I was watching on Canadian tv a show about tweens'purchase power and how especially little girls are bombarded with sexy images. I must admit I was shocked how some of the little girls looked. What I mistook for 15-16 yr old girls were 11 yr olds. They were wearing heels, tight and short clothing, makeup. They were wearing sex bracelets with each colour representing a sex act, blue for fellatio, red for flashing,etc... I don't really have a problem if these kids were 15 or 16 but 11? I mean, did they have get a chance to have a childhood? Do 10 yr olds need dating tips? There was this store that sold push up bras for the junior set and a bra for girls who will not develop breasts for a few years to come...
I mean, I think of myself as somewhat liberal but that show got me scared. If I had a daughter, I would not want her tothink she is only a sexual object.
Are the parents to blame? In a few cases, the parents had diverging ideas. One mom mentionned her strict Italian education as the reason why she would let her daughter enjoy her youth as much as she could, letting her wear clothes that are not age approppriate. Meanwhile, the father was disagreeing.
Companies use what they call "age compression" to increase their market, pushing non age-appropriate toys and clothes to children who want to emulate their favourite stars. Who is to blame? the parents, MTV?
It'funny how the boys still look very young compared to the girls in their class. Why do a 10-yr old need a t-shirt with the slogan "Boy Crazy" or with house shoes with the word SEXY embroidered on them.