Parents fear 'sexualised culture' of music videos

There has been an outcry over performances by Miley Cyrus

Many parents fear music videos have become too sexualised and violent, the founder of a parenting website has said.

Siobhan Freegard, of Netmums, said parents were not prudes, but felt things had "gone too far".

In a survey of some 1,500 website members, most (82%) said their children had repeated sexual lyrics without knowing their meaning.

And three-quarters said they tried to stop children watching music videos.

Ms Freegard said parents were most angry that their children were being exposed to "lewd viewing" on programmes shown before the 21:00 watershed for family viewing.

"Modern parents aren't prudes - they know sex sells," she said.

"But there's a strong feeling that things have gone too far now. It's toxic to tell young kids casual sex and violence are something to aspire to."

'Exploited'

Most (75%) of parents with daughters said very sexual pop acts were teaching girls they would be "judged on their looks, not their achievements or personality".

About half of parents with sons said they were frightened explicit footage made them believe women were "too sexually available" and that they should have "unrealistic porn-star-style body shapes".

About 1,500 members of the website opted to take part in the online survey last month, shortly after an outcry over the latest music video and performances by Miley Cyrus.

The Irish singer Sinead O'Connor recently warned the former children's TV star not to let herself be exploited by the music business, sparking a row between the pair.

Two-thirds of parents taking part said they thought young female singers were being exploited.

Defending a recent controversial performance, Miley Cyrus said people were "over-thinking" what she had done and that she had been trying to "make history".