Should Katy Perry and Elmo Be Playmates?

Katy Perry and Elmo appear in a video together where Katy sings a Sesame Street version of Hot N Cold. Trouble is, Katy's cute little dress-up clothes are a little too little. Parents called the network to complain that Perry is showing too much cleavage. As a result, Sesame Street canceled the video, as reported at MTV.

Are children harmed by nudity?

Katy Perry and Elmo won't be seen together because of Katy's cleavage, but are children really harmed by that? If you ask a nudist, the answer is no. Says Mark Storey of the Montana Naturist Organization, "Children feel at ease in the nude until parents teach them that it's "wrong," "indecent," or "shameful."

Breasts are parts of a woman's body, and Katy Perry isn't the only woman who has shown cleavage. Big breasted opera singers show cleavage. Women on the beach show cleavage. If you ban the Katy Perry and Elmo video, should you also ban your kid from going to the beach or from an educational visit to the opera?

But Katy Perry showcases her marketing tool for a reason

If you ask Katy Perry why she doesn't cover up her boobs, the answer will probably be because adults consider them sexy and her best feature. In short, they're a marketing tool - her trademark. Adults, particularly red blooded heterosexual men, like big boobs or long legs or a shapely behind. But what does that have to do with children? Or Elmo?

Katy Perry in the Elmo video isn't there to seduce Elmo or children. She's there to sing a fun song. If parents insist on complaining about something that's inappropriate for kids, they can forbid their kids from listening to the first few inappropriate for children lines of the real Hot N Cold, lyrics that don't appear in the Sesame Street version, rather than complain about what's arguable a harmless Katy Perry and Elmo video.

Sources:

Adam K. Raymond, 'Sesame Street' Jerks Katy Perry Off The Air Because Of Her Boobs, MTV

Mark Storey, Children, Social Nudity and Scholarly Study, Montana Naturist Organization