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Clothing for girls sends wrong message
By Marybeth Hicks

Recently, I read an article about a research report that says 30 percent of all the clothing made for young girls is sexualized — meaning, it’s designed in such a way to promote a sexy image.

I had a hard time believing this. I figured it had to be more like 80 percent. At least, that’s what it feels like when I’m shopping with my 13-year-old and it’s all we can do to find things that completely cover the body, much less present a positive, wholesome image of an innocent young teenager.

The research comes from Samantha Goodin, a former Kenyon College student, and a research team led by Dr. Sarah Murnen, Professor of Psychology at Kenyon College. Evaluating the clothing available at 15 popular online stores, the researches classified more than 5,000 articles of apparel and found that 69 percent had only childlike characteristics. Of the remaining 31 percent, 4 percent had only sexualized characteristics, 25 percent had both childlike and sexualized features (creepy, to say the least), and 4 percent were considered neutral.

Ok, so what’s the difference? Well, childlike features are styles, colors, designs, and images that reflect a child’s innocence and image, while sexualized ones are those that draw attention to female anatomy or are otherwise sexually suggestive. A combo item might be a pair of pink or purple shorts (childlike colors) with words or decorations on the rear, intended to direct your gaze to a girl’s backside.

In the research team’s view, the sexualization of girls through apparel has serious implications for how girls evaluate themselves. They’re being taught early in life that feminine physical attractiveness is all about conveying a sexy image and ultimately, objectifying themselves and their bodies.

The negative effects of this kind of thinking are now well known. Promoting sexuality too soon causes girls to develop unhealthy perceptions of their bodies. Girls experience serious issues because of poor body image, from depression and poor self-esteem to unhealthy behaviors such as eating disorders and sexual precociousness.

Not to mention, it’s just plain icky to see young girls strutting their stuff in sexy outfits that look like they’re meant for the strip in Vegas. But let’s face it: In a world where you can buy stiletto crib shoes for baby girls (not kidding!), it’s up to parents to protect the innocence and beauty of our daughters. We won’t get help from the clothing industry!

How to protect our daughters’ wholesome images

What can we do to fight the exploitation of our daughters?

First of all, we have to decide that this goal is worth our effort. Too many parents tell me that they don’t like the styles for girls, but they still let their girls call the shots about what to wear. Instead, take a stand for your daughter’s innocence by letting her know that her clothing choices reflect her self-image. Girls as young as six or seven can be taught about the benefits of a positive female image — in fact, this is the age when we need to begin to teach those lessons.

Second, I’d encourage everyone to adopt a great rule that I learned from my sister, a wonderful mom of four now-grown daughters. When she took her girls shopping everyone had 100% veto power. That meant she couldn’t put them in outfits they thought were babyish, but she could nix things she felt were inappropriately sexy. The result? Shopping trips took a bit longer than she liked, but everyone was happy with their purchases.

Finally, choose your stores carefully. The Kenyon College study found the problem of sexualization in apparel was greater at stores that cater to “tweens” than at stores that had traditional children’s departments.

Our girls face enough pressure to conform to the culture’s unhealthy expectations. When it comes to their fashion sense, we need to teach them that wholesomeness is beautiful!

Thanks for reading and sharing Family Events!

Take good care until next week,

Marybeth

This week’s question: What advice can you give to parents whose daughters want to spend their own money (from birthdays or babysitting) on apparel items that mom and dad don’t like? Can we dictate our girls’ attire even when they’re paying for it themselves? Share the parenting wealth on our Family Events Facebook page.

Respond to this week’s question and check out the responses to last week’s question at Family Events


 
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