Is Dirty Dancing suitable for a 12 year old?

Determining whether the 1987 romantic drama Dirty Dancing is appropriate viewing material for a 12 year old requires carefully considering the film’s content, themes, and messages. As parents, it is our responsibility to make informed choices about what media our children consume during these highly impressionable years.

Brief Overview of Dirty Dancing

Dirty Dancing stars Jennifer Grey as Frances “Baby” Houseman, a young woman vacationing with her family at a resort in the Catskills in 1963. She becomes infatuated with the resort’s dance instructor Johnny Castle, played by Patrick Swayze. The two share a controversial dance performance at the resort, and Baby later helps Johnny earn money for an abortion for his dance partner Penny by secretly replacing her as Johnny’s partner. The film features dancing with sexual undertones, back-alley abortions, class differences, and suggestive dialogue.

Sexual Content

One of the primary concerns with Dirty Dancing’s suitability for a 12-year-old is its sexual content. Some examples of sexual content in the film include:

• Baby and Johnny dance in a sexually suggestive manner. There is a good deal of hip thrusting and close bodily contact.
• There are veiled references to sexual encounters between characters, including premarital sex.
• Penny’s unwanted pregnancy and illegal abortion are central plot points.
• There is brief partial nudity when characters change clothes.
• Some of the dialogue contains sexual innuendos.

The sexual content is relatively mild compared to current film standards, but merits consideration given the young target age in question. The suggestive dancing, discussions of sex and abortion, and partial nudity introduce adult themes that many parents would deem inappropriate for a 12-year-old.

Language

Dirty Dancing contains some strong language for a PG-13 film. There is occasional use of mild profanity, vulgar terms, and crude references. Some examples include:

• “Damn”
• “Hell”
• “Screw”
• “Knocked up” (referring to pregnancy)
• “Tits” (crude reference to breasts)
• “Crap”
• “Pissed off”
• “Bastard”
• “Screwing” (referencing sex)

The language is infrequent and largely mild, but the sexual references and profanity like “damn”, “hell”, and “tits” may be concerning to some parents for a 12-year-old viewer.

Violence

There is little violence in Dirty Dancing. The most violent scene involves a character performing an illegal abortion off-screen. There are also some minor scuffles between characters, including some aggressive dancing movements that are mildly violent in nature. Overall, violence is not a major concern for the film.

Drugs and Alcohol

Characters casually drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes frequently throughout the film. There are several scenes that take place in a staff dance party with alcohol. However, there is no drug use and characters do not display major intoxication. The drinking and smoking reflect the historical time period and are not glorified. The substances are not a central focus of the storyline.

Themes

Dirty Dancing explores several mature themes that warrant consideration for a 12-year-old viewer. These include:

• Sexuality – The film’s dance sequences have strong sexual undertones. Characters express sexual interest in each other and have implied sexual encounters.
• Abortion – Penny faces an unwanted teen pregnancy and illegal abortion, which are portrayed in a sympathetic light.
• Class differences – The resort guests are wealthy while the staff are working class. Baby navigates these class divides and sees the staff’s perspective.
• Parents vs. independence – Baby asserts her independence and defies her father’s wishes as she explores her sexuality.

These mature themes are thoughtfully explored but may still be too sophisticated for many 12-year-olds, who are just entering adolescence when interest in sexuality, individuation, and societal issues awakens.

Positive Messages

While Dirty Dancing does contain mature content, it also conveys some positive messages that may resonate with a 12-year-old viewer:

• Pursuing your passions and talents
• Overcoming class and social barriers
• Developing self-confidence and personal identity
• Learning empathy for people from different backgrounds
• Standing up for social justice

The film highlights important historical social issues around class, gender, and abortion access. Baby experiences important personal growth over the course of the summer. These positive messages provide some counterbalance to the adult content.

Parents’ Perspective

Most child development experts encourage parents to watch a film first before deeming it age-appropriate for their child. If parents have seen Dirty Dancing, they can better assess if their individual 12-year-old has the maturity to handle the adult themes. Knowing their child best, parents can determine if the sexual material, language, class differences, or abortion issues would be too troubling or confusing at this age. If not properly put in context by the parents, exposure at a young age could promote unhealthy attitudes.

It is also important to note that the MPAA gave Dirty Dancing a PG-13 rating upon its release, indicating that the content is not suitable for children under 13 without parent guidance. The PG-13 rating advises caution for children under 13 based on the film’s content and themes. Parents of sensitive 12-year-olds may wish to heed the MPAA’s guidance in this particular case.

Guidance for Discussing Mature Concepts

If parents decide to allow their 12-year-old to view Dirty Dancing, it would be wise to preview the film first and provide appropriate guidance surrounding the mature concepts. Here are some suggestions to help initiate constructive conversations:

• Explaining that the 1960s were a different cultural time and some of the attitudes expressed around gender, class, and sexuality do not reflect today’s norms.
• Providing context around the oppressive abortion laws prior to Roe v. Wade and the dangers of illegal abortions.
• Highlighting that the sexualized dancing does not reflect appropriate behavior for a child their age.
• Emphasizing that the mature language used does not meet your family’s standards.
• Discussing the consequences of underage drinking and unsafe sex.
• Encouraging your child to ask questions about anything in the film they may find troubling or confusing.

Proactively addressing these issues can help prevent any potential endorsement of inappropriate behaviors and turn it into a learning opportunity.

The Role of Age Ratings

Film ratings created by oversight organizations like the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and Common Sense Media can serve as useful screening tools for parents seeking guidance about a film’s suitability for children at different ages:

MPAA Rating for Dirty Dancing

• PG-13 for “sexual situations, partial nudity, dialogue.”

Common Sense Media Recommendation

• 16+: Recommended for ages 16 and up due to sexual content, language, and drinking.

Both organizations advise parental caution or restrict Dirty Dancing for children under 13. These ratings reinforce that the content may not be developmentally appropriate for tweens. Ratings provide helpful benchmarks, but parents know their kids best.

Alternate Coming-of-Age Films

If parents decide Dirty Dancing is not suitable for their 12-year-old at this time, there are some alternative coming-of-age films that explore adolescent themes in an age-appropriate manner such as:

These lower-rated films can provide an entertaining and more age-suitable alternative that stimulates productive conversations about adolescence.

Conclusion

Dirty Dancing is widely considered a classic coming-of-age story, but upon close inspection, its content makes its suitability for 12-year-olds highly questionable. Parents are best equipped to evaluate if their child possesses the maturity to properly context and process the complex themes presented. Most child development guidance would advise erring on the side of caution for this young age group and selecting an alternate film. However, open conversations initiated by informed parents can potentially transform Dirty Dancing into a positive shared viewing experience instead of one that promotes harmful messaging about sexuality, gender roles, and substance use.