Choose a Girl

Kilbourne told me “the language and the images of pornography are so mainstream that we get used to things like pole-dancing classes for suburban moms. It’s a kind of mainstreaming of porn that is really alarming.” Singer Miley Cyrus’ recent performances and videos exemplify the standard that young girls — who form the majority of Cyrus’ fan base — are likely to hold themselves to in terms of dress, behavior and self-worth. But the sexualization of girls’ costumes ought not to surprise us — it is part of the ongoing general trend in girls’ clothing toward “sexy” adult women’s apparel in its tight fit, suggestive form, padded tops, lingerie, “barely-there” skirts and high heels.

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Despite Pinterest’s ban on porn, NBC News encountered pornographic content numerous times while reviewing the profiles of men who followed young girls. In one case, Pinterest added a warning label of “sensitive content” to a board containing porn and left it up for months. NBC News did not encounter any child sexual abuse material during the course of its review. Ultimately, the Supreme Court seems likely to punt the issue back to Congress. One week after President Joe Biden’s Feb. 7 State of the Union speech, during which he called on Big Tech to prioritize children’s online safety over company profits, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to voice bipartisan support for legislation mandating the same. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., also introduced a bill to ban those under 16 from using social media, though it’s gained little traction.

Watch Little Kids React to a Realistic-Looking Barbie Alternative

• But research also shows that active parenting practices about social media and monitoring use in a way that still respects their child’s autonomy may be protective, reducing mental health risks and minimizing cyberbullying effects.
• “The children that are in need of services here at Bridging Freedom come from three different areas.
• In one study framed using objectification theory, undergraduate white women from the US Midwest viewed and rated well-known female Olympian athletes appearing in either provocative or sports attire (Gurung and Chrouser 2007).
• The hot-and-sexy witch, the sexy kitten, the glammed up Monster High doll costume.

Although Pinterest has a policy requiring users to be at least 13 years old, as with other social media sites, many children like Victoria appear to be on the 450 million-user platform. Some use their pages like TikTok accounts, sharing videos of themselves singing, doing hair tutorials and dancing. Pinterest’s mobile app even has a “Watch” tab of scrollable, algorithmically selected short videos from its users that was introduced in 2021 and functions like TikTok’s “For You” page. Daniels’ advice for girls and young women is to select social media photos that showcase their identity rather than her appearance, such as one from a trip or one that highlights participation in a sport or hobby. «There is so much pressure on teen girls and young women to portray themselves as sexy, but sharing those sexy photos online may have more negative consequences than positive,» Daniels said.

Dress and actual sexual violence

As they’re algorithmically prodded into the spotlight, often attracting hundreds or thousands of followers despite only following a small number of people themselves, some girls are excited by the level of attention they’re receiving. “We are in complete agreement that any user behavior that sexualizes children is wrong and must be prevented,” Espinosa said. «What does this tell us about gender? Those conversations should be part of everyday life.» Wong said such fashion could have a negative impact on children’s development, and may even cause cyberbullying which children are not mature enough to digest. The term “baby spicy style”, or naila in Mandarin, was invented by followers of the genre to describe the contrasting mixture of children’s innocence and the “spicy girl” style of dress. The cutest fashion two piece swimwear for little girls from 6 months to 6 years old.

• In the moderate provocativeness condition, the rape occurred as she left a bar, where she had been drinking, and she was dressed in a low cut dress.
• A history of sexual coercion as well as endorsement of rape myths were positively related to perceptions of sexual interest when women wore provocative as compared to conservative dress.
• In the initial experiment participants viewed a photo of a woman wearing either a red or green shirt.
• — Today’s pop divas show plenty of skin and choreograph — — their video moves with all the subtlety of a lap dancer.

The use of objectification theory to explain and predict dress and violence seems to hold promise because sexual violence is a sexually objectifying experience. Evolutionary theory was cited most often by researchers studying dress as a cue to sexual information and the topic could benefit from an overarching theory to move it forward. In one study framed using objectification theory, undergraduate white women from the US Midwest viewed and rated well-known female Olympian athletes appearing in either provocative or sports attire (Gurung and Chrouser 2007). Lower ratings of capability (strength, determined, capable) as a function of the provocative dress manipulation and higher ratings of objectification (attractive, sexually experienced, desirable) traits were interpreted as evidence of sexual objectification. By this definition, provocative attire led to sexual objectification of the women athletes but the sports appropriate clothes did not. In addition, as compared to when wearing sports attire, when wearing provocative dress the athletes were rated less strong, less capable, less determined, less intelligent, less self-respecting, but more feminine.

We meet at the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, Greece, where an exhibition of Sherman’s earliest works has just opened. It’s 40 degrees and humid – even the Acropolis has shut for the afternoon. But sitting across from me in an exhibition room, the 70-year-old is effortlessly cool and elegant. She wears a white Loewe T-shirt, white shorts and Prada shoes, her silvery hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

Some applications even have family or group account options which allow a parent or caregiver to set privacy and screen time settings for children under 18 that can be modified as your child ages and learns more digital skills to regulate their own digital use. Ask before you post about your teen online; no matter how proud you are of them, they have a right to control how their image and information is shared online, even by their parents. Is there a correlation between this disturbing trend and eating disorders? These images have negatively affected girls’ mental and physical health leading to eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression. Green et al. (2012), in the context of objectification theory, used a dress manipulation to investigate the relationship between state self-objectification and heart rate.

Support your teen in setting a regular and consistent bedtime and provide a space away from their bedroom where they can set all devices overnight. Provide them with an alarm clock so they don’t have a need to keep their phone in their room. Modeling healthy digital media use for your teen will go a long way in helping them to develop good habits.

He believes these websites have the ability to prevent specific types of content from being artificially amplified. Another recommended picture, a close-up of a young girl’s face, had first been posted five years before by her grandmother and was still getting sexual comments from users. A few days after Victoria’s account was disabled, Pinterest still featured a thumbnail of her headstand video while previewing a suggested collection called “Gymnastics pictures” that was suggested to NBC News. Espinosa said profiles and boards are removed immediately upon account deletion; this should not have happened. “Our recommendation teams are aggressively investigating this type of content to ensure it’s only recommended in appropriate contexts,” said Espinosa, who noted that parents might search for “kids bathing suits” while planning a vacation.

While psychologists agree that the girls are most likely unaware of the inappropriate implications of their dance, they warn that coaching girls in this kind of behavior sends the wrong message. «People have always admired young ballerinas in scanty costumes,» says Friedman, «but those performances weren’t explicitly sexual — there was an aesthetic that didn’t remind you of being in bed.» That’s not the case with the this dance, she says. Our culture tries to convince our daughters that they amount to nothing more than the sum of their parts. Only by addressing this lie head-on will we equip our children with the truth. Our daughters need to know that God’s standard for beauty is the only standard that matters.