Campaign to stop retailers selling products that prematurely sexualise children - let us know what you think...

[JustineMumsnet]

So quite a few folk on the MN campaigns thread mentioned that an issue they'd like to see MN get involved in is the premature sexualisation of children.

So we've put together an outline for a potential campaign, along the lines of Let girls be girls, summarising the issues and some of the research. The aim is to encourage retailers to make a simple, public pledge that commits them to selling only products which do not sexualise children.

Please do have a read and let us know your thoughts, ideas, suggestions.

Thanks.
MNHQ

[MegBusset]

I don't like camo gear or skulls or 'little monster' slogans for my boys, either. So I don't buy them. Simples!

[partystress]

Yep fab idea and I support the idea of extending it to de-violence-ising boys' clothes - we are rightly appalled by child soldiers in Africa, yet I struggle to find non-Army style gear for my 9 year old DS. Don't think it's a case of trying to be taste and decency arbiters, but maybe some kind of MN kitemark for retailers who can convince us they have a decent policy and that they make sure they stick to it.

[theyoungvisiter]

but meg - sometimes it's almost impossible to find a product without the slogans.

The coverall bibs for example - not many places sell them and generally there are only two kinds in stock, girl and boys. At Sainsbury's you can buy "little monster" or the "little princess" or go without - that's the choice.

[MegBusset]

If only there was a fabulous place called the internet where people could order a huge range of goods in whatever style suited their personal taste!

I don't mean to be facetious, I really do think that pink crap and camo crap are, well, crap. But I really find it hard to believe that the vast majority of shoppers are genuinely hard-pressed to avoid this stuff -- at least until the DC are old enough to go and buy it themselves!

[MegBusset]

I dunno. It's like saying "let's ban McD's/KFC/whatever from every high street because they're unhealthy for kids". You wouldn't say "well I had to go in and feed my kids that Happy Meal, I had no other choice".

[theyoungvisiter]

Well yes I suppose I could trawl websites for coverall bibs and buy them online and pay extra plus P&P etc etc. But you know what - I shop at Sainsbury's and when a bib rips I need another one to replace it quick. I don't want to schlep around. I want the shop where I spend a hell of a lot of money to bear my views in mind when they design their products.

Also I guess it's partly down to whether you think people really are crying out for this aggressively gendered stuff.

I honestly don't think they are. I buy most of my children's clothes in Sainsburys (because it's cheap and easy and I can return it without hassle if it doesn't fit). The lines that sell out quick are the neutral ones. The red wellies. The stripy t-shirts. The bright green gloves.

The stuff left over in the sale is always the aggressive shiny pink wellies and the camouflage gloves. Yet they continue to stock it.

I think the lack of gender neutral stuff is a cynical ploy on behalf of retailers because they have realised that if they make stuff unwearable/unusable for the opposite gender, they will sell more because it can't be reused.

You can't pass a pink jersey saying "daddy's princess" down to a baby brother, that's the bottom line.

[theyoungvisiter]

Plus also only available to the shopper who has a computer, an internet connection and a credit card.

Or do only middle-class people deserve to have a choice?

[coldtits]

this is how it should be done - fashionable yet appropriate

[edam]

Great idea, I'll sign up. (Although I agree with Dittany about broader context, focusing on kids' clothes and products is a start.)

[Swedington]

I think high heels on a 4 year old are comedy. High heeled school shoes are stupid adult who chose them.

[Prettybetty]

Great idea!

[GreenMonkies]

Not just sexualising, I am also horrified by the availability of high heels for little girls. Young feet, knees and hips are not developed enough to cope with the stress that high heels put on them, I have seen heels in the children's department that I would struggle to walk far in!

We need to keep our children children. grown up stuff is for grown ups!!!

[coldtits]

Oh dear

[coldtits]

and here]

[coldtits]

Trailerpark trash

[FluffyForLifeNotJustForXmas]

The TV/media that children are exposed to also needs to be addressed. Eastenders for (example)is on well before the watershed, even at christmas it's on at a really early time in the earshot of children and with content that is less then child friendly. The story lines of many of the soaps are not aimed at children (paedaphilia/rape/murder etc) yet are broadcast on prime time TV before the watershed. If we wish to preserve our little one's childhood then this needs to be addressed. It should be in conjunction with the stores not selling sexualised products aimed at children, they should not be exposed to this content on an almost daily basis aswell. Even childrens TV programmes and childrens computer games depict violence (ie, Ben 10), no, they are not shooting other people but they still contain violence.
There's a whole package of this bombarded at our children on a daily basis, if we wish to protect them and keep them as children for as long as possible then surly all of this needs to be addressed, parents/grandparents/carers/family members are responsible for the products they buy for their children, they are responsible to the exposure that their children have to adult-aimed TV programmes. The effects of this need to be explained to parents so that they can make an informed decision.

