Billboard style advertisement in China for Disney products, Photo by David Roberts 2008
Regardless of how much you want to shield the children of the world from exposure to sexual content, it is increasingly difficult and near impossible. Shy of eliminating all forms of media from your child and then never leaving the house with them in tow, you really can’t. We live in a world where sex is everywhere and we use motto’s in business, such as “sex sells.” One is left to question where the line of sexuality and harm is crossed?
Children are increasingly sexualized in what may seem like indirect methods in various advertising content such as, TV ads for birth control, erectile dysfunction and sexually transmitted disease. All of these forms of media play in the middle of the day and now require explanation to children. Large fashion retailers use underage models, who are often scantily clad or nude, to sell cosmetics, clothing and perfumes. Reality TV has regular shows exposing young children in the pageant or entertainment life, leaving many to question how parents can allow children to parade around in heavy make-up and skimpy costumes to be judged by a panel of adults.
We also see a major shift in our language, which takes on a sexual nature in what has become a glorification of a sexually explicit lifestyle including, pimping, which is in fact human trafficking. Just turn on your TV and count how many times you hear the work “pimp”, “ho” or “b***”, it will leave you baffled. Often this transition is unnoticed and completely misunderstood, for example my own acquaintances value my tireless efforts in the fight against human trafficking and child exploitation and still I hear them say things like: “hooker shoes”, “me pimping.” I know for a fact they are not “hookers” and have never “pimped”, so why the labels? The fact of the matter is that such language has become so normalized that meaning is lost. Both examples came from adults over the age of 40, well educated and aware of anti-trafficking. The reality is that the age at which one is introduced to sex is lower and lower; we have increasingly sexualized our society and for it our children are paying a higher price.
Over sexualization leads to a number of harmful factors that can effect a person’s self worth, such as: belief that value is derived solely from sexual appeal or behavior; adherence to narrowly defined physical attractiveness; sexual objectification or even abuse; and the damaging effects of inappropriately imposed sexuality by a person of power.
Certainly, dressing or allowing your child to dress in a manner that may be deemed sexualized does not directly lead him or her to the world of commercial sexual exploitation. However, such actions do open a window, thus placing the children at greater risk of exposure to abusers and traffickers. Regardless of where you stand on the debate over the commercialized sex industry, children are not willing participants to sex, or sexual advances, and they are innocent victims. The images of child porn are haunting- they are left to float in the virtual world and continue to victimize the child throughout the remainder of his or her life. The pain and scars of sexual abuse may fade in time, but they never go away.
Please see related posts such as; https://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2011/10/06/is-halloween-becoming-less-kid-friendly/, https://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/12/09/are-children-paying-the-price-for-our/, https://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/10/22/the-changing-face-of-porn-and-the-price-we-pay/.
