September 22, 2006

Six Years Old, and Wearing Bras

A news story from Australia about how Target is selling "bralettes," padded bras for the six year-old set, along with the latest looks on those vampy dolls, The Bratz collection, set the blogosophere on fire. This is a pretty typical posting from a mom upset about how girls are being sexualized.

Apparently some experts say that this kind of dressing could make girls targets of pedophiles. News flash: Pedophiles can find toddlers in diapers flirty. Lots of us--myself included--ran around in hot pants, miniskirts, and tight jeans when we were little. Remember the outcry about Brooke Shields and her Calvins?

While I 'm not going to be buying my daughters bralettes any time soon, I think the problem is not this product but a culture in which women, and girls, are told they're valued according to some very narrow notion of beauty.

Is a Barbie doll, outfitted in this ridiculous glam outfit, wearing high heels, even when she supposedly is a doctor, so much better than a Bratz? Doesn't letting your five year old have a "make over birthday party" or professional manicures sending a similar message to outfitting her in a bralette? And when we spend half our time botoxing and obsessing about our own appearances, is it realistic to think our daughters will do something different?

If we don't want our daughters to covet these kinds of products, we have to do more than just say no when they ask--we have to counter and challenge the messages that we, as well as our kids, are getting about what it means to be beautiful. That isn't easy.


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