New Look responds to backlash over padded bikini for young girls

[stumbledin]

Cant see another thread about this, but I am so downhearted that this sexualisation of young girls is still going on.

And www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/new-look-responds-backlash-over-20723688

I think Object Now! have been tweeting about this. twitter.com/ObjectUK/status/1400040409611575296

Ironically in this bid tonotsexualise children parents would letthem wearshorts and no top because a 9 yr old girl is just like a 9 yr old boy and doesn't need a bra top... or let them just run about in underwear like children do, so covering the top half in a vest is fine but chop of a couple of inches of that vest and all hell breaks loose.

This was my thought too. In a way, little girls are already sexualised when we put them in bathing costumes that cover up their chests while boys run about in trunks.

@LibertyMole

‘Just the stupidity of a bikini if you want to swim, and if it is just for prancing around in the sun, I am not sure why girls as young as 9 should be targeted with an item of clothing that was never anything other than to sexualise women's bodies.’

This is ridiculous. Bikinis are the least you can wear on a beach without exposing body parts that we consider private. That makes them the most comfortable thing to wear for many women and girls when it is absolutely boiling hot and clothing is uncomfortable to wear. It is the same reason why men in other countries wear speedos.

As for the riding up comment, that is just creepy and has no relation to reality.

The riding up comment is factual, and not at all creepy.

It amazes me with the push on keeping safe in the sun that bikinis are still being produced for children. A bikini is a fashion item - it’s not practical, doesn’t cover enough skin and therefore more skin is exposed to harmful UV rays. As someone who has had skin cancer, I can’t wait for the day when it becomes more fashionable to cover up our children to protect them from the sun.

Dd had a bathing costume with moulded cups at 12 but wore tankini’s when she was younger (and older)

I wouldn’t have let her have a bikini like that, she’d be permanently adjusting her top

And before anyone says anything about not needing to adjust a bikini top, I’m talking about my daughter only 🙂

Oh yes I forgot about the rash vests I bought my three soontobe60

But beaches are absolutely full of people wearing all sorts of things. Running about in underwear or nothing at all.

Where are a the threads on men with beer guts hanging over the top of a pair of speedos. Or discussing how we git an eyeful from all the men or boys wearing white shorts.

Where are they?

Cos all we seen to do is pick apart girls swimwear and have little girls put in the impossible situation of having to please people who are constantly analysing their clothes.

Can we just let them run about on a beech and play please instead of constantly using them to make a point.

I'm not a fan of small children in bikinis, but I can't get very worked up about this. The range goes up to 15 - I assume that's the normal age range they produce their teenage stuff for. Others have pointed out why some girls would like molding/padding.

When I was mid teens, I used to wear a bikini, rash vest and board shorts for swimming in the sea as I was very body conscious. So it's worth remembering there's more than one way to wear bikinis!

Without moulding or padding I imagine 90% of girls over the age of 8 wouldn’t swim

who swims in a bikini? Costumes are for swimming.

In my view the bikini cup is normalising, for young girls, the desired aesthetic for breasts.

Lots of mothers choose 'mini me' versions of clothes for their daughters. You see lots of 'off the shoulder' type tops and dresses for really very young girls, these days.

I see young girls in the park dressed in totally unsuitable clothing for climbing and running, and often the mother's main concern is that the child doesn't get dirty, and continues to look pretty.

Can't a bikini be worn by kids simply because it's frigging hot outside

Those crop top bikini sets are better than the bra type, in my view. Better for being physically active, and not with so much emphasis on the developing breasts.

Yes, we should wear what we like, but a little consciousness about what messages are being conveyed by our dress does not do any harm. Clothing is, by nature, a social construction.

Yes, we should wear what we like, but a little consciousness about what messages are being conveyed by our dress does not do any harm. Clothing is, by nature, a social construction

But why are we pinning this on little girls.

I think.equally we make it worse by placing so much emphasis on what iur daughters wear.

But then I know what I was like as a young teen. If someone had bought me that I'd have politely said thank you and shoved it I a drawer never to be seen again. If I did wear it there's a high chance I'd have worn.it once and declared it the most annoying thing ever and decided its not worth the faff.

However if a big song akd dance had been made about how "appropriate" it was or wasn't you can bet your life I'd have saved up my bus fare change walked into the store armed with a bag of 10ps and I'd taken it everywhere in a bag ir worn.it under what my parents had decided I should wear and I'd have happily looked like shit in an.ill fitting bikini just to prove a point.

But why are we pinning this on little girls

We're not.....the associations already exist. It doesn't do any harm to be aware of the subliminal messaging that is inherent in certain types of clothing. Or how dressing your child in a certain way effects their self image or sense of who they are or what they should be interested in. Certainly when dressing young girls who are not at an age when they can go to the shops and choose their own clothing.

Yes it does affect their self image.

I was a child who wasn't allowed certain items due to notions of "appropriateness"

It left me thinking things like they thought I was too fat to wear it. That I was somehow responsible for other people's reactions despite it being something everyone else had. And believe me I didn't Ask fir much really.

I hated my body. Still do in fact . But I hated not having boobs because at least then I'd get a bra instead of not being allowed anything underneath ny white school shirt because no one over the age of 10/11 wants to he seen dead in a vest and crop tops are apparently unnecessary if there's nothing to cover up. I was thrilled when I was finally allowed a bra. Til I had to have one.of the unlined ones which showed everything...

