Cleavage Culture

Katy Perry’s cleavage is the talk of the town, once again.

Last week Perry’s Sesame Street segment was cut from the original airing of the program. Singing with Elmo in a fashionable green, yet low cut dress, Perry’s video was banned with a Seasame Street spokesperson claiming to USMagazine:

“Sesame Street has a long history of working with celebrities across all genres, including athletes, actors, musicians and artists. Sesame Street has always been written on two levels, for the child and adult. We use parodies and celebrity segments to interest adults in the show because we know that a child learns best when co-viewing with a parent or care-giver. We also value our viewer’s opinions and particularly those of parents. In light of the feedback we’ve received on the Katy Perry music video which was released on You Tube only, we have decided we will not air the segment on the television broadcast of Sesame Street, which is aimed at preschoolers. Katy Perry fans will still be able to view the video on You Tube.”

Since last Thursday, Perry has aired on SNL to mock and add a sense of humor to her voluptuous cancellation.

In the skit, Perry plays a teen who has recently hit adolescent development and now her large breasts hang over her innocent Elmo t-shirt. The parody pokes fun at the sensitivity of parents but also raises a good question: Is it the parents job to educate children, or the job of programming to exclude any material that could be considered as a sexual connotation?