As far as pop stars go, Katy Perry is a walking paradox, mixing cutesy girl with sex kitten. But though it may be fun for the singer to see her hair colour through every shade of the rainbow, it must be confusing for her largely tween female audience to see their idol in provocative get-up and sporting cupcakes for breasts.
Such suggestive imagery is part and parcel of pop music. Maverick Madonna made a career out of it that is only recently showing signs of drying up. But during a red carpet appearance at the MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto, 27-year-old Perry crossed a line by dressing up a bunch of mini mes—one of whom wore the so-called 'fake cakes' on her prepubescent chest, replicating the California Gurls video in which Perry fired cream from her boobs.
Perry's own questionable awards show ensemble—a nude bodysuit with strategically placed sparkles—garnered less talk. Fair play for Perry to sexualize her own body; resoundingly not cool for a little kid to do so. After all, those cupcakes are highly suggestive, conjuring up ideas of icing and licking and treats up for consumption. Then again, I grew up in an era of the Strawberry Shortcake figurines, and gleefully belted out "Like a Virgin" without having the faintest notion what any of it meant.
Was the cupcake gurl playful or puerile?
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