Opinion

SASHA AND MALIA: GOOD FOR TWEENS

OH, the hand-wringing about the Obama girls’ growing fame!

A New York magazine blogger complains: “It seems rather un fair to place so much emphasis on their image at such a young age.”

A columnist asks, “How are those two little girls going to have any semblance of a normal life when their father is not just the American president, but also the first black American president?”

They’re not. And America should be grateful for that.

Who would you rather have your daughters looking up to – Lindsay Lohan or Malia Obama?

The Obama girls are barely in the White House and they’ve already made their mark. Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, are fashion trendset-

ters. Their election night dresses sold out immediately. Their J. Crew inaugural outfits sent mothers and daughters into a frenzy to acquire the Obama girls’ style.

Paparazzi are reportedly desperate for candid photos of them to sell to the glossy gossip rags. Daniel Radcliffe has invited them on a tour of the “Harry Potter” set. Beanie-Baby maker Ty has released Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia dolls. OK! magazine’s editor says, “My dream would be a picture of them decorating their bedrooms or having a pajama party.”

They’re still young, but Sasha will move into the “tween” category and her sister will become a full-fledged teen before their father is up for re-election. The attention will only grow as they age.

On Inauguration Day, a colleague tells me, he overheard a little girl say excitedly to her mom, “I can’t wait to see Sasha!”

These precious girls have come on the national scene not a moment too soon – offering a chance to redefine “cool.”

Girls of all ages are now inundated with images of troubled, airheaded actresses and half-clothed reality-TV stars. Unwed teen mothers are regularly glamorized. Even Miley Cyrus, the supposedly wholesome Disney star, posed semi-nude in Vanity Fair.

Another troubling trend: “Sexting” – teen girls text messaging naked or semi-naked pictures of themselves to flirt with boys – is now all he rage.

One teen told ABC News: “If a boy meets a girl or has a girlfriend on summer break, he comes back and shows all his boys the [naked] pictures he’s been sent. No one gives it that much thought, really.”

I pity the fool who ever tries this with one of Michelle Obama’s daughters.

A UK Daily Mail columnist wrote of her 13-year-old daughter reporting what she had seen at a party: “She came upon one of her friends, also aged 13, performing oral sex on a boy in the garden. The boy was standing and videoing the event on his mobile phone.”

None of this should be particularly shocking when you consider that young girls watch shows like “Sex and the City.”

Last year on “The View,” Katie Couric was asked how she deals with sexism. She quoted her daughter: “Mom, remember what Samantha said in ‘Sex and the City’ – ‘If I listen to what every bitch in New York City said about me, I’d never leave the house.’ ”

Her daughter was 12.

Unfortunately, this is the world in which our young girls live: They watch the same shows as adults and glorify a character whose greatest pride in life was the astronomical number of men she had bedded.

Sasha and Malia will offer a completely different picture of the ideal girl than the garbage pushed out daily by the media. The message will be that performing well in school and participating in public service will be the highest values.

Sure, they didn’t ask to be role models. But fate has dealt them that hand.

Thank God.

kirstenpowers@aol.com