It started even during the halftime of the Superbowl, and it continued for several days after. The “it” being referenced is the conversation about whether the halftime show, with Shakira and JLo, was appropriate for children in the audience. 

Comments range from one extreme to the other. Some who commented on social media mentioned being uncomfortable with costume/wardrobe choices while others thought that it was empowering for the two performers  to get up there and “own it.”

Southeast of Saline students recently entered the discussion when “The Trojournal” asked a question about what they thought about the show.

Following are some of the comments about what SES students have heard others say:

Anonymous: (I heard people say) that it was really cringe and that they were too old to be dancing like that.

Austin Hanson: (People said) that “they should speak English; this is America”

and other racist things like that.

Aubrey Givens: One of my friends said that he liked it because they didn’t disrespect our flag like previous years.

Isabelle Christensen: A lot of people thought it was inappropriate, but I thought it was fine. Lots of artists wear sheer clothing.

Eli Jackson: (People said) that it was stupid and inappropriate.

Madeline Blake: I heard that a lot of people were annoyed that it was in Spanish, but c’mon now, it’s not like all Americans speak English. I thought it was a great representation of the variety of cultures that make up our American population.

Becca Kuhn: I’ve heard people say that the show was no different than the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. But the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders haven’t done half the things Shakira and JLo did.

Emma Lippold: My aunt Linda was very vocal about how she thought it wasn’t kid appropriate on Facebook. It was funny.

Keaton Blake: (People said that) the pole dancing was weird.

Kolton Blackwood: It was super sexy and so is JLO for her age.

When asked for their own opinions on the halftime performance, SES students replied with the following:

Lindsey Dean: I didn’t watch it until I was told how bad it was, and I saw tik toks about it. YIKES!

Josie Leeds: I thought they did good; they sang good, but I think that the dancing could have been a little less butt shaking.

Aubrey Givens: I didn’t watch most of it, but it was disgusting like always.

Hallie Pasley: LOVED IT!

Austin Brown: It was dumb.

Eli Jackson: Women talk about not being objectified all the time. Then, two “influential women” went on live tv in front of millions of people, twerked, and grabbed their crotch. That seems a little counterproductive towards this non-objectifying women thing.

Abby Johnson: I thought that the performance was amazing and that both women did an amazing job, but I just personally think it made women more of an object rather than empowering them. I just don’t personally think sexualizing women is empowerment, but I totally respect everyone else’s opinion of the show.

Madeline Blake: I thought that they killed it. It’s crazy to me that J Lo is 50 and Shakira is 43. Go them!

Becca Kuhn: I feel like the show was over-sexualized. I thought the show was supposed to be celebrating Latina culture, but I think they displayed their culture as one of pole dancing and sexual innuendos. I’m all for supporting women in what empowers them, but there is a time and place.

Collin Mills: Not enough American.

Emma Lippold: It was funny how it went from pole dancing to little kids singing in the span of like two seconds.

Nicole Neff: Inappropriate

Keaton Blake: Uuh, lots of butt.

Emalie Hall: I thought that it was good; it was just a little too much, though. There are little kids watching it and their little eyes don’t need to see that. I’m glad that they are doing women empowerment things, but that might have been just a little too much.

Jentrie Alderson: It was really good; their voices were amazing, and it’s amazing that they are so confident!

Kolton Blackwood: It was sexy.

Carter Sutherland: It was amazing, so much booty!!

Makenna Bartholomew: I was actually very unimpressed. I think it could’ve been done in a way to make it more interesting and family friendly. I just felt like the whole show was poorly executed.

Drew Hanson: Performance-wise it wasn’t my favorite, but I still thought it was good. While I’d agree that it could have been a bit much for younger audiences, I think the “they were objectifying themselves” point of view proves JLO and Shakira’s point.

Braedon McVay: It was a lot more energetic than last year. I liked the political commentary that JLo had the children in the cages during her performance.

Emily Meares: The crotch shot was not appropriate.

Aaron Kitchener: I was taking a nice nap.

Raef Boley: My family thought that her clothes were made out of tin foil.

Meaghan Roths: It was awkward to watch with parents. But then looking at other halftime shows, it was the same.

Alaina Yianacopolis: Fifty-year-old women should not be dancing in that type of clothing.

Carter Smith: I loved the Latino heritage.

Mr. Todd Baird: I thought it was inappropriate because most of the commercials during the Superbowl were empowering women and that show did nothing to empower women for equality purposes.

Anya Pohl: It wasn’t a bad performance. People are judging them for how they dressed, but they didn’t judge Adam Levine when he went shirtless.

Shelby Kuhn: I don’t understand why people are jabbing about it. I don’t know why people are so judgemental. They put in a lot of hard work towards it. Don’t judge the hard work that people put into it. I don’t know why people are going all haywire about it.

Rayvanna Garcia: If I looked that good at 50, I mean I’d be rockin’ it too.

Anonymous: I think everyone’s a bunch of snowflakes and they need to calm down.

Hart Nurnberg: Latina power.