Let Girls Be Girls - how is it going so far, d'you think?

[KateMumsnet]

It's been six months or thereabouts since we launched our Let Girls Be Girls campaign - and the time has come to take stock, and consider where we were, where we are, and where we would like to be.

For those who haven't been following the campaign closely, you can quickly catch up here. For those that have, what do you think of the show so far?

We're interested to hear all thoughts, suggestions, encouragements and criticisms - and we're particularly keen to hear whether you've noticed a difference in the product ranges offered by the retailers who've signed up. Mumsnetters are the eyes and ears of Let Girls Be Girls, so do please let us know what you think.

The eagle-eyed will also know that we're considering expanding the campaign to lad-mags - specifically, to the question of whether they and other sexually-explicit mags/papers should be displayed at children's eye-level. [[
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_campaigns/1011296-Should-we-be-setting-our-sights-on-lads-mags?pg=1 Here's the thread]] to let us know your thoughts.

I work for the only campaign/charity that is actively fighting to get lads mags age restricted and out of sight from children. Go to our website www.thefrontpagecampaign.org.uk we would really appreciate being featured on here. We come from a childs point of view, and have alot of political backing.
Please also sign our petition which can be found on the website. Visit our facebook group: front page campaign

We'd love to hear your comments :-)
Thanks

The problems of sexualising young girls through 'inappropriate' has been going on for a long time on and off, I remember some years ago the item was featured by Richard and Judy, (whatever happened to them?)
I believe a key tactic would be to target the 'buyers' for those firms who continue to stock 'offensive or inappropriate' items. Often this will be an individual, or a small team, and to challenge their own morality and ethics in sourcing and marketing such clothes may well have more effective than challenging the economic, customer choice arguments of the corporate PR specialists, usually childless 30 something.
A ethical and moral argument will i believe be more effective and than trying to legislate, and encourage the majority to ' think about spending their money in stores which are morally bankrupt.
The naming and shaming in an organised campaign would be far more impact and would have better long term outcomes that trying to make 'bad clothes laws'.
Inform and encourage people to choose better.

Yuck yuck yuck...so TK maxx are supposedly supporting this campaign??? I have just left there in disgust after looking at baby clothes and finding a baby girls outfit age 0-3 months....cerise pink tights with print of stiletto shoes on foot part of tights, matching pink tutu and pink and black striped T-shirt with Glamour Girl printed on the front !!! What sicko would dress their new baby in this? Or any child for that matter??? Even for teenagers it is completely inappropriate .

IV JUST JOINED THIS SITE, THOUGHT ID TELL YOU ALL ABOUT WHAT I FOUND IN TOWN THE OTHER DAY.
I WAS IN SHOES ZONE AND I FOUND A PAIR OF TODDLER HIGH HEELS, IN A SIZE 4! I COULDNT BELIVE IT, I EVEN SHOUTED OUT IN THE SHOP 'THATS CHILD ABUSE!' THERE STAFF DIDNT LOOK TO IMPRESSED LOL. BUT REALLY....I SERIOUSLY....CAN NOT BELIVE SHOE ZONE WOULD SELL THEM! IN A BABY SIZE 4! THAT MUST BE A HEATH ISSUE TO! THINK ITS ABOUT TIME WE GOT ON THE CASE TO SHOE ZONE!! STOP TRYING TO TURN TODDLERS IN TO TEENAGERS! THERE BABYS FOR BLEEP SAKE! AND SHAME ON THEM PEOPLE WHO BUY THEM!

Any link?

About pink : Little girls do like it ! I know, I know! When my daughter (now in her 30's) was little I dressed her in dark blue, dark brown, red, etc, even black when I could get it. Now my granddaughter is 3 I am so sad to see the clock turned back. I thought the battle of gender-specific colours had been won. Silly me! As a childminder I find that given a choice of anything which includes PINK, most of the girls, most times, will opt for it. I wonder if any academic research has been done into this phenomenon ? It might help if retailers offered a wider spectrum. In many stores the choice is pink or or fuchsia or magenta or light pink or deep pink. Funnily enough, I quite like pink but it turns my stomach to be confronted by a vista of marshmallow in the girls' clothing dept.

I have been into Marks and Spencer today and I have found that they are selling a range of crop tops and bras for young girls...in thechildrens clothing department I approached an assistant and asked why they were selling these items when they were signed upto the Let Girls Be Girls campaign. She knew nothing about the campaign or the pledge! She told me that this was what the customer wanted and they were losing out to other retailers by not selling them, I told her that we rely on M and S to have a higher code of ethics than this. Her response to this was that 'none of the crop tops/bras are underwired'.

and here are Dove again - taking another tack to get our girls using deodorant at ever younger ages...
Dove Continues Partnership with Girl Scouts
from Happi Breaking News by Christine Esposito
Girl Scouts of the USA and Dove are partneing to deliver Girl Scout leadership and self-esteem programming to millions of girls nationwide and abroad with the release of the latest Girl Scout leadership journey It's Your Story?Tell It!

It's Your Story?Tell It! uses a storytelling theme in a fun and relevant way for girls to better understand themselves and their potential.The collection of six age appropriate publications or "leadership journeys" have been developed for girls grades K-12 and is accompanied by corresponding adult guides. These resources center on a different theme at each Girl Scout grade-level and encourage girls to take the lead in planning their leadership activities and projects.
www.happi.com/news/2011/01/25/dove_deodorant_hits_the_road_with_noted_author?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HappiBreakingNews+%28Happi+Breaking+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Would it be feasible / desirable to have a Facebook page specially for the Let Girls be Girls campaign? I think it would drum up a lot more support and raise awareness among a wide range of people(not just mums)who may not necessarily be interested in the wider mumsnet issues. Just a thought.

