Dame Joan Bakewell has criticised the ‘over-sexualisation’ of pop stars like Lady Gaga.
Commenting on the explosion of raunchy music videos Dame Joan, a veteran broadcaster who fronted a series of shows pushing sexual boundaries, said: “I find it absolutely extraordinary.
“I’m not prudish. I mean, the shock of everyone’s bits hanging out isn’t in itself distressing, but it’s so over-sexualised.
Ruined
“I don’t know what it’s doing to young people. I think the over-sexing of pop videos is really weird.”
Dame Joan also revealed that she had recently watched a Lady Gaga concert on television but said that the star’s sexualised performance had ruined the show.
She said: “Lady Gaga was playing up the raunch, which rather spoilt it for me. I don’t know how young people learn about sex.
Harm
“I learnt about sex from the cinema. I learnt it from Gone With The Wind. I learnt it from all those romantic films.
“So I perhaps overrated romance rather too much, but I don’t know whether they overrate sex too much these days, I’ve no idea. What harm it will do, I just don’t know.”
Last year Gary Barlow warned that music videos are too sexual, and said that he has had to shield his young children from sexualised pop images.
Rude
The Take That star told OK! Magazine: “The other day I wanted some music in the kitchen and put on one of the music TV channels and a video came on which was so rude I had to turn it off because my nine-year-old was with me.”
He commented: “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a prude but I don’t think I really want my children who are nine, eleven and two seeing these kind of videos at that age. I’m a parent.
“I have responsibility, but I also understand these videos are sexual to attract peoples’ attention.”
Last June Richard Russell, a music executive whose record company backs the hugely successful singer Adele, criticised the “faux porn” imagery in music videos.