to me, the most disgusting thing in the universe is....

....seeing little girls in globs of makeup and wearing baby prostitute clothes. and yet, there's this store in the mall called Libby Lu that does just that. The first time I saw it, there was a crowd of 6 year olds coming out covered in makeup and wearing tiaras. The tiaras I can understand, but not the gobs of makeup! they looked like Britney Spears in minature. and, the little girls also get to play dress up in belly tops and tight low cut pants and it absolutly disgusts me. why would any self respecting mother let their kid have a birthday party at that place???? i saw an article in the washington post about it this morning, and it just made me sick. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/24/AR2006032402188.html

 

That's pretty fucked up. I agree, why would parents endorse this attempt to turn their SIX year old daughter into a minisex object?!? That's re-goddamn-diculous...

Peace and love

 

That's just awful. I was having a conversation similar to this not long ago with a father who's daughter attends the same school as my oldest son. He was complaining how so many of the little girls were looking like minature high schoolers, and how it bothered him to see parents dressing their kids like that at such young ages. Then he went on to say that he absolutely would forbid his little girl to dress like that. I totally agreed with him, because I have seen some of the little girls at the elementary school strutting around in tall, spiky heels, tiny little skirts, and just dressed far too mature for their young ages. No way will my daughter be doing that.

It's a shame that society pushes kids to grow up so quickly these days. What happened to childhood innocence? What happened to just being a kid? Now sexiness is pushed to younger and younger generations. It's sad really. But I for one and not going to follow that trend with my children.

 

so at what age is it ok for the kiddies to start lookin like minitramps?

i hate most the " in" clothes there are out there nowadays,, they are awful right down to young toddler wear... tryin to find clothes for a teen is a big chore,,,, n of course the teen dont like what momma deems appropriate,,,i hate the role models we have out there in society, i dislike the picture we r painting of females in general and all this kiddie glamour shit is just sicknin...

 

I'm going to respectfully disagree! really. little girls *want* to emulate the adult women in their lives. If their mommies wear skimpy outfits and lots of makeup, that's what those little girls are going to want to do too. They aren't tramps or sluts, it's not about being sexual in any way, they are just little girls doing what little girls do, practicing who they want to be when they grow up. It's no different than a kid dressing up like a cowboy or a tiger or anything else. When I was 7 or 9 or thereabouts, I wanted to be Cher. I wanted to dress like her, I wanted to look like her (except I wanted bigger boobs). I loved how confident she was in her own body (pre-plastic surgery, when the Sonny and Cher show was still on TV), how she loved the skin she was in. I wanted to be like that. I didn't want to be like my mother, ashamed of her body and keeping it all covered up as much as possible like it was something bad. I think it's just terrible that anyone would ever be judged by others just because of how they are dressed. Rise above it! Let the kids have their fun.

as a mother of two young girls, I want them to be confident enough in who they are that they are not ashamed of their bodies. I want them to be confident enough that they don't feel they have to dress a certain way to impress people. I want them to be confident enough that they don't think there is something so wrong with their own faces that they must cover every inch of it with paint, concealer, blush, and lipstick. I want them to know how beautiful they really are, and to be proud of themselves for what's inside. I don't want anyone making them feel ashamed if they want to go to the grocery store wearing a tutu, or anything else. And if they want to wear hoochie coochie sequins and sparkles, that's okay, too.

 

I agree Mamaboogie.

My two daughters love wearing my makeup and jewelry. I let them wear it when we got out. People think it's adorable. When I was little, I used to dress like Debbie Gibson, complete with atrocious 80s makeup and all.

I'm not for keeping kids locked in bubbles because there are some sickos out there. Pedophiles have always existed and they will look at your kid no matter how they are dressed. You can t protect your children from everything. That's not how life works. Some day I wont have a say in what my girls do, how they dress, whom they marry, where they live. What does one do then? lol.

I'm bothered by the references that dressing kids up sexualizes them and makes them easier prey for pedophiles. Are you saying that just because a little girl dresses like a mini pop idol, that her and her parents asked for it if she gets kidnapped? That's the same disgusting idea that a woman deserves to get raped if she wears a miniskirt.

