Is it possible to be both disgusted and jaded at the same time? As a grandparent, the latest line of swimwear from the purveyors at Abercrombie & Fitch disgusts me, but hardly surprises any more. ABC reports that A&F has a new line of bikinis for preadolescents that feature padded, “push-up” bikini tops for girls as young as eight years old — the same age as one of my granddaughters….Actually it is seven, not eight years old. The age of my granddaughter. Here’s the thing-who thinks of this stuff? What normal person comes up with the idea of accentuating a seven year old’s breasts? And once the idea is conceived who are the perverts that approve bringing the product to market? And then once the product makes it to market, what parent would buy a bathing suit that sexualizes their little girl? The bottom line is that the product would not exist if the market didn’t exist. The market wouldn’t exist if adults would just be content with screwing up the lives of other adults and just leave kids alone.
Once upon a time parents were told that they would just need to accept that once their children left for college that said kids would be doing “things” (code for S.E.X.) that Mom and Dad would not approve of. True enough. But college became high school and then middle school. Do we wait until the sexualization of children hits pre-K or do we, as adults, grow a backbone and finally say, “No, this is not acceptable.”
Children need adult guidance. Responsible adults understand that children’s development should be paced and that while some children may reach physical maturity prior to others, children’s physical and emotional maturity rarely coincide. Why would any parent want a child to think of themselves in sexual terms before maturity on any level has occurred?
From the comments at Surber’s:
Luke 17:2″ It were well forAmen
him if a millstone were
hanged about his neck, and
he were thrown into the sea,
rather than that he should
cause one of these little ones
to stumble.” Jesus Christ
Update:
Pundette has some excellent thoughts on the subject and one very creepy revelation:
Bonus item from the UK: Isn't it about time we started quizzing 11 year-olds about their sexual preferences?When did Kevin Jennings become the "safe schools" czar in the UK?
Children as young as 11 could soon be asked about their sexuality without their parents’ consent, it has emerged.
Teachers, nurses and youth workers are being urged to set up pilot studies aimed at monitoring adolescent sexual orientation for the first time.
A report commissioned by the Government’s equalities watchdog found that it was ‘practically and ethically’ possible to interview young children about their sexuality.
Controversially, it says parental consent, while ‘considered good practice’, is not a legal necessity.