The Real Fight: Are Children Being Sexualized?

Oh. My. God. Forget cute, she’s drop-dead gorgeous. She’s the girl of your dreams. How come you’ve never seen her at school? She lives nearby anyway. You quickly add her on Snap, and start stalking her on Insta, scrolling through pic through pic. You’re considering sending her DM, but your eye falls on her bio- and your jaw drops. Because this perfect girl is only twelve!

Hey guys! It’s Hibba, back with another debate. Ever since the COVID-19 outbreak, I’ve had plenty of time on my hands. So, I’ve put that time to good use, to bring you, another new topic! It’s not exactly Saturday, but at this point, who cares?

The topic I have chosen is....drumroll, please…: Are kids being sexualized?

This issue has been fought over for a while now, by the kids who are supposedly being “sexualized”, and the parents of those kids. With all the time I had, I decided it was appropriate to add my opinion on this pressing problem.

In my opinion: yes.

And no, you're not getting this opinion from a 46-year-old mom with four kids. You're getting this opinion from one of those children who is being “sexualized”. 

Yeah, trust me, I’m not a Karen.

Credits:https://imagez.tmz.com/image/7b/1by1/2019/11/04/7b6afdabb43d5de69b2ff7cac78a1f72_xl.jpg

In this fast-paced world of ours, filled with glitz, glamour, Insta-stalking, and private Snapchat stories, kids, and teens are growing up way faster than children used to. It’s evident that compared to the previous generation, we look, and sometimes even act older. But, that’s not always for the best.

Point one: clothes.

My 3rd grade outfits were basically the same: some dress from H&M, Kohl’s, The Children’s Place, or one of their cousins, a small jacket on top, colorful leggings, my black Mary Janes, and my trusty, one-piece black hijab.

My mom works in schools. She hops around the local elementary schools, so she’s seen and worked with little kids. And unfortunately, they don’t wear little dresses like I did, or frankly, nor do they wear the unicorn jeans I think are low-key cute.

The H&M Children’s Section is a whole lot different than it was just four to five years ago. We’ve moved from colorful, tie-dye tops that I used to beg my mom to buy to uh, CROPPED hoodies (what kinda’ belly do 7-year-olds have, to show?), plastered with um, Lisa Simpson’s face. Which, let’s just say, isn’t exactly the show your nine-year-old should be watching.

Clothing is a huge factor in the sexualization of kids. It’s different from just “showing skin”. The clothes that, especially for young girls, see in stores, and wear, play a major role in the sexualization of children.

It’s beyond the cropped hoodies, though. As girls get older, even though most children’s clothing companies produce their products for girls until the age of sixteen, but trust me, you’ll never even see a fourteen year-old girl wearing a T-shirt from the Children’s Place.

By even the second grade, girls, and even some boys, begin wearing clothing that mimics adult trends. While they aren’t all that straight-forward with tube tops, and short-shorts, it becomes evidently clear that it’s pushing the line for “age-appropriate” for an eight-year-old.

I’m not pushing it. Here is one of many outfits sold by the popular, fast-fashion company Boohoo, marketed to kids.

Creds: https://us.boohoo.com 

The girl, looks what? Ten years old, tops. But the clothes tell a bit of a different story.

For girls, it’s 90% tied to promoting their body and copying the clothing of “sexy” adults. For boys, it’s always about looking tough and buff, and that they have an obsession in nasty sexual behavior and relationships. 

Worst of all? Kids don’t even realize that they are being sexualized in such a way, at such a young and tender age.

Point 2: The Media.

*sigh*

How do I begin?

We all know how toxic the media can be. There’s no point in even trying to explain it, because we have all seen it ourselves.

