One organization speaking out about the need to protect girls from messages encouraging them to become sexy too soon is the American Psychological Association. An APA task force found that the sexualization of girls and young women is pervasive, with sexy dolls being marketed to four-year olds, and cosmetics directed at young girls. The task force also cited pornographic and degrading music and videos, as well as sexualized advertising. "The consequences of the sexualization of girls in the media today are very real," says psychologist Eileen Zurbriggen, chair of the APA task force, citing low self-esteem, shame, anxiety and self-image problems.
Diane Levin, a Boston-based educator and author of So Sexy, So Soon: The Sexualization of Childhood in Commercial Culture, says the problem isn't that kids are learning about sex; it's what they are learning about relationships. Boys, she told an interviewer, learn to be violent while girls are taught to be sexy. "They're not learning to treat others as people, they're learning to treat others as objects."
There are things parents can do to combat be-sexy messaging. For one thing, they can avoid getting caught up in the culture of sexual commercialism themselves. They can support products and companies that promote positive images of girls and boycott those that don't. They can let manufacturers and advertisers as well as TV and film producers how they feel about their offerings. They can discuss what's going on with their kids (girls and boys) and encourage them to focus on sports or other activities that emphasize skills and abilities over physical appearance.
When I was a kid we couldn't wear pants to school let alone tube tops and miniskirts that "let it all hang out." Our gym suits were beyond ugly, all in a move to de-sex us. Love scenes in movies consisted of a goodnight kiss before Mom and Dad got into separate beds. I'm not advocating we regress to 1950s ridiculousness about sex, and I don't think the "experts" are either. They're just making a plea for good taste, and asking parents to watch out so that their kids don't feel like an aberration for wanting a childhood free from the kind of pressures that poor Lolita didn't even know were coming her way.
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