The Sexualization of Early Childhood

Share your reaction to the topic of the sexualization of early childhood.

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

There are many concerns as our youth try to follow the messages and images that the media potrays what is sexy and accepted. We have so many young girls tyring to fit the crowd, yet they are losing who they truly are. Let alone, peer pressure is out there. Their self-esteem is affected if they feel they cannot look like the girl on  a video, tv and so forth. They start to belittle themselves because of the amount of pressure they place on themselves. This is not healthy at all. I watch shows such as Dance Mom, where some of their costumes seemed a little risque and even the mothers mentioned but saw that it was okay because they did not want to argue with the Teacher. "

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