Bratz. We’ve all seen them, and heard of them, ever since their comeback into the world of “aesthetic pfps”. But, they are much better known for their, well, um, portrayal of cool, and pretty teens:

Creds: https://scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/sh0.08/e35/s640x640/88417110_205933903956969_422557816702490028_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=109&_nc_ohc=L-w8_3-lAaQAX9FxWSQ&oh=e694acb810e78743d239b5002e0b2004&oe=5E931019

It’s easy to say that the first thing that is noticed in these dolls, are their big lips, and heavy eye makeup, which then proceeds to their, “interesting” choice in clothing, considering they’re marketed towards young girls. Unlike Barbie, who despite her blonde-babe look, has some feminist vibes, considering the whole “be anything” motto Mattel has been throwing at us for the past few years, Bratz is just the straight up, sexy, fashion-obsessed teen look. Do we really want to raise our kids under that kind of motto?

And it’s not, “they’re just kids, they don’t care about makeup and clothes”. These really do affect them. The American Psychological Association (APA) has revealed that prolonged exposure to these types of sexualized messages in a kid’s life have detrimental effects on their mental health, and self-worth. After that? Their self-esteem and confidence takes a tumble, and they began developing shame, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. So, why? Because they were told, ever since they were young, to look up to Photoshopped, “sexy” women as a role-model, and to imitate them at any age?

And don’t forget the boys. These kinds of things lead their young, naive brains to come to view the females in their life as nothing but sexual objects, and soon, they fall into what is called, the world of “toxic masculinity”.

It’s so unfortunately easy for kids to access sexual content online, despite parental controls. Ask yourself, how many times has one of “those” pop-ups appeared while trying to watch the newest Spiderman movie for free, online? Sometimes, it’s embedded in movies. Other times, it’s in the ads next to the Super Mario Bros. online games you tried to play as a five-year-old. It’s spreaded across Minecraft videos, with thumbnails of your classic Vine compilation with a provocative photo of, uh, you know. All it takes is a certain four-letter-p-word, which in today’s world, is a lot easier to pick up, than it was ten or fifteen years, ago.

Point 3: Adults.

Weird, right? 

I think about every girl with, especially a public Instagram account, knows what it’s like to have just another grown man sliding into your DMs. Like, your twenty-eight. I’m thirteen. You could go to jail for this kind of crap!

I mean, look at Billie Eilish. She just turned eighteen, what? About six months ago? But, it doesn’t take more than a couple of minutes to find an article titled “Billie Eilish Hottest Sexiest Pics” from when the gal was just sixteen.

And let’s be fair: she’s still basically a kid. Eighteen may be the legal age limit, but at eighteen, almost nobody is ready for the real-life world. Yet, there are some pretty disturbing uh, posts on Reddit about her from when she shed layers at her concert.

I mean, I was just scrolling on social media, when I came across this comment on a friend’s post: “ Your lips make me want to kiss you😘❤️”. Let’s put it as this: this girl looks her age, and isn’t even out of middle school yet. Creepy…

Adults have been sexualizing kids, whether you will admit it or not. They have been sexualizing their bodies. It doesn’t take too long to find pages and blogs dedicated to “lolicon”, Japanese anime and manga which depict pre-pubescent girls, doing not so innocent things. There’s been a wave in barely legal, uh- y’know. 

Even celebrities aren’t immune to it. I mentioned Billie Eilish before, but she’s not the only one. A top magazine, W Magazine, listed Millie Bobby Brown as one of the “sexiest women” of her time, when she was thirteen. Let me repeat that: THIRTEEN.

And let’s not start on poor Ariana Grande, who starred as the Cat Valentine of the hit children’s show Victorious. I mean, just look at this mess. And that’s all from one episode.

Adults are partly responsible, and people need to admit it. It’s one of the most overlooked parts about the hypersexualization of kids.

By this part of the article I would talk about how to resolve this issue, this problem. But the thing is- you can’t. I can’t. That’s up for parents to decide whether they’re going to fight this battle and how they will. 

And that’s just my opinion! Now, it’s your turn to voice your thoughts! Are children really being sexualized? Why or why not? Are clothing for kids these days appropriate? Is the media sexualzing children? Or is it just kids and teens are more mature than they were before? You tell me in the comments below!

Happy debating to all, and remember: stay safe!

-Hibba