The Sexualization of Early Childhood

The idea of the sexualization that is taking place for young children is astonishing to me. This is truly not a new topic either as I can recall when the JonBenet Ramsey case occurred it was sensationalized on the news and tabloids how she would dress up for pageants. When I began my associates degree I had an instructor who would use the term "prosta-tots" to describe very young girls who are dressed in a very adult manner. My heart goes out to these young children because they have truly became an avenue for their parent(s) to dress them in a manner that is not appropriate at all, and even unsafe in some ways, and also by exposing him/her to material or media that is not acceptable for even most teenage children. My son, who is fourteen, still does not have a facebook account and I monitor his phone, internet, video game, and television activities because of the content that I know is being conveyed and how I have listened to many of my very young students discuss in class.

Just a few weeks ago my nephew, who is eight, recently read the sign of an adult toy store and quickly wanted to know what kind of toys do adults play with.

While having a moment of 'free dance' within circle time, a Disney song is playing but a couple of the young girls in the class are bending over and placing their hands on their knees in order to pop their bottoms out in the same manner as many dancers do in music videos.

A few years ago a popular dance show promoted a group of very young girls dancing in a very sexualized manner and even costumes. You can find the full video on YouTube as well as comments about how great of dancers these young children are.

Photo Credit: https://the-end-time.org/2010/05/15/sexualizing-the-young-the-single-ladies-little-girls-dancing-controversy/

Young children are always observing, listening, and recreating the scenarios they have witnessed. From violent video games to crude humor in children's television shows. The exposure to overly sexualized ads and other forms of media, young children do not have an escape from these increasingly provocative portrayals of other children. This is turn causes quite a few issues for young children. Girls lack great amounts of self worth simply because she does not look like others or dress in a manner that seems to be how the media portrays all young girls. If a young child is not part of the dominant group then withdraw and depression can begin at a very young age.

I volunteered my son's field day for his middle school and I was floored by what seemed as a lack of dress code. Shorts and tops were quite skimpy in terms of what I would expect a child to wear to school. While I know these teenagers are not young children, the same sexualization is occurring constantly as a child grows. I think parents should be aware and also quite involved with the media and toys a child is using. Simply handing a child a device to occupy the time is not a way to assist a child because of the content being delivered to young children through shows or ads. While I will often compliment a child on how she is dressed or how her hair is done, I think this is something I will curtail with my class this coming fall. I do not want a child to think that they're worth is solely based on the appearance he/she presents with in class. I want to focus on the qualities of the child's character.