It just amazes me how many children are exposed to sexualization through songs, media, clothing and more. Time has changed since we were growing up. Children today are already asking questions about sex, kissing, making out and so forth. What happened to playing with babydolls, trucks and cars, jump rope and more? Just seeing how some kids are dressed, the songs they sing and they way they dance has really blown my mind.
We had a 8 year old Foster daughter last year. Cute little girl. She came from a traumatic experience already. She felt the only way for her to look beautiful was to dress risque. We took her to the store and allowed her to pick out clothes in a section that was within her age range. Needless to say, she picked out very few and we picked out some. Going out in these new clothing, everyone we encountered, told her how beautiful she looked. Her confidence was boosted positively as she realilzed she did not have to dress unappropriately. She is a beautiful girl inside and out. Though everyone is different and share different opinions, my husband and I come from homes where girls had to make sure their skirts and dresses met the length of our finger tips.
Myrtle Beach is famous for its Biker Week. Sadly though, not all, but some of the bikers can dress inappropriately. Just driving through town, I had to tell my boys to close their eyes because of what some of the riders were wearing. Some children may see this is a image that is acceptable.
Not only are children singing lyrics that are not appropriate but they are dancing with some moves that a child should not use. I do not know some of the dance move, but some kids were talking about
Dressed as show girls with practically nude bras |
Girls and boys constantly encounter sexual messages and images that they cannot understand and that can confuse and even frighten them" (Leving & Kilbourne, 2009, p 2).
We cannot let clothes or anything else for that matter define who we are, especially our youth. Visiting this topic this week reminds me that we are definitely living in a different time than what we lived. "Children have always been curious about sex and sexuality from an early age, and it is good for parents and schools to give them honest and age-appropriate information" 9
leving & Kilbourne, 2009, p 3).
Reference
Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf
Rhonda,
ReplyDeleteThose girls in the picture do look like real show girls but with less clothing. This is very odd for the media to even want these girls displayed the way they do on Dance Mom’s. I would talk up no matter if the teacher did not like it. What bothers me is little girls and boys on their cell phones walking away from their school smiling and I know they are not talking with their parents. When I go to the movie and watch PG or R rated movies, (not many of these) some parents have their children right there not even caring that it has adult content.