But my problem isn't with crazy girls wearing booty shorts in much too cold weather for the sake of fashion. It's the things that younger girls are being allowed, and occasionally made, to do to be 'fashionable'. I should explain, before I get caught up in the heat of my rant, where I come from. I was raised in the mid to late 1990's. While I was growing up, I seldom remember ever wearing anything less than a teeshirt and shorts or sweatpants, and sneakers. As I grew into my awkward teen years, I started to wear lower cut blouses and started favoring long jeans over anything else.
Compare that to what is today's style for children ages 4-14. Tanktops, halter tops, short skirts, and shorter shorts.
Does something seem wrong to you? Does this make you the least bit uncomfortable to look at? I would think that most parents wouldn't want their sixteen or eighteen year old wearing this top, much less their seven or fourteen year old. This is NOT 'cute'. This is 'sexy'. The minute you let a young girl, even a seven year old, put on a top like this, you have begun to sexualize her.
And yet, society still can't figure out why there are so many pregnant 15-18 year olds?
Sexualizing a child is pretty darn close to child porn, in my eyes. The fact that parents dress their kids up like this screams to me that that child is going to have problems when she starts developing during puberty. Problems like unwanted attention. Such a young girl can wear shorts and a tee, it won't kill her, and in most cases, it's a lot 'cuter'. People will subconsciously appreciate your choice to dress them modestly, and appropriately for their age. I say this because children don't really get much choice in what they wear until their reach their tween years, around 10-12, so it's assumed that the parents are dressing their kids this way, and that the child isn't choosing to dress themselves so.
If your child is choosing these types of clothing, you should really explain modesty to them, that this kind of dress and the associated behavior is inappropriate and unnacceptable. You'll probably save yourself some of the the drama down the road when she grows up and wants to wear racier clothing that shows more skin-and more cleavage, if she's developing breasts. Uh oh! Now what you've taught your child was 'cute' and even acceptable is no longer so? Yep, take some advice and save yourself the grey hair.
I haven't mentioned the swimwear just yet, either. This is the one article of clothing that bothers me most, makes my skin crawl when I think of my child ever wearing it. it sickens me to think parents would let their young, innocent, undeveloped girls ages four to eight wear bikinis. Young girls have no business wearing bikinis or halter tops to the pool. NONE.
The only differences I see is that the young girl is undeveloped (no hips or breasts) and her facial expression isn't anything close to the expression of the woman. The fact that the little girl's pose is almost an exact mirror of the adult woman's is a little disturbing.
I remember wearing a tee over the hand-me-down bikini set I was given by my older sister-when I was thirteen. I shake my head every time I pass the junior girls clothing section in Walmart of Target. Half of everything there, bathing suits or not, I wouldn't even consider wearing, even at eighteen, much less letting my child wear any of it. She doesn't need to be viewed sexually at four, or eight, or even sixteen. I've talked with my boyfriend at the challenges we're probably going to face when we finally decide get married and have kids. On the list, just under teaching our kids the value of not making the mistakes others have made, is teaching our girls to dress modestly and to protect their sexual innocence until they're old enough to understand sexuality and society, and to know that there are very bad people out there, people who would do disgusting, repulsive things to a girl wearing the wrong thing.
I'm not saying that if you dress your kids in booty shorts and a halter top at five that they're going to be molested, or that by dressing them like this they're going to grow up to be whores in their teen years. I'm saying that you should realize that there are perverted people out there that don't care how 'cute' she is. She's sexy to them in the same way an adult wearing the same thing is. Doesn't that disgust you? An adult man finding your young girl, barely past her toddler years, sexy? I would be sick, thinking about that, and I am. On the flip side, I'm not saying dress your kids neck to toes either. They can show skin. just stick to one simple rule: If YOU wouldn't wear it to a semi-formal dinner with family, DON'T let them wear it.
Remember, also, that the examples I've presented are the most extreme form of sexualization of a young child. There are outfits that are much less racy, and yet not totally modest, that are at least somewhat acceptable, depending on the setting and the child's current age and level of progress through puberty. My purpose in this rant is to point out the scary changes in girl's styles. Boys don't have such a hard time being modest, really, other than they have a problem wearing a darn belt. I can only hope that parents will start making better choice as time goes on, and as, inevitably, style spirals into absolute chaos in which young girls are the victims. Hopefully, there will be choices made out there that help our nation's young girls grow up to be computer scientists and doctors, instead of floundering in their teen years and getting pregnant or dropping out. Hopefully.
