Shrinking Hemlines

Have you been to a local middle school lately, or even an elementary school? As many of us know, girls wearing revealing clothing has been a problem for high school age girls. This problem is no surfacing as young as while girls are in elementary school. Children are easily influenced by other girls around them and what they see on TV. At these ages it is also important for children to feel as though they fit in. When everyone around them is wearing mini skirts and tube tops, girls feel the pressure to follow suit.

Shows such as Cheetah Girls and dolls such as the Bratz don't do much in convincing girls to dress more conservatively. The dolls and actresses in these shows are typical scantily clad. Being that these characters are aimed to attract girls in middle school and elementary school, marketers need to be more responsible. Marketers are aware that these characters are idolized by young girls and need to influence them to respect their body instead of telling them to flaunt it.

Not only are children influenced by characters they see on TV, they are bombarded with it in any clothing store. It seems as though it is difficult to take children shopping for respectable clothes when there are so many stores that sell these revealing styles. Companies such as "Pimpfants" that sell "baby beaters" and "junior pimp squad" t-shirts should not be incorporated in a department store. These companies are influences the tastes and preferences of these young children.

This week was the week of Halloween. Although I didn't get any trick or treaters my mom called me up to recap the night. The first thing out of her mouth was, "You wouldn't believe what these girls were wearing". She went on to describe a list of costumes that for the most part consisted of mini skirts, tank tops, and animal ears. My thought is that if they are wearing this revealing clothing at such a young age, it can only get worse. I don't think these children are going to start wearing more conservative clothing as they grow up. Instead I can only imagine that they will strive to be sexier than each other and as these girls grow up we will be seeing a lot shorter skirts and shorts, if that possible.

Inspiration for this post provided by Are Young Girls Dressing Too Revealingly?