Last weekend I went to the movie theater and saw a tragedy playing out right before my very eyes. A tragedy that I could not stop no matter how much I wanted to: the premiere of Crossroads, Britney Spears' new movie.

It was not Britney's acting skills that horrified me or her dancing around in little boys underwear. It wasn't even the implausible "after-school movie" plotline. However, the number of preteen girls who wanted to emulate the "pop princess" turned my stomach.

A half-hour before the movie started, even before the theater doors were unlocked, more than a 100 preteen girls stood in the cold, waiting for the moment they could feel closer to their idol. A small roar of cheers and applause rose from the crowd as the doors to the theater opened and the stupidity and naiveté of young girls ran rampant.

Britney oozed across the screen with all of the sweetness of a little girl and the sexuality of a Las Vegas showgirl. Immediately the eyes of every girl in the theater were aglow with the hope that someday they could be Britney.

I hate to break it to them, but Britney wants to move up into the world of adults, away from her 10-year-old fans.

Anyone with half a brain can clearly see this; however, young girls with dreams of stardom and popularity can not seem to put two and two together.

Of course, Britney doesn't want to alienate the audience that made her into a star, but her desire to grow up is evident in this movie and her most recent album.

Britney attempts to tackle some tough issues in this film including: teen pregnancy, abandonment, rape and, of course, sex.

Several of these issues seem to go over the heads of some of the younger members of the audience. For example, a five-month pregnant girl falls down a flight of stairs and ends up in the hospital.

Girls behind me were questioning why she was in the hospital for just falling down the stairs.

Hello! Einsteins! She is five-months pregnant, and she will lose the baby. These are the same girls who yelled "eewww," when Britney kissed a guy, and said "hubba-hubba," when Britney had sex with a guy she only knew for about four days (that's a great message to send to young girls.)

Her new self-titled album, Britney, has great songs, which show how she wants to be an adult and basically have sex. Everyone knows of the song "I'm a Slave 4 U," but what about "Boys." It too has some award-winning lyrics. "What would it take for you to just sleep with me? /I am not trying to sound obscene, but you and me were meant to be. /You're a sexy guy and I'm a nice girl, lets turn this dance floor into our own little nasty world."

This is truly inspirational.

I have nothing against Britney, in fact, I am a fan, but I am not a fan of young girls believing that it is appropriate to exhibit their midriffs before they have even hit puberty. Parents need to recognize that even though Britney is cute, cuddly and likes to wear pink, she could have a damaging message for young girls.

Britney wants to be an adult and sing about sex to adults. There is nothing wrong with that, and I appreciate a woman who wants to be in control of her sexual destiny. Every woman secretly wants to be more sexual and express it to the world. Britney can too, but just not to young impressionable girls who idolize her.

So parents with children or students with younger siblings who might want to see her new movie, you should apply the Joan Jett Test.

In the movie, Britney sings the song "I Love Rock n' Roll."

If the child can not remember Joan Jett singing the original version, than they are too young for her sexual messages.