo is on many things, and many of the people who buy them buy just for the logo, and detest the company itself."
Tuldas you're talking out of both sides of your face which is why you are leaving others confused.
You cannot use someone elses recognizable trademark symbol to represent your own agenda. It will be seen for what it is intended to represent and will conjure up the feelings it was intended to . That is called marketing and business's pay millions to have that occur effectively.
Kristin said:
"I'm not surprised though, as I once had to make a pimp-themed cake for a 10 year old. Boy, I wish I had a photo of that for you..."
Kristin what do you mean you HAD TO????
I have been a cake decorator for over 30 years and have refused many cakes that had been inappropriate. And, Please don't try to tell me you had a boss that insisted, because what you put your hands to is YOUR responsibility. Put your integrity first girl!
My man is a HUGE fan of Hugh Hefner and the OLD Playboy (he collects vintage copies). His "groom cake" at our wedding will be a Playboy logo. I buy him vintage Playboy memorabilia as gifts. I have no issue with Playboy or the ADULT WOMEN who choose to pose in it while making money doing so.
What I DO have a problem with is adults allowing 7 years olds, 12 year olds, etc. WEAR PLAYBOY MERCHANDISE. Hustler is now putting out purses, shirts, etc., and I'm seeing young girls (7-16) wearing that stuff too.
I also have an issue with the marketing towards teens by Playboy (but that end is run by Hef's daughter....things that make you go "hmmmm"). In fact, I got my man a cell phone for Christmas, and wanted to get him a Playboy cell holder, but they are all PINK and GLITTERY! I have to get one CUSTOM MADE by a leather worker, because Playboy only makes them for "women" (ahem...."girls").
I figure you can have Playboy items as soon as you are old enough to go into the store and purchase the magazine. Period.
I find Playboy to be empowering for women. Whether you like those careers or not, Playboy bunnies are extremely successful career women. They're making more money than any of you will probably ever see. They have a lot of power, a lot of fun, and hey, they're gorgeous. More power to them.
I had a Bunny necklace and a couple shirts at 16. I'm 20, engaged to a lovely man, I've never been pregnant or even been afraid I was, and am attending one of the best colleges in the nation.
Seriously, untwist the panties, people.
Alright, let's put it this way: I AM a stripper, and HAVE posed nude for magazines, and even I wouldn't get these cakes for myself, LET ALONE my pre-teen to teenage daughter.
What I choose to do, at a legal consenting age, is one thing. I know the risks of my job(s), along with the knowledge and acceptance of the taboo of it. I am well aware of general society's opinion of me based simply on my job.
However, a 16 year old girl (don't even get me started on 12), much as it is biologically natural to want to emulate sexiness, simply does not have the life experience to understand what these professions and/or labels mean BESIDES "sexy". Nor do they have the mental capacity to deal with the attention, wanted or not.
I just hope nothing bad happens to these young girls who clearly are not ready to handle that kind of sexual attention. And I sincerely hope the parents realize the difference between a playboy bunny or a stripper (with experience and being a legal age) and their TEENAGE DAUGHTERS.
Unfortunately, I'm not surprised.
I see twelve-year-olds running around with the Playboy logo on their clothes and such all the time.
Holy crap, seriously this was for a 12 year old? No wonder the little tramps are kissing my son in first grade!
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Hehe, I actually love the cakes. When I was 16, I collected Playboy items, although not the actual Playboy magazines. They sold Playboy stationary supplies in one store geared towards teens and that's where I used to buy my notebooks, pens, etc during my junior and senior year. I also owned a Playboy Bunny necklace and two shirts, one of which I found in the kid section. But alas, that's Japan. I'm 21, in college, well-adjusted (I think), oh, and childless :) The Playboy Bunny symbol IS cute. You really can't deny that.
omg!!!