No, the title is not an indication of my own personal sexuality. Stop thinking dirty, people.

The latest issue of the Catholic News carries a commendable pair of articles talking about how girls today are growing up with a heavily sexed impression of personal lifestyle. They talk about how society and the media (a more damning duo there never was) seem to project the belief that for a woman to achieve any sort of success, be it fame, power or money, they have to be sexual beings or risk being forgotten. It’s a very dangerous message, especially for young people to hear day in and day out.

It’s ironic, in a way. Back in the late 1960s, a science fiction television series sought to show that women WERE sexual beings by allowing them to flaunt their physical attributes without being labelled as “sluts” or “whores”. This famous series, Star Trek, had military uniforms for women that consisted of extremely short skirts yet also depicted such fashion as being commonplace and even pedestrian. The idea was that making women sexual beings doesn’t degrade them as people. Today, however, it is obvious that such a future would require a more enlightened human race, as the people of today are still very much sold on looks rather than substance.

Closer to home, though, I believe we’ve got two excellent role models for our girls. The Dance Floor, our first local dance reality competition, features two all-girl groups, Platinum and E Squared.

Platinum consists of six ladies who are perfectly comfortable with being sexual beings. Their choice of choreography and costume reflect that. However, it would be unfair to say that it is solely their sex appeal that is keeping them in the competition. Platinum boasts an extremely talented and experienced group of award-winning dancers who would not need such a competition to establish themselves. Yet they continue to pull out all the stops as they look to win this contest.

E Squared, on the other hand, had the unfortunate task of having to listen to comments like Bill Calhoun’s suggestion to trim down. Nonetheless, they bounced back and proved that it’s okay being girls in a competition that seems to laud flashy, daring moves. These two gorgeous ladies continue to exude an innocence that is enviable and adorable at the same time.

When it comes down to it, a girl growing up in Singapore should be encouraged to find her own niche, to be comfortable in whatever she chooses to wear, and not be pressured into being something they’re never going to be. We, being part of society (and thus the judging panel of their lives), need to remind ourselves that ‘Ugly Betty’ may often be better that ‘Ugly Britney’.