Sexualizing Kids

I could easily do three weeks of research and make this another legendary Marco Treatise, but I'll try to keep it short.

But before I start, a short comment on "Enchanted Piranha". The first thing that came to mind for me was some of the t-shirts that I've seen in foreign countries where they do NOT speak English. Someone comes up with the idea that they could sell some clothing if they put English words on them, so you see something nonsensical like "You drink sun dog milk cool has fun". Where did you buy that bike? Korea??

Now on to "sexualization"... Perhaps you've seen this op-ed piece by LZ Granderson. I think it qualifies for the designation as "viral" because I've seen it posted by bunches of people on Facebook (don't know if you've heard of that website Brad) and have also received it via email.

I don't understand why we as a culture are "sexualizing" at such a young age. To be honest, I'm pretty appalled every time I go to the shopping mall, both by what I see for sale and also what I see being worn by girls that are 12 or even 10 years old. I hold up what is supposed to be shorts, and they appear to be about the size of a folded-up napkin. The only limiter to how short they have become is the actual requirement for the crotch to start somewhere. To be fair, it's not just girls. I'm tired of seeing every boy's boxer shorts because either he's wearing his jeans around his knees or he's wearing super low cut jeans. White skin-tight tank tops are not acceptable for wandering around the mall.

Why would you let your teenage daughter leave the house in hoochie shorts and a t-shirt that says "You know I'm hot"? Why would you let your teenage son leave the house with a t-shirt that says "Drunk girls think I'm hot"? Why would you put a t-shirt on a BABY (a baby!) that says "I'm a tits man", "Proof that my Mommy likes to fuck", or "All my Daddy wanted was a blowjob"? When did prom dresses need to become sexy?

I don't have the slightest clue how to fix it, I really don't. But I'm curious to hear what your reactions are as fathers with daughters. I can't imagine the challenges of raising children, and in particular girls, in the world that we live in today.

I don't ask these questions or make these comments as some prude that is appalled at the sight of a bare shoulder or knee in public. But I seriously have to ask the question, where do we draw the line? We've all heard the phrase "Sex sells" for a long time, but I always assumed that applied to adults, not children.