As I read the article, So Sexy So Soon, I immediately thought of the girls within my class and what they must be going through in trying to relate to and claiming their sexualization, at such an early age. I do not recall at such an early age having to identify with so many messages from the media, advertisements, and their peers that explore sexualization. Levin & Kilbourne (2009) shared that children are paying an enormous price for the sexualization of their childhood. Girls and boys constantly encounter sexual messages and images that they cannot understand and that can confuse and even frighten them. Needless to say, it must be scary especially if there is no one to discuss your issues with, have a listening ear, and guide you in the right direction.
A few personal and/or professional experiences I have that further illustrate the exposure of young children to a highly sexualized environment of how prevalent sexualization is in early childhood is a young girl within my fifth grade class. She is well-developed in the “rear end” and several boys have started to notice and comment on her derriere. She has become so uncomfortable that when walking into class she covers herself with a jacket tied around her waist. I also have another student, fourth grade who is being teased because of many friendships the girls within the class. He is well liked by both sexes, but the girls seem to flock to him. One day as I was leaving my class, a group of girls were walking behind him and giggle while stating, “not only is he cute, but he has some luscious lips”. I had to pause and wonder where these students, at this age, would have received this thought from more or less the combination of words. And lastly, my ten year old son regularly keeps me informed of his ride home from school on the bus. This particular day he notified me that some classmates (girls) of his were commenting that a specific celebrity had a big private part. When one of the girls asked “how she knew”, she pulled out her phone and showed a picture of a males private and stated “because there it is and isn’t it humongous”. All of these examples clearly show that sexualization of our children is having an extremely alarming influence on their knowledge and awareness of gender, sexuality, and relationships.
Sexualization can gravely harm children’s ability to grow up and have healthy attitudes about themselves and their bodies and to have caring relationships in which sex is an important part (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009). The many causes of sexualization (portrayals in the media of sex and related issues, marketing of products and clothing with sexual connotations, access to the adult world via the internet, and the lack sex education within our schools has inflicted sexuality on our children before they are ready. The Association of Psychological Association (2007) did a study of girls and young women and found that sexualization has a negative impact on their self-image and healthy development. Younger girls are experiencing problems with eating disorders, depression and low self-esteem, as they worry and obsess about their weight and physical appearance, expressing increasing dissatisfaction with their bodies at a younger age than ever before.
As parents and educators we need to begin talking to our children (girls and boys) about how their experiences, and ours, are related to our oversexed culture. We have to be willing to share our opinions and take a stance for what we know is harming this generation. We can offset these harmful attitudes by being proactive and aware of what our children are watching on TV, movies, and reading. I think it is very important to support our children and show them that beauty comes from within and in many forms.
References:
References:
American Psychological Association. (2007). Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualization.html.
Levin, D., Kilbourne, J. (2009). So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids. New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from http://www.dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf
Terri,
ReplyDeleteWhen reading and thinking about the article myself I thought back to being a child and I don't remember sexualization of men and women being so engrossed in our society. Over the years our media and world has changed so much, it makes me worry what I will have to protect my own children from in the years to come. It is really scary to think about the children that don't get the appropriate conversations and guidance from their parents and how they view the world around them.Children are exposed to so much more at such an early age.
Very interesting your posting. I want to comment about your reference to clothing. Most parents thing we have to use our children to fulfill our wishes and wishes. Since we are adults we have to dress appropriately and our children too. But, we put to our children what we cannot use because we think we look cute. No they don't we are creating an adult image in a children body and soul.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your information!
Jessica, you are blessed that you don't recall having to identify with so many messages from the media, advertisements, and peers around sexualization. I specifically remember being in first grade and feeling uncomfortable because the boy across the table was exposing himself in class and giggling. I remember learning about sex in fourth grade from a neighbor and classmate who would make sex jokes and sexual hand gestures. I remember feeling so self-conscious at having to wear pink glasses because I didn't feel "pretty" when wearing them (it also didn't help that at the same time I had a broken tooth and a broken nose, can you imagine?!). Those were awkward years, weren't they? And yet so many children seemed to have some awareness of sexuality, even those that came from a caring and protective family. This week's learning has really encouraged me that it is not in our control to always protect children, but we can do our best and also equip them to face challenges when they arrise. We can do this by creating open dialogue with children so they feel comfortable in asking questions and expressing their confusion so that we can help them gain clarification. Thanks for sharing your post!
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