[piprabbit]

My DD (now aged 6) has been expressing her inner diva for several years now, and despite my personal preferences is drawn to wearing inappropriate clothes. Given free-choice during the Christmas holidays she was wearing a bikini top with wooly tights and skirt that was too short as she'd long outgrown it.

However, she was only allowed to wear this around the house. I'd put it in a similar class as her dressing up outfits. When we leave the house, I make sure she is dressed decently and appropriately for the weather - although I may not approve of all her colour combinations and layering choices.

As the adult it is my job to choose the clothes she has in her wardrobe and to dress her appropriately when in public. The fact that she can make Boden look trashy with the help of some plastic beads and last year's outgrown vest is just her special talent - I must nurture her ability to dress creatively while protecting her from adult misinterpretation.

I think it's very possible to avoid 'sexy' items for girls when shopping, but it would be lovely if the buyers for big chains were encouraged to make better choices when choosing the designs they want to stock. So on the whole I'd support a campaign aimed getting rid of the most offensive items.

[defineme]

I have read about a 'Pink stinks' campaign which seemed to address some of these issues-perhaps you could link up with it?

[LackaDAISYcal]

Will definately add my name to this campaign. As the mum of a toddler girl; I hate with a vengeance some of the slogan stuff that is out there, and am dreading when she starts school and bowing to all the peer pressure, given the state of many of the girls I see going through the school gate on non uniform days.

Am horrified at the baby high heels though, truly horrified!

[CarmenTinselPalmTreesSanDiego]

Absolutely agree with Lynette. While I don't think children should wear provocative slogans, I really don't understand the argument that children are being sexualised by clothes.

What on earth is making people see 'SEX' when they look at a child? Why are bikinis or halter necks or short skirts 'sexual'? Anyone who looks at a child's legs or shoulders and sees something sexual has a problem... not the person who dressed the child like that.

I am fairly middle class and more Monsoon than Primark. I remember a halter neck catsuit from Next that my daughter had when she was 4 or so and wore for Christmas. She looked gorgeous and elegant and got lots of compliments. I'm horrified that people might think I was somehow 'sexualising' her.

And if you live in a warmer country, what are you supposed to dress a child in?

Yes, argue clothes on practicality - high heels bad for the feet, provocative slogans - offensive and inappropriate. But claiming that sequins or short skirts or swimwear is sexy is entirely subjective and basically about snobbery imo. I think people who see it this way are a bit odd.

Surely Mumsnet has far more important things they could use their campaigning powers for.

[2010aQuintessentialOdyssey]

Agree with a lot of what Lynette and Carmen is saying.

I am not against the campaign in principle. However, trade is based on supply and demand and if such items are stocked, it is because there is a demand for it. I doubt you are going to make stores stop selling a well earning item. People need to start thinking about children and fashion and what we communicate through the way we dress, and how others are perceived through dress.

Ultimately you need to ban Disney. Disney with it super slim princesses with tiaras and buxom yet slender bodies, tripping around on high heals, wearing nothing but pink and lilac. Promote Wendy from Bob the builder, and get rid of that ridiculous hannamontana-- and in fact, scrap the Disney Channel.

[Bonsoir]

While I think that sexualised clothing for small children exists and is awful, I agree with LynetteScavo and others that this is fundamentally a class/taste issue. If you have solid middle-class tastes and a middle-class wallet, you just don't see or find this type of clothing either on the shelves of the retailers you frequent or among your child's peers.

But aren't most issues on Mumsnet class issues?

[ronshar]

My DD2 is now 5. She would only wear high heals, make up and very little clothing if I gave her the chance.
However I do not.
The person who said that their 6 year old has a poster of girls aloud scantily clad up on her wall and was sad by that I can only say to her. "Who put the damn thing up on hte wall in the first place?" Did your 6 year old get the blu tac and climb up and stick it there?
At which point do we as parents give up our parental responsibilities?
Is it at the first sign of resisitance? If so then we are going to raise children who have no boundaries and we deserve the teenagers/young adults we get!

I agree that some awareness needs to be raised but the shops will sell what people will buy.
The supermarkets have so much power now. They dont give a crap about anything other than their profit margin.