I'm just saying we can go too far the other way too and believe me the body images are no better there..

Why do girls need a bikini top at all? Some nationalities don’t use them until closer to puberty based on my observations at the pool on holiday. Here it’s seen as weird.

They hide the breast buds which as a mum
Of a 9 and 11 year old dds I understand.

They are also comfier.

However I hate that all tops are cropped and shorts so small They show their bum cheeks.

So nipples on show is sexy but moulded cups are too sexy. Can we just leave the kids be?
Actual childrens clothes are worn by adult women in a sexy way. School uniforms are sexualised, and yet if a pre-teen wears a bikini thats not allowing them to have a childhood?
This isnt new looks fault. Kids often want their own versions of fashion

I know loads of parents of preteen girls who put them in bikinis or very high cut one-pieces (I saw a video the other day of a friend's DD playing in the back garden and getting a wedgie from her one-piece). I don't get why at all when there are lots of UV suits or long sleeved tops and shorts for this age. If you are wedded to girly designs, I'm sure there are UV tops and shorts that have Elsa or Barbie on (or plain colours for the less preschool mindset).

I know everyone on MN has a daughter who would never develop breasts before the age of 13, would always wear a rash vest with nothing underneath and who is happy to show the silhouette of her breast buds to any gawping man or boy so as to not to promote the aesthetic of the perfect breast.

But in the real world many 9 year olds have already started puberty and many adolescents are embarrassed by their developing bodies and want to keep the changes private under a bit of moulding. Many petite secondary school girls will also fit into this size.

Or many we can make kids pay vat on clothes by labelling them as adult size 00, and then a bunch of thirty year olds can complain about how they can’t fit into sizes designed for adolescents and it is promoting anorexia.

Or you could just leave girls alone to make their own decisions about whether they want to show their breasts.

mine was having periods at 10.
Plus theres the fact that kids clothes in the UK are always sized by "age" rather than height, so actually these bikinis are far more likely to be bought by older girls who might just be smaller. Ive never ever seen actual young children in these sort of bikinis

And loads of women and girls swim in bikinis.

Have you never been to a beach or a holiday swimming pool?

its just really tedious, the whole policing of what little girls wear. The problem is pretty much EVERYTHING girls and women do is sexualised. Its a hell of a pressure.

I don’t get people who say they’d prefer to wear this type of bikini as they were self conscious about their breasts. Someone who’s body conscious would surely prefer to wear a full swimsuit and even a t shirt over it to hide their bodies?
I get it!
I didn't mind a bikini when I was a child , it was a normal thing to wear and I would have looked odd being tbe only child in a swim suit. However I hated my nipples poking through the material. I didn't know why, I just did. I didn't like the fact that my mum told me I was bring silly. My feelings were real.
I would have loved a padded or moulded bikini top. This is over 45 years ago. I'm sure children feel self conscious for the same reasons.

@110APiccadilly

I'm not a fan of small children in bikinis, but I can't get very worked up about this. The range goes up to 15 - I assume that's the normal age range they produce their teenage stuff for. Others have pointed out why some girls would like molding/padding.

When I was mid teens, I used to wear a bikini, rash vest and board shorts for swimming in the sea as I was very body conscious. So it's worth remembering there's more than one way to wear bikinis!

Some of DD1 15/16 year old friends are tiny and would need the smaller sizes.

Moulding fine IMO - my DD have some bras like that they're more comfortable.

DD1 did have a summer holdiay when she did bikini - sun vest and board shorts to swim in sea with. I think she must have asked for the bikini as I've always prefered tanki tops as they are best - easier than one peices.

However like drspouse I've seen many preteen and young teens on beaches in bikini's and wondered about sun burn but then we all have pale easily burnt skin - so swim tights/leggings and sun tops/jackets and hats are really necessary for us.

So I think they're proably aimed at the smaller older teens - though I suppose some 9 year old will be bought them - but yea I find it hard to get that worked up about it.

@Whatwouldscullydo

Yes, we should wear what we like, but a little consciousness about what messages are being conveyed by our dress does not do any harm. Clothing is, by nature, a social construction

But why are we pinning this on little girls.

I think.equally we make it worse by placing so much emphasis on what iur daughters wear.

But then I know what I was like as a young teen. If someone had bought me that I'd have politely said thank you and shoved it I a drawer never to be seen again. If I did wear it there's a high chance I'd have worn.it once and declared it the most annoying thing ever and decided its not worth the faff.

However if a big song akd dance had been made about how "appropriate" it was or wasn't you can bet your life I'd have saved up my bus fare change walked into the store armed with a bag of 10ps and I'd taken it everywhere in a bag ir worn.it under what my parents had decided I should wear and I'd have happily looked like shit in an.ill fitting bikini just to prove a point.

The problem exists because the fashion industry sexualises women's clothing. When we put girls into the same styles that do that for women, the connection is made. The same as if an older woman wore some highly sexualised rubber halter top, the same outfit on a child wouldn't stop having those connotations, it would just transfer them to the child which would be inappropriate.

The same isn't the case for men generally speaking. I mean, for the most part people are turned off by speedo type suits on men, rather than seeing them as sexualising them.

But name one item of clothing that hasn't been sexualised/fetishised by men?

Everything from bikinis to boilersuits. School uniform has a right following. As do nurses uniforms etc

You could sell old holey stinky socks on ebay if you so desired. There'd be someone who'd happily snap it up.

The problem isn't realky the clothes