Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 9:57 PM
Subject: excerpt of article about Tweens
The catwalk of catastrophe
It’s hard to imagine that tween girls – ages 8 to 12 – would find their value in sex appeal, but when one looks at the world around her, there is no doubt about it. From pre-teen lingerie to sexy dolls to nearly naked pop stars, young girls are being bombarded with sex. Their role models are the pretty faces of naughty girls Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan – a.k.a. the “Brit Pack.”
MSNBC reports that a recent Newsweek poll “found that 77% of Americans believe that Britney, Paris and Lindsay have too much influence on young girls.”
The Telegraph, a British newspaper, claims that Britney has been sexualized since childhood, and as a result she is now a 25-year-old divorced mother who has apparently hit rock bottom.
“That is a tragedy,” said the Telegraph article, “but there is an even bigger one unfolding: the generation of girls prematurely sexualized by the cynical manipulation of Spears and performers like her.”
One L.A. mother believes this generation of girls is being raised as, what she calls, “prosti-tots.”
Instead of Holly Hobbie or Strawberry Shortcake, young girls are now playing with Bratz – dolls with oversized facial features and who come dressed in mini skirts, fishnet stockings and feather boas.
Courtney wrote in a blog posting at www.vickicourtney.com that tweens spent $1.6 million on thong underwear in 2003. Also popular among the tween and teen crowds are Abercrombie and Fitch screen-print T-shirts that display phrases like, “Who needs brains when you have these?” “Anatomy Tutor” or “Available for Parties.” And don’t forget the sexually explicit lyrics found in songs such as “My Humps” by the Black Eyed Peas and “Candy Shop” by 50 Cent. These lyrics – although too graphic to print here – speak volumes about the state of society.
“One thing is not in doubt: a lot of parents are wondering about the effect our racy popular culture may have on their kids and the women they would like their girls to become,” reported MSNBC.
The APA suggests that “Parents can play a major role in contributing to the sexualization of their daughters or can play a protective and educative role.”
http://www.afajournal.org/0507mom_power.asp
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http://www.osv.com/OSVNav/OSVNewsweeklyMay132007/SocietysellssexCanyouthsbetaughtnottobuy/tabid/3061/Default.aspx
By Mary DeTurris Poust
Society sells sex: Can youths be taught not to buy?
Marketing targets even preschoolers, but parents and church can promote virtuous alternatives
We've all heard the advertising adage: "Sex sells." But nowadays that strategy is being taken to new lows as marketing gurus target young girls -- some as young as preschool -- with overly sexualized clothing, toys, music and more.
Sex is society's central theme these days, and it can be found everywhere, from department stores selling thong underwear for 6-year-old girls to cable stations airing near-pornographic music videos to college students who have turned sex into a sport known as "hooking up." The sexual revolution of the 1960s has become a free-for-all, with college women doffing their tops at parties and young girls buying into the notion that sex is their main reason for being.
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