Have you noticed little girls' clothing that looks too sexy?
Moms Aren't to Blame When Their Daughters Wear Sexy Clothes
Are your daughter's clothes too sexy? A new study shows that about 30 percent of girls' clothing, even for toddlers, is sexualizing.
Social psychologist Sarah Murnen asked independent adults to review
clothing for girls from 15 major retailers and rate how sexualizing they
found it. Whether it was because of slinky, lingerie-like fabric or a
cut that emphasized a girl's chest, nearly a third of those clothes read
as "sexy" to the adult raters. Even when the outfit included childish
details like ruffles and polka-dots!
Not a big deal? I guess not, as long as you think eating disorders, low self-esteem, or depression aren't a big deal, either. But I think most of us want to raise strong, healthy daughters.
Girls who buy into sexualizing messages about themselves tend to have lower self-esteem and are more likely to suffer from depression and eating disorders (this according to a 2007 task force of the American Psychological Association). The clothes girls wear can play a big role in how sexualized they feel -- and from a very young age. So if this study is anything to go by, parents should buy more of their kids' clothes at Target and Gymboree and stay the hell out of Abercrombie Kids. (You're shocked by that last one, right? Eyeroll.)
But wait -- Murnen says we shouldn't be so quick to blame parents about this. Channel your outrage toward the marketers of girls' clothing, instead. "Blaming the parents is exactly what the marketers want you to do," she said. "They spend $12 billion getting your kids to want the things you don't want them to have, and then they blame you for buying them."
Yeah, and we love that game! When people scold parents and ask, "Is it really so hard just to make better shopping choices?" I always want to reply, "Is it really so hard to just make BETTER STUFF?!?" Because what goes through a clothing designer's head when they put "hot stuff" in sexy script on a toddler's dress? Making their mortgage payments, I guess, but I still think it sucks. Our girls deserve better than this.
Have you noticed little girls' clothing that looks too sexy?
I am sorry, but as the Mother, and the one who actually buys the outfits...it is my fault if I buy my DD sexy clothes. We believe in modesty and will put our foot down on things like bikinis, short shorts, etc. I think it looks trashy when a 7 year old is dressed like a 20 year old headed to the club.
On a side note, I have noticed clothes are becoming more modest, and more like...kids clothes. I found alot at Target and Walmart this year that DD can wear. More so than in the past few years.
Agree with Moma3boyz! If you say "no" and all the other parents that also think it's too sexy say "no" they won't have a market for that sexy stuff and you'll soon see decent clothing. When Chic-fil-A started gaining on the top fast food places, they started adding healthier fare.
Our School district is looking into their curriculum this year...why? Because our homeschooling and cyber-schooling population grew from 32 families to 112 families in 3 years! Our choices affect what the "providers" or "producers" do. Take responsibility.
As a mother, I have seen my wonderful SD come from her mothers house dressed in stuff I wouldnt even let a teenager wear. It would piss me off to the max being I dont want that around my boys or my girls specially in my own home. We actually threw away some of her shorts because they were extremely too short for a 5 yr old! I have also thrown away halter tops given to my girls from my mother in law because it was way too "sexy" for a 2 and 3 yr old.
as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD
I agree that girls clothing is getting too sexualized, but I don't agree that parents shouldn't be the ones to blame. If people weren't buying this crap, they wouldn't make it. It's more difficult to find shorts that are a reasonable length, but ultimately I'm the one who makes the decision to seek them out.
Quoting RheaF:I am sorry, but as the Mother, and the one who actually buys the outfits...it is my fault if I buy my DD sexy clothes. We believe in modesty and will put our foot down on things like bikinis, short shorts, etc. I think it looks trashy when a 7 year old is dressed like a 20 year old headed to the club.
On a side note, I have noticed clothes are becoming more modest, and more like...kids clothes. I found alot at Target and Walmart this year that DD can wear. More so than in the past few years.
I agree!
Luckily my daughter loves dresses..and those arent too hard to find. I do have to watch really close because some of them are sooo short! I actually took her to kmart yesterday and got her a dress and a skirt/top set that are actually very cute. Old navy have a few modest things as well. I agree with one of the pp's the clothes have started to come back toward modest in the last year or so. Thankfully! Hopefully it stays here until my daughters are much, much older! If not then I will just make them most of them. I have already been doing this a good big because my daughters like to match. :) i am just slightly eating it up! Haha
Modesty is a big deal at our house, my husband is a big part of it as well. He is very good at helping dd pick out ok clothing. Dd doesn't give us too much attitude about what we pick so long as she gets to put a little input into that color etc. I think it has to do with the fact that we homeschool and also we don't have satelite tv and we heavily sensor what is watched. I have a friend who has a 6 year old who throws fits if she doesnt get to shop at justice, old navy etc. She asked me recently why my dd hadn't started arguing with me about clothing. Lol
Oh and one more thing I would like to point out..(nobody shoot me, ok) is BARBIE! Need I say more? Ugh.
Quoting tiredmomfor2:
We recently within the last year had to make the switch from the toddler department to the girls department. I was shocked and discusted!
Luckily my daughter loves dresses..and those arent too hard to find. I do have to watch really close because some of them are sooo short! I actually took her to kmart yesterday and got her a dress and a skirt/top set that are actually very cute. Old navy have a few modest things as well. I agree with one of the pp's the clothes have started to come back toward modest in the last year or so. Thankfully! Hopefully it stays here until my daughters are much, much older! If not then I will just make them most of them. I have already been doing this a good big because my daughters like to match. :) i am just slightly eating it up! Haha
Modesty is a big deal at our house, my husband is a big part of it as well. He is very good at helping dd pick out ok clothing. Dd doesn't give us too much attitude about what we pick so long as she gets to put a little input into that color etc. I think it has to do with the fact that we homeschool and also we don't have satelite tv and we heavily sensor what is watched. I have a friend who has a 6 year old who throws fits if she doesnt get to shop at justice, old navy etc. She asked me recently why my dd hadn't started arguing with me about clothing. Lol
Oh and one more thing I would like to point out..(nobody shoot me, ok) is BARBIE! Need I say more? Ugh.
I was really into barbies when i was a little girl. When I see most of the barbie's sold today, I just shake my head. I would Never buy those ugly Bratz dolls either!
I dont shop at places like ACF or even Old navy because my kids dont need clothes with labels. I mostly shop at Target, Kohl's, and Walmart for their clothes. Occasionally the PX too. I will say this though, My daughter has been a Justin Bieber fan since just before her second birthday! haha... she heard the "baby" song while shopping in walmart once. And i made the mistake of playing it on my phone for her after we got home. She was hooked ever since! For her second birthday people had bought her a JB microphone, and a doll; DH just rolled his eyes. But no worries, she doesnt own any JB clothing!
I have had to carefully select my dd's clothing for years now. One thing I definately don't like is the low rise jeans. UGHH!! Gymboree has always had nice clothing that isn't suggestive. I usually buy on clearence and then resell on ebay to recoup my cost.
Quoting mrs.musquiz:
Lol I have a few friends who had their 2-3 yr olds get hooked on JB.
We do 90% of our shopping at walmart, and kmart. I will occasionally get old navy when they have their rock bottom sales and it is comparible to if not cheaper than walmart. I wish we had a target! We live in the boonies and the nearest target is 130 miles away.
Exiting public school
- Cafe Amber
on Jul. 24, 2012 at 5:41 AM