Dad2twins is getting serious. (Well only for today.)
By 
dad2twins on Feb 20, 2007 in Warnings, What was I thinking?
I try to keep this blog light-hearted and funny and friendly and somewhat an extension of my sarcastic personality. But today is “Getting Serious Day” at Dad2twins.com.
A new University of California Santa Cruz study has come out that says that sexualizing young girls is causing these girls to have eating disorders, low self-esteem and problems in school. (They needed a study for this?) Case in point. A Mom went with her pre-teen daughter into a clothing store and the daughter wanted to by a t-shirt with the words “Reese’s peanut Butter Cups” written across the chest area. The Mom said no and then had to explain to her daughter who was just getting her boobs, why it was not appropriate for her to be wearing this t-shirt with these words and the double meaning it implied. Needless to say, the Mom was uncomfortable having this discussion without any warning and preparation. Of course the child only wanted the shirt because she thought it looked cool she didn’t know better.
But let’s look at the larger picture. Businesses are now making sexy underwear for pre-teen girls, they have the friggin Bratz Dolls all sexy’d up and there are many images in young girls magazines that promote these pre-teen girls as sexual objects.
My question, as a father of twin girls (yeah, mine are only two years old.) is this; Why do we need to rush sexuality and WHY are parents and society okay with it in the first place. Where is the national outcry from parents of young girls. Is making money more important than protecting the innocence of young kids more important? How can we put pressure on the media and the retail stores that sell this stuff to tone it down a notch and let little girls be little girls without all of the sexual imagery? Are children are not young sluts looking to hook up at age 10. Or 11 or 9 or any age before it’s appropriate.
I don’t want to put my girls in a box and not let them out until they are old enough to know better so I would appreciate hearing what your experiences have been. If you have any ideas, comments or suggestions, let’s hear from you. If you are a parent of young girls, how are you dealing with this? I thought I would have a good 10 - 12 years before I’d have to worry about this crap, but obviously, I need to start thinking about this today.
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This very topic sickens me. I have a 12yo daughter, as well as my 3yo twin girls. I have been internally struggling with this delimma for YEARS. Thankfully my daughter (the older one) has myself, and her step-mother, to set examples for her. We are both “normal” women. We don’t dress like sluts, we don’t appreciate other women, or girls, that do, and my oldest knows this. Yes, she likes some of the clothes that are out there, but most, she does not. Happily, she is a jeans and sweatshirt girl right now. As I was, and still am. I have had discussions with her on why she can’t, or shouldn’t, wear certain things, and she understands. Right now, we are OK on this front. Come see me again in 2 or 3 years though. UGH!
My hubby and I had this discussion a couple of weeks back. About why these stupid clothing manufacturers can’t see that they are causing these young, impressionable girls to dress so utterly inappropriately. But as long as we parents keep either buying the clothes, or allowing our daughters to, then they will keep making them. How do you fight that? How do you fight an entire CONTINENT of people willing to look th other way when it comes to the attire of our young girls? I just hope that I have taught my oldest well enough to make the right decisions.
Jay -
I agree. In the end, it really comes down to parenting. I just would like a little less competition from the world when it comes to the influences that are out there.
Lance
I say focus more on the companies than the parents. People willl ALWAYS buy stupid shit. No matter what. But the people who come up with this stuff? We need to start shaming them … “shame on you for even THINKING of a 6-year-old in a thong.” Yeah, we can chat about it among ourselves, but these companies need to hear from parents. You might also check out some organizations that fight over-commercialization and targeting children with advertising.
I truly lamented the day that Hannah could no longer fit into a 5T from the infant and toddler department at Target. Now that she’s moved up a size and into the “Girls” section, it is SO difficult to find what I consider, “normal” clothing. She’s a very impressionable girl, so much so that it scares me. I’m very mindful of what I do and say around her. I’m a shy and conservative person who defnitely doesn’t “sex it up” for anyone. But Hannah would, if given the choice, choose to wear short skirts and belly shirts. And she constantly asks me when can she wear makeup (even though I don’t). She’s SEVEN!! Raising daughters is difficult. I am constantly having the discussion with her that we should respect our bodies and our character, that our brains are more important than our looks, that real “ladies” do not dress like tramps (I don’t use that word with her!).
It’s a constant struggle . . .