The sexualization of children only happens if you think it. I've never looked at a little girl and thought "OMG! She looks like a full blown, slutty woman". I think "That little girl looks like she had fun with her mom's stuff..I wonder how much her mom had to spend to replace it".

The only thing though that does bother me are pants with words on the butts. I dont like them for adults either. Maybe it's the classless way kids will walk up to adults and other kids and go.."Look at my butt...it says Princess" while they stick their butts out. It reminds me of Jerry Springer.

 

ITA. I have a problem with ANYONE wearing phrases on their butts. Diva, princess, spoiled, brat, etc.

 

what about the ones that go across the chest like "sweet fcuk"?

some clothes are clearly sexually provocative....

 

A pedophile's paradise.

I have a hard time believing these poor kids will have an opportunity for a happy childhood.

 

If your hot and you wear a miniskirt guys are going to look at your legs and naturally have fantisies. The same goes for these little girls and pedophiles. It doesn't mean they deserve to get raped, but their asking for the attention of every sleezy duchebag pervert in the vicinity because guys don't choose to have most of those thouhts, they just happen. So don't wear a miniskirt if you don't want guys checking you out and hitting on you, and don't let your daughter wear that crap if you don't want child molestors checking them out and trying to kidnap them.

You can protect your child from child molestors, and you can prepare them for what to do if they get raped when they are teenagers and adults. Its stupid to say "She might get raped someday, and I can't protect her from that, so I'll not protect her from the molestors". Six year olds don't think much.

Also, that horrible store encourages children to be greedy, narcissistic, and conform. It could be especially damaging to your child depending on their personality and cause them to believe they have to be that way to be accepted. If you put an introvert into that situation, and you wont know for sure what your 6 year old is, its going to increase the chance that they are suicidal because they believe they should be acting the way those other girls are.

So it will mess up the girls personality. It screws up their self image because they want to become "super models". They'll end up trying to starve themselves and become anorexic or bulimic probably.

Also, it encourages gender roles. Girl look pretty, and it tells them they need to work to look pretty. Its really just a bunch of bullshit to get your money.

Little girls don't need to lose their innocence at the age of 5 or whatever. You lose your innocence when your a teenager, slowly.

Protect your children from child molestors because they aren't ready, and prepare them for if they get raped for when they are ready.

Seriously, this is disgusting.

 

what makes anyone think a pedophile would be turned on my a child wearing adult-like clothes? Pedophiles like children and are probably more turned on by the sight of a diaper than a halter top. Clothes don't turn a person into anything. Who we are runs much deeper than what we look like on the outside. Degrading "gender roles" will only cause self esteem problems for the little girl who really is a girly girly frou frou. Some girls really do like girly stuff, and there's nothing wrong with that!

If you want to protect your child from molesters, teach them to trust their intuition and people-sense. Teach them that adults are not always unquestionable authority figures. Build up their self confidence and self esteem. Never invalidate their feelings by making them talk to someone or hug someone if they don't want to do it. Read Gavin DeBecker's Protecting the Gift. great book.

 

I think we should just think how those clothes and make up are designed. The reason women wear makeup is to a. make themselves look better b. make themselve feel better about themselve c. attract men/women d. possibly show off to their peers as to how good they look. littles girls don't need to do any of that. so why should they wear makeup? as for the clothes, I know that they are minature of what the teenagers or grown ups wear. but you know why the grown-up clothes they are copying were designed that way? to be sexy. why do we want children wearing copies of clothes that were designed to be sexy? i know they don't really understand what they are wearing or what the message the clothes are sending, but that just makes it worse. letting the little girls unknowingly wear clothes that too adult for them. they'll just think its okay, and when they are old enough to understand what sexy is, they'll ccontinue to think its still okay and keep dressing sexy, and by that point they'll probably have a figure and will start getting attention for it. then we won't have an innocent little girl, we'll have an oversexualized teen.

 

Although, I personally oppose such degradation of children. I do believe that the "saftey" aspect is going a bit too far.

