Several years ago, different child health professionals are warning about the excessive sexualization / eroticization in our well-off society. The consequences of all inappropriate stimuli that children receive, and many parents accept as valid, do not wait: girls who want to appear to be adults, under 16 who parade as professional models, small ones who are subjected to the whims of aesthetics by their own mothers, ...
We are facing a powerful problem that few people react to, but does it seem healthy that only four-year-old girls receive a message related to triumph through the image, instead of learning to appreciate their own qualities?
Apart from that, of course, children should think of a few more besides playing, learning and being happy. We talked today about hypersexualization, and we should know that it is a concept that years ago created the Canadian sexologist Jocelyne Robert. He intended to coin a word that would fit the meaning of 'representing' the child as a kind of miniature sexual adult.
Sexy girls in small girls body
I want to make it clear that it is not only the girls who receive these messages, but there is also an effort to turn small adventurers into real little men. But nevertheless, in the case of the girls, a worrying background can be seen: many times they become mere sexual objectsAnd worse, they may even assume it naturally, as Olga Carmona said in this interview for Babies and More.
There is a growing interest on the part of certain sectors of fashion and image, in erasing the natural development of childhood, to 'advance' stages, and that children are focused on grow early, without them having exercised their decision power (at least consciously).
The stereotype of girl - woman has been promoted, ignoring the consequences that this may have for the health of the little ones. First Acquisition of own criteria is inhibited, and the exercise of real liberties, and it becomes so subtly that a seven-year-old girl who wants to dress as a teenager and move like a character in her series for 15-year-old girls, believes she is free and making decisions.
Childhood is a crucial stage in the development of the person, and during it - taking advantage of the protection and care of parents -, children must learn social skills, problem solving, empathy; also develop your motor skills, not worry about what you are wearing and concentrate on playing freely ... among other things. But certainly not to make up too much, to get on top of some heels, or to participate with erotic poses in the practice of sexting.
I think the consequences are unpredictable, although we can intuit them, as is the case of the appearance of eating disorders (and increasingly soon), but what I have no doubt is that interfering with a child's healthy development can cause serious problems in adulthood.
According to Professor Amparo Moreno (of the Autonomous University of Madrid), there has been a social acceptance of the role of women who are really girls. By emulating images that they have accessed through the media, girls are encouraged to provide images and behaviors, which do not correspond to them by age.
But isn't it true that we are sexed beings since childhood?
Before showing some actions aimed at curbing this trend, I would like to give a clear answer for all those who do not see a problem in the hypersexualization of girls and boys, claiming that sexuality exists at all stages of life.
This is true, but their manifestations while the children are small (and small from my point of view they are until they are at least 11/12 years old), translate into curiosity, knowledge and acceptance of oneself, body exploration, learning respect for others, ...
Later, when they are big, sex education still necessary, but not of course putting the emphasis on coital relationships and contraceptive methods, but integrating this information in a broader context that responds to particular emotions and experiences.
Examples of liability
In 2007, the American Psychological Association an extensive document denouncing the sexualizing tendency of modern societies. Six years ago there was already concern about the fact that clothes, toys, video games, etc. Focus too much on eroticism.
Two years ago the United Kingdom took the reins, and there was talk of protecting the little ones by prohibiting the sale of sensual children's clothing, erotic ads, and even insinuating music videos. The restriction on the dissemination of erotic images in places or times that affect children began to be recommended.
In 2012, the conservative French senator Chantal Jouanno proposed to ban models under 16 from posing for fashion brands or competing in beauty contests.
And also in Canada it is intervening, since from schools it is intended to raise awareness. In the province of New Brunswick they have begun to organize projects and publish support material.
Catalina Ferrer, an academic at the University of Moncton, says that 'The idea is for parents to come together and decide, together with their children, ethical minimums on sexual behaviors appropriate to the age of young people '.
Among the solutions that can be adopted at a particular level is the education from the family. If we are aware that, as consumers, we can decide between the different offers we find while making the purchase, we should also discern the suitability of the images, contents and information that we allow to receive our children. But without a doubt, every solution must start with a individual reflection about the problem, and how we want our children's childhood to be.
Of course it would not be our role as parents to promote behaviors of erotic content in childrenAlthough, of course, there is nothing wrong with a girl taking her mother's lipstick and putting on makeup to imitate her, as the little one in the second photo does.
Images | martinak15, CourtneyCarmody, Mac Vincente In Peques and More | They sell a bikini with padding for 8-year-old girls