Ideas I sent to government-

backing David Cameron's campaigns to protect children from premature sexualisation link- www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cameron-condemns-inappropriate-sexualisation-of-children-1903287.html

? I agree with the banning of sexualized children?s clothing-padded bra's and other inappropriate merchandise e.g. playboy pencil cases etc.

? Move lads mags up to the top shelf again in newsagents, the shop owners could just select their favourites if there?s not enough room, they shouldn?t be as low that children can easily see them or even pick them up!

? Stick to the 9pm watershed carefully on tv and even radio.

? remove porn and music channels from cable/freeview/sky, with an opt in scheme instead.

? Reduce sexualized advertising before the 9pm watershed

? Cleaner billboards with less sexualized images on them, just keep them in magazines for adults and on tv past 9pm or wherever appropriate.

? Age limits on some magazines for girls so that they read the appropriate content for their age and the same for lads mags, they should be I.d?d at the counter, you get I.d?d for knives, alcohol, cigarettes and dvd?s etc but there?s no strict rules for porn, including soft porn like zoo and nuts, or the sun newspaper.

? Make software more available so it?s easier for parents to control viewing content on internet and tv

? There is however the problem of controlling the downloading of music on the internet or videos from utube, perhaps on the back of an I.d card/learners/drivers license/passport/birth certificate etc they?d have to select the form of I.d and type in a code, even if it were a once they?ve done it once for a site they don?t need to again or something and it?s up to the people around them if they want to cheat this system-could also use a third party to check age like virgin mobile.

? No porn in public- an extension of the usual no porn at work rule, e.g. not viewing rude magazines on public transport and leaving material around etc

?Stricter rules on nudist beaches- I think better sign posting and someone patrolling the cut off line to prevent children wandering into them, like I once did!

please join my facebook group about this subject as a whole

Bring back the watershed! 9pm-protect children from inappropriate material.

under groups or copy and paste this link

www.facebook.com/note.php?saved&&note_id=10150102040194639#!/group.php?gid=127951171932

i think it's going well so far, keep it up

Time for my annual explosion of vitriol over the impossibility of girls having shoes fit to play in. After my thread last year on Clarks here we went into town today to buy new school shoes.

these were in Russell and Bromley.

It's not only the ShoeZone/ Brantano end of the market producing inappropriate footwear - but now the "higher end" is getting in on the act, too.

Incidentally, after my explosion, the assistant tried to suggest that they weren't "real" shoes, but dressing-up shoes. Yes, at fifty quid a pair..

yeah i think these types of shoes are for weddings and things, it shouldnt be all they offer though.

I don't have children, but my partner has an 11 year old, and i have never seen so much stuff thats wrong with the fashion companies ( and other companies ). We are so easy to jump on the "predator" bandwagon... and parents are so concerned but why put your child in an outfit that says "pornstar in training" or "to many boys not enough time" ?? What is WRONG with society?? Children should be children... When i was growing up i was building treehouses and climbings trees, riding bikes... not putting the latest makeup on and wearing short skirts!?

So Mumsnet i think good on you for starting this campaign, shame on H&M for not joining, as i do shop there... may be questioning where i shop from now on!

I know this is an old thread but the issues are not going away. BHS apparently signed up to the let girls be girls campaign but they are selling 3" high heeled shoes for children, some in leopard print. The smallest size I saw was a 13. Unfortunately my 11 yo daughter is attracted to this kind of stuff because she thinks it is 'fashionable'. Some other mums seem to think it is ok because it's everywhere and all the little girls wear them. They see it as harmless dressing up. I'm glad I am not alone in thinking that there is something not right about the current trends. Glad that something is being done. Thank you

Has no one noticed that there is stuff far more alarming and distressing to a child than a woman in her underwear, displayed on magazines at eye-level?

The likes of Chat, Take A Break, Full House etc always have coverlines like RAPED...by DEVIL GRANDAD! Baby SMOTHERED by druggie mum! Quite often there are gross pictures of exploding ringpieces or badly-battered faces inset onto the main pic, as well. Is this stuff being ignored because pro-censorship campaigners are always more obsessed with Stopping Men Wanking than anything else?

Is this campaign still active?

I really think it needs revisiting in terms of 'Lads Mags' and their positioning and also why weren't the front pages of national newspapers considered at the time?

I cannot tell the difference between what is seen on the covers of 'Lads Mags' and the front pages of the Sun and Star for example when Reeva Steenkamp (RIP) was killed, pictured in her bikini or when Helen Flanagan was pictured on the front of the Sun in a bra holding a gun to her head?

A friend of mine posted today on facebook that she had seen padded bras in the children's section of Primark. I remembered the campaign being set up (though can't believe it's been this long) and sent her a link to the campaign. Having done a bit of reading, though, it seems that primark have actually signed up - has it made a difference? They're still selling padded bras that fit children.

Do you mean padded where it is designed to boost size or moulded where there is some foam to keep a smooth line over nipples? If you mean the latter I might need to have a look as I am having real trouble getting any with a small enough band for my dd.

Hi, I'd like to correspond with the Mumsnet campaign leader direct, is this possible? I have an issue with a signed-up retailer, which I'm currently pursuing. I see this thread hasn't been used for some while, is the campaign still operating?

Many thanks

Lisa Bowley