"Harmful To Minors" by Judith Levine is a good book against carrying paranoia too far.

 

I think it's disgusting... four year olds getting around looking like total whores.

 

I definitely would not agree that they are asking for her to be kidnapped or molested or anything.

However, if a man were to dress up a 4 year old like the girl in the picture on the first page of that article, and take photos of her, people would likely accuse him of BEING a pedophile. Yet, if women do it, especially if they get together in a group to subject all of their daughters to it as a group (gotta love peer pressure), it's ok???

 

As a woman expecting a little girl, frankly, this frightens me.

Yes, I agree that the girls don't see this as anything remotely like adults do. However, in letting them emulate these "celebrities" that are only degrading themselves, their intelligence, and their femininity, what are we teaching them?

Yes, I wore my mom's make-up. I slipped into her high heels. And sometimes, I wanted to wear her clothing. But my mother didn't wear extreme low-cut jeans, crop-tops, and the like. She wore clothing that accentuated her natural beauty and didn't reveal too much. And so I grew up respecting myself enough to wear clothing that flattered my body.

These little girls, while it's not bothering them now, how they may look in those clothes. One day, it will dawn on them that their belly pouches out in that mini-top and it doesn't on Paris Hilton. She'll begin to see herself as fat. And then a vicious cycle starts.

We can teach our girls beauty without teaching them beauty through the eyes of a rather warped and unattainable social image. Expose them to beautiful greco-roman and ruben-esque art. Call it beautiful. See a woman on television that's got a nice glow, a nice personality, and wears clothing that makes her look good. Compliment her. Compliment your little girls on her natural beauty. Show your own beauty.

But all of this diva, princess, pop-star, and starlet crap is not going to further anything but the degradation of females in the long run. These little girls won't remain innocent about the sexual connotations of their clothing forever. And that's when the trouble will begin.

 

It says at the beginning of the article "A girl turns 6 and she wants the Tween Idol makeover for herself and her friends..."

For those of you who do not know, the term "tween" is usually used for the age group 10-12 or around there; the in between stage between childhood and teendom. I didnt realize that 6-year-old children were now being referred to as a tween that is still a child!! only just started school, for christs sake.

I think this whole thing is ridiculous and appalling. Why make children grow up so quickly? I regret trying to act mature in my MIDDLE school years and now its starting as early as ELEMENTARY??

I do, however, agree with mamaboogie in one sense though. Kids are, of course, going to act the way the adults around them act. So thats why I think we should set a good example for the children in our lives so that they dont feel like they have to grow up so quickly.

 

why would paedophiles go for little girls that look like grown ups, dont you think they'd go for kids that look like kids, it is after all, children they fantasise about, not adults.

Dont get me wrong, I see your point but, how far do you takre it? There is an element of danger in most things. Women dont get raped because they wear skirts, they get raped cos some sick fuck couldnt help himself. Doesnt mean they should stay inside forever does it? Same goes for kids, anyone who didnt have a problem wouldnt do it, and anyones who does isnt going to base their choosing of a victim on her grown up clothes and makeup.

Plus, kids have been trying to be like grown ups since the dawn of time. If this is what we present to outr kids as rolemodels, then... its our fault, as a society, not as parents, or children

 

i'm walking proof that it's not just miniskirts that get sick fucks attention. i'm not going to say that i don't avoid provocation for the most part, but sick fucks don't just rape a chick in a miniskirt. same would go for little girls playing dress up.

 

i think what green is getting at is risk vs reward. Is it smart to walk down a dark alley in a city? Probably not. Is it smart wear sexually provocative clothing in an area that is known for rapes? Probably not.

I dont think anyone is saying you SHOULDN'T be allowed to wear those clothes, but that your choices can help influence(trigger) others to act. We should be allowed to do any of the above things without any fear. We, however, dont live in a world that allows that.

Little girls that dress like britney spears DO NOT look like britney spears. They look like little girls whose belly button and thighs you can see. I really doubt a pedophile would look at a girl in a miniskirt and go "nah too old for me."