16 year old niece only wants money for her birthday for a boob job!

[Charlize43]

This is a bit of a rant, so apologies in advance.

I had a bit of a row last week with my Sis as her daughter, who is 16 texted me to say that she only wanted money for her birthday as she is saving up for a boob job! She doesn't look underdeveloped to me and is still growing! Giving her money for her birthday is not the issue for me, I'm more taken aback by what she wants to spend it on.

My Sis is very much of the attitude, let her do what she wants but I'm a little disappointed that she seems completely obsessed with Love Island and that particular lifestyle; influencers like Lottie Moss & Zara McDermott who promote a very sexualised image; and singers like Cardi B and Meghan thee stallion (what type of name is that?) who just seem like singing strippers to me.

I am the eldest, and when I was 16, I grew up with singers like Annie Lennox, Alison Moyet, Kate Bush, and Chrissie Hynde - women who didn't have to be half naked and sexed up to promote their music.

My niece went out last night with two of her friends: one was wearing a suit jacket with clearly nothing on underneath but a pair of shorts and every time she moved I'd get a good view of her breasts. The other wore some kind of cross over top that had both her boobs visibly hanging out from the bottom (I'm not making this up), my niece was wearing a sports bra and a pair of combat trousers. I have no idea where they were going and my sister didn't seem to care.

When did girls become so sexualised? I've never really got how it is suppose to be 'empowering' to dress like that. I didn't seem to get that memo.

Clearly I am too old to understand the younger generation but I'm seeing a lot of body obsessions, bikini pics, boob jobs, big blown up lips, posting selfies in your undies on Instagram, etc.

My niece says she'd love to go on Love Island. Is this what young people aspire to these days?

I feel like I'm the only one standing here with my mouth open. Maybe I should just shut up and go back to listening to Alison Moyet.

Does anyone else feel like this? I don't recall young women being so sexualised when I was young...

I think the Kardashian’s and other social media/reality TV stars have a lot to answer for in creating and perpetuating this culture in which girls feel like they need to look overtly sexualised.

I was a teenager in the 90s/00s and don’t remember it being like this at all. I never had, and still don’t, have any real idea how to do my makeup and hair and just don’t remember thinking that much about what I looked like. It’s totally different for girls now, there is so much pressure to look perfect.

We rebelled in other ways though back then, I don’t know many of my generation who didn’t experiment with drink and drugs. I also don’t know many who weren’t sexually assaulted or harassed so unfortunately not appearing overtly sexual in appearance didn’t really protect us from that.

Why don’t men feel the need to dress in tiny outfits? Why don’t they? Because bloody everything is aimed at the male bloody gaze.

What, you've never seen muscley blokes squeezing themselves into tight tops to show off their guns?

Steroid use is at an all time high and generally fucks you up much more than women's cosmetic procedures. Impotence, depression, infertility, the necessity for lifelong hormone treatment in severe cases where endocrine system is destroyed.

Google 'bigorexia'. It's a common form of body dysmorphia that makes men think they look weedy when they don't. Recent studies predict that 10% of gymgoing men have it, but it gets missed because of the ironic association with gym fanatics as being into 'healthy living'.

Forget to add heart problems. Read a story about a young guy who recently died after ignoring doctor's advice that he was developing heart issues. Was only like 18-20yo.

Dude no.

When I was 16 I wanted a fairy tattooed across my back. So glad that my pleading fell on deaf ears. No no no.