Sexualizing Young Girls

Something that really bothers me is the rampant sexualization of young girls that I see everywhere I look. Ok, maybe that is a slight bit hyperbolic. Regardless, sexuality is being forced upon girls at younger and younger ages. Men are attracted to the image of the young girl. This lead to all sorts of problems in our society.

Many people would blame Britney and her school-girl outfits. Maybe she's at fault; maybe she's a victim herself. In truth, I am not old enough to have been able to track the progression of this phenomenon myself, so I won't point fingers at who started it. I will, however, point fingers at some of those who help advance it.

Why should a girl have her ears pierced before she's old enough to want it done? I have seen many baby girls with pierced ears. Just this past weekend at that Maplewood Mall, I walked past a two-ish(?) -year-old girl screaming bloody murder as her mother held her down to get her ears pierced. I didn't know who to feel worse for--the little girl, or the poor Piercing Pagoda employee, who had the unfortunate job of traumatizing the kid. Why would a reasonable parent do this? It doesn't make sense to me. It seems so irresponsible. The only reason I can see for having earrings on a young girl is to make her look like a tiny woman. A little girl isn't a tiny woman--she's a little girl. It isn't "cute," it is a way of forcing an image of sexually maturity onto an innocent child.

Okay, next: trashy clothes. So many of the clothes marketed for teens, preteens, and young children are sexy. For example, at Target.com you can see the Toddler Girls Cherokee Cap Sleeve Dot Baby Doll Top or Girls' Genuine Kids from Oshkosh Smocked Tunic. At Walmart.com, you can see the Faded Glory Little Girls' Embroidered Halter Top. All these shirts are labeled as "toddler," "girl," or "little girl." They are all super-cute, but there is an inherent sexiness to them. There shouldn't be toddler shirts that make me say, "I wonder if they have that in my size..." But as unsuitable as these (and many other) tops are, they are nothing compared to swimwear. Why do bikinis for little girls even exist? They are impractical and overly-revealing. Convince me that there aren't men (or at least teen boys) who wouldn't ogle the swimsuit and body before looking up to the face to notice the gap-toothed smile of a five-year-old child. It's disgusting.

Now, here is what makes me REALLY upset about all this: American Baby Magazine, an organization that should know better, featured a disturbing picture on the cover of their June issue. I tried to find the pic online to link here, but I couldn't. And I don't really want to expose the poor child more than she already has been. But the picture is of a girl with her hair curled, wearing excessive amounts of blush, mascara, and lip gloss, and a tiny triangle-topped bikini. I guessed that she was no older than five. But when I opened the magazine, a blurb on the inside of the cover explained that the girl is actually 1 1/2. Wow. I don't see any possible chance that the girl does not have a feeling of being sexy, being appealing, even if she doesn't have the right words to label her feelings. Shame on her parents, and shame on American Baby Magazine.

So, parents out there: I beg you, do not dress your little girls like little women. Keep them safe and innocent as long as possible. There are plenty of chances for them to be sexy once they are grown. And imagine how much more difficult it will be to train your daughter to make moral and safe choices once her hormones are going crazy if you have been laying the groundwork for promiscuity for years.