Opinion: Too much, too young?

Is the effect of sexualised advertising in magazines, television and 'tween' magazines having more of an impact on young children than we realise? After reading Melinda Tankard Reist's opinion piece "Pin-up children" on The OnLine Opinion, and seeing the behaviours of children where I work, the answer to that question? Definately.

A friend and I were in a homewares store recently and the famous Pussycat Dolls song Loosen Up My Buttons came on over the sound system. At this point a woman had walked in with her small daughter standing up in the trolley. The little girl obviously watched her Saturday morning music video shows because she knew all the dance moves to this song. It could have been cute, a little girl dancing away to her favourite tune. But it wasn’t – instead I felt sorry for her because we all know that the Pussycat Dolls dance like strippers. Not a good look for a six year old girl. Her mother didn’t seem to care, but the rest of the store, including me, was a little disturbed.

So with images such as those of the Pussycat Dolls in music videos, billboards glamorising sex and sexuality and children’s clothing with slogans like “Sexy Girl” splashed across the front, is it any wonder girls are growing up too quickly? And whose fault is it – the parents for allowing their children to consume these sexualised representations in the media of women and girls? Or is it the fault of the Advertising Standards Board, publications, and manufacturers who allow these representations to perpetuate through their products?

Sure, parents can refuse to buy these magazines and inappropriate clothing, and ban their kids from watching music videos, but you cannot protect them from everything. With advertisers pushing the envelope beyond the limits, they will encounter these sexualised and sexist attitudes and images, whether it is at a friend’s house, walking through a shopping centre, listening to the radio or watching television. As Reist points out, the increasing hospitalised cases of eating disorders, depression and body image issues are cause for alarm. The overriding attitudes of media and advertising authorities is to disregard just how influential an advertisement, especially a sexualised one, can be on young minds. Having worked in childcare, I know all too well the effects media and advertising have on young kids. At this age, children’s brains are like sponges – they soak up everything. I have heard three and four year olds singing the sexual lyrics to Nelly Furtado’s Promiscuous Girl and who refuse to eat lunch because it might make them fat. They talk about how they want to be like Paris Hilton so they can shop and carry out around a dog in a purse all day. Whatever happened to every little girl's dream of becoming a ballerina or a vet?

No wonder these are the aspirations of young girls - have a look at their role models. Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears were once squeaky clean at the start of their careers – virginities in tact and ethanol free. Now with the next generation of girls watching, sex, drugs, eating disorders and alcohol are glamorised and all that these young girls have to look up to is incarcerated, intoxicated and unintelligent ‘celebrities.’ It’s no wonder there has been a jump in teenage pregnancies and teenage binge drinking in recent years – our youth, especially our girls, are not being sent the right messages through the media. If self regulated advertising firms continue to neglect the need for positive youth marketing as they have been doing for so long, the ABS need to step up. Young girls need to cope with and enjoy their youth and adolescence – not be rushed through it.