The Sexualization of Early Childhood

The sexualization of early childhood is alarming.  I recently looked at a set of pictures depicting classic Disney princesses from when they first appeared to their make overs in recent years.  Their waists were smaller, curves more defined, and breasts bigger.  This caused me to stop in my tracks and recognize how sexualized or society has become in recent history.

I have personally experienced this phenomenon.  I have a five year old daughter, and trying to find pants that aren’t hip huggers that eventuate the nonexistent curves of my daughter is nearly impossible.  The pants are not the only article of clothing that that is not appropriate for my five year old daughter.  From spaghetti string bikinis to belly shirts the apparel of the preschool age is becoming strikingly like young adult clothing.

As a teacher I have experienced this sexualization through children’s dancing and the toys they bring from home.  I recently had an experience where I watched as a three year old boy began hip thrusting and grinding on a little girl when we were dancing during music and movement time.  His behavior was obviously something he had seen somewhere before, and he had no idea what he was doing.  On the same day I had several girls bring in their monster high dolls.  I was not familiar with this program, but was alarmed by the clothing and bodies of these dolls.  The little girls adored these dolls and enjoyed dressing them up, but the message these dolls were sending these girls about body image was disturbing. 

The implications of this sexulaization on children’s development range from future relationships to body image.  Levin and Kilbourne (2009) stated, “These lessons can seriously harm their ability to grow up to have healthy attitudes about themselves and their bodies and to have caring relationships in which sex is an important part” (p. 4).  Body image has been something I have seen many young girls struggle with, and as an educator I try to include in my curriculum and classroom environment healthy examples of men and women that are not over sexualized.  I try to stress the importance taking care of ourselves by eating healthy, getting plenty of sleep and exercise, and drinking water.  It is my hope that this approach can help to combat some of the unhealthy body images children are bombarded with in their lives.

This week’s study of the sexualization of early childhood has opened my eyes to the negative outcomes that it can cause in children.  I always knew it wasn’t healthy, but there are many more repercussion that I had every considered.  It has helped me to realize the importance of knowledge and awareness to help our future, our children, to combat these unhealthy trends.

 

Reference

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf