Girls Gone Wild?

I have recently revamped my entire morning routine. It really happened by accident one day when I didn't hear my alarm (5:30-5:45ish and way too early) and woke up on my own closer to 7:00. I still had time to do all I wanted and made it to work on time. Plus, I woke up feeling completely refreshed. So, I'm just trying to go with it and it seems to be working pretty well! One of the best things about waking up then is that I don't miss Good Morning America, which I love. This past weekend I saw the most disturbing story about little girls' swimsuits. A major American clothing retailer is selling triangle bikini tops with padding - marketed (according to GMA) to as young as 8 year-olds. I could vomit. That is sexualization of baby children. That is disgusting.

Last week my husband and I were out to dinner and I couldn't help but watch these two young girls (probably ten) running around in their little girl clothes but with makeup on. And not play makeup, but eyeliner and eyeshadow makeup. It just screamed wrong and was really distracting, not to mention disturbing. When I was a little girl, this is how my friends and I played makeup (E.M.H., if you're reading, I'm sure you remember a certain eyeshadow all over the face incident!):

But these girls were into some serious heavy eyeliner. And where are the parents to say no?! You are too young. Apparently nowhere to be found. I played dress up as a child and experimented with makeup, but I never would have been allowed to wear a padded bikini swimsuit or go out in public with eyeliner on at age 8. That's taking things too far. And people come at this argument from two sides.

1. The parents should draw the line. If there weren't the request, there would be no production of such products. 

2. The manufacturers should never make the products in the first place.

I tend to agree a bit with both sides. While I think the manufacturers of these bathing suits should be ashamed of themselves, I also agree that the parents simply shouldn't allow their little girls to wear such adult clothing items. But the root of the problem is truly the fact that the manufacturers are essentially selling a body image to young girls that you are not good enough the way you are. This type of thought implanted in their minds and left to grow has dire consequences down the road. Poor self esteem pushes them to seek attention in all the most inappropriate ways - smoking, drinking, sex, drugs. The saddest thing about it all is that kids can't be kids anymore. There is no childhood - it's disappearing before our eyes. It makes me all the more grateful for the wonderful childhood I was afforded without so many pressures to grow up so quickly. 

Another side of the problem - oh wait! We have a pedophilia epidemic in our country! eSecurity Planet reports that over the past 5 years, the calls to them reporting child pornography have increased 300%. If that's not disturbing, I don't know what is. I can't go so far as to say that this is all directly related to the sales of some padded bathing suit tops for little girls, but there has to be a correlation somewhere. Retailers in America are so caught up in making more and more money that they have ceased to think about the wide scale social consequences to their actions. 

I could never claim to be the most responsible consumer, but stories like this really make me wake up and pay attention to where I'm spending my money. I for one, would rather spend my money supporting initiatives like this one.