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Young girl’s clothing sexualizing the next generation

High heels. Lipstick. Padded Bras. Little Girls. They do not go together. They should not go together. Yet somehow we are seeing more and more eight year old girls dressed like they are going out for a night of clubbing.

It’s one thing to sell sexy apparel to grown women, who are old enough to make reasonable choices and how they choose to dress themselves.  Selling push up bras and six-inch heels to eight- year- olds is just…gross.

Take the popular clothing store Abercrombie and Fitch, for example. Their kid’s Department sells clothing styles for children ages seven to fourteen. Yet, they market the same push up bras and “shortie” shorts that the company sells to 18 year olds.

“As a mother, it’s getting harder to find clothes for my daughters to wear that are modest and they find fashionable enough,” says Tracy Theroux, elementary school teacher and mother of two young girls.

Not only does wearing clothing that is meant for women affect the way little girls look it also can affect their minds. Dressing older can make young girls more vulnerable. It has a been linked to eating disorders, low-self-esteem, and depression later on in life.

The influence from celebrities-and their children- on the types of clothing young girls wear is rather strong. Take actor Tom Cruise and actress Katie Holmes’ five- year- old daughter Suri Cruise.

Young Cruise has been featured in hundreds of tabloids over the years because of her unique style. Suri has been photographed wearing high heels meant for adults and with more lipstick on than her mother.

The media has an overwhelming influence on the way young girls dress.

Shows like Nickelodeon’s iCarly and Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana attract an audience of girls much younger than anticipated.

Seven and eight-year-old girls are modeling the way the dress after the 16-year-olds they see on their favorite television shows.

Not to mention the reality shows like “Toddlers and

Tiaras” that features little girls wearing fake hair pieces, flippers, and princess dresses to win prizes. Shows like this show young girls that it is okay to dress completely fake.

Girls will be girls. There is nothing wrong with playing dress up and being girly. But there is no need for playtime to become reality anytime soon.

“I just don’t want my kids to grow up that fast,” says Theroux.

2 thoughts on “Young girl’s clothing sexualizing the next generation

  1. John Serdy February 4, 2012 at 9:32 am

    Damn straight!

  2. person February 14, 2012 at 8:38 am

    well written…. In total agreement with this article (:

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