to think women writhing around in suspenders and stockings is...

[hatwoman]

...not really family viewing? I've barely watched x-factor in my life but I had thought everyone said that, for all its faults, it was something that had got families watching telly together. I was expecting wholesome boy bands and gutsy young girls. Clearly I'm naive and a prude.

Just watched the Rihanna clip, did someone earlier describe it as acting out sex acts? Because I'm now curious about how they have sex! And her outfit wasn't that skimpy, about as skimpy as this really. Do you object to that too?

As for "that wasn't dancing" I think anyone who has ever studied dance could point out it's roots in much older styles of traditional dance. And you should also be aware that swing in the 40's was also considered too risque, as was the charleston in the 20's.. and so on.

I especially liked the "I've never seen anyone dance like that at a school disco" comment, you probably haven't seen them do the waltz either, does that mean it isn't dancing?

WIWWL - I have read the report and similar reviews to come out of America and Australia. I have yet to come across a report that says this is actually progressive and healthy for our cultures.

but hey - what do all the professionals across diverse sectors and settings know when they voice concerns about how the sexualisation of our mainstream culture and public spaces is impacting across age ranges???

It really isnt a prude conspiracy to spoil the party.

I don't know WIAWWL, but I used to be when I was an obnoxious early 20 something. Then I listened to myself!

No-one forced anyone to watch this so if it wasn't to your taste then why didn't you turn it over. I watched it with my 11 year old brother and I can't say I thought it was inappropriate for him to see it. I thought both their acts were pretty impressive

Well said, Weeonion.

No one forces anyone to watch anything.

But what we are forced to do, is to put up with the sexist attitudes that shows like this reflect and re-inforce. Our daughters are going to face the world with at least as big a battle against sexism, as we did and as our mothers and grandmothers did. The view of women as less human than men, will affect their relationships, their working life, their friendships. Are you lot really not botherd about that? Have any of you read the report?

It's all very well to talk about giving girls self respect, but if no-one else in society will give them respect, they're going to have a very hard time. I'm amazed that some of you are so complacent about it.

if they want to dance in their undies let them!!

I know I wont be doing it & I know my kids wont be doing it.

I wonder how you feel about Stacey & Ryan in eastenders snogging and stripping off on a car bonnet at 8.30pm or dancer Ola Jordan on Strictly Come Dancing wearing next to nothing doing the tango?? This sort of thing is on all the time & IMO just as bad (if not worse) than CA or Rihanna prancing around in very little clothing.

Plenty of shows on TV are giving our kids bad messages etc - but then, my kids dont watch TV all day every day...and I dont let them watch these things.

Maybe some folk do stick their kids in front of the box to watch all this crap - and thats their mistake...I decide how to raise my children and how to get them to be the best that they can be. They dont watch it.

Part of the issue, huddspur, is how mainstream this is becoming. Flick over and you'd be likely to land on more of the same.

Kaloki - can you imagine someone dancing like that in a lapdancing club?

No, thought not. However can you imagine someone dancing like Rhianna and Christina in a lap dancing club - yes because it is designed to be "sexy".

Please all of you who do not object - have a quick read of <a class="break-all" href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100418065544/www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/Sexualisation-of-young-people.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this report.

Interesting that Rihanna has managed to stay covered up on both Letterman and Saturday Night Live. Both late night shows in the US. Clearly Cowell/ITV thinks that it is acceptable to allow this pre-watershed. The fact of their target audience just makes it worse imo.

"I especially liked the "I've never seen anyone dance like that at a school disco" comment, you probably haven't seen them do the waltz either, does that mean it isn't dancing?"

I agree. Kids aren't going to dance like Rihanna at a school disco, with teacher there! Kids did dance like Rihanna though when i used to go to under 18 club nights back in the day, way before Xtina and Rihanna came on the seens to rot their brains!

That's the whole point Ellesbelles. It's too mainstream and it's cumulative

I don't watch Eastenders (or any other soaps) or Strictly so I have no idea if your points or valid or not. People who watch them and didn't like them have every right to complain to Ofcom about them.

ellesbelles I don't think that the kids watching x factor tonight were necessarily mainly made up of the group of kid that are plonked on front of anything and everything for hours a day

There are lots of things on pre watershed that I would not let kids watch, but people who are selective will have chosen x factor

I will carrying on doing my best to make my daughters feel that their talents and character are more important than their sexual availability, but if the rest of society says otherwise, it is going to make it a lot harder for me. I am trying to raise the self-esteem of my son who has disabilities, but if society goes on paying men a lot fo money to go on TV and call disabled people ugly freaks and wannabe rapists then that also makes my job a lot harder, and I feel entitled to complain about that.

tabouleh I was actually responding in that part of my post to the comments about how skimpy the clothes are. So now you are telling me that skimpy clothes are ok? Just not in combination with that particular style of dance?

What do you mean its too mainstream? Its what people want to see, the music industry has been doing this for years its what sells.

What's going to happen? You get threads where a youngish (in relative terms) woman is pondering whether she will be mutton dressed as lamb if she goes out in a dress that is above the knee. Or a woman with a phenomenal voice (Christina) gets slated for being above a size 8.

may have not will have necessarily, sorry

I would have though it would be okay and I am really choosey about what my DS sees on TV, he's only 2 but when that happened on x facter I though "my god, if DS was a few years older I'd have let him stay up for this and that's what he would have seen!"

Ola Jordan would have been overdressed if she had been one of CA's dancers tonight.

My mum used to let us watch Band of Gold when we were kids! Can't say i have ever glamourised prostitution or ever desired to be one.