Tinker Bell strikes a pose

I’ve always been a fairy fan. I loved fairies as a kid, and since my daughter was born, I’ve tried to subtly steer her toward the winged cuties over the crowned beauties.  At least fairies have magical powers. Princesses don’t seem to have much power at all—except the power to entice.

When we’re talking about fairies these days, we’re mostly talking about Tinker Bell; 50 years after the original Peter Pan movie, Disney has built a universe around the beloved pixie. The new Tink has evolved quite a bit from her formative self. But she has retained some of her fundamental characteristics. They just might not be the ones you’d be happy about your daughter emulating.

But it seems that Tinker Bell wasn’t necessarily designed with girls in mind.

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CNN Commentator LZ Granderson published a piece yesterday responding to the recent controversy about Abercrombie’s Push Up bikini for girls. Here’s how it started:

“I saw someone at the airport the other day who really caught my eye. Her beautiful, long blond hair was braided back a la Bo Derek in the movie “10″ (or for the younger set, Christina Aguilera during her “Xtina” phase). Her lips were pink and shiny from the gloss, and her earrings dangled playfully from her lobes. You can tell she had been vacationing somewhere warm, because you could see her deep tan around her midriff thanks to the halter top and the tight sweatpants that rested just a little low on her waist. The icing on the cake? The word “Juicy” was written on her backside.

Yeah, that 8-year-old girl was something to see alright. … I hope her parents are proud. Their daughter was the sexiest girl in the terminal, and she’s not even in middle school yet.”

I know where he was trying to go with this. But I’m not so keen on the way he’s trying to get us there.  Continue reading »

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After a week-long groundswell of negative public opinion, Abercrombie and Fitch has apparently removed their padded bikini from the market, or at least from the offerings on the Abercrombie Kids site. The move was made after the initial re-naming of the product met with mixed response among critics who thought it was the product, not just the name, that was problematic.

A similar product was pulled from stores in the UK last year after parent protests and public denouncing from child protection agencies. The Abercrombie suit generated a huge amount of press-at last count, hundreds of online articles covering the controversy. And public opinion seemed to be overwhelmingly against the marketing of this product to girls in the age range it was sized for.

Most of the comments defending the suit on the company’s Facebook page came from girls themselves, who were more than happy to have easy access to such a breast amplification product. But the suit also found some support in surprising places.

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The words push-up and padded are gone, but the product is the same.

Last week, I wrote about the insanity of Abercrombie Kids offering a “Push-Up” Triangle bikini to school-aged girls. The news has been spreading, along with the outrage. CNN picked up the story this morning, with a video segment and a web piece that quoted me and a sociology professor on the potential negative impact of this marketing and messaging to young girls—and the men who look at them.

Though Abercrombie declined to comment, there are some signs that the outcry is not falling on deaf ears. A look at the Abercrombie Kids site this AM showed just two categories of swim tops. The Push-up category has disappeared, as has the word “padded” in the description. But the product remains, renamed “striped triangle”.

Compare this with how it was marketed before.

Is this enough? Just last year, a similar product was pulled from shelves after being accused of “premature sexualization”. Should Abercrombie follow suit?

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Little girls dolled up with fake eyelashes, caked on makeup, fake teeth, spray-on tans and synthetic hair extensions may be inappropriate, but is it child abuse?

Some critics say TLC’s “Toddlers and Tiaras” is exploitative and that the contestants’ parents are verging on abusive.

Personally, I can’t bear to watch the reality show, which just launched its third season, because I find the whole kiddie beauty pageant thing disturbing. I wouldn’t want my young daughters to be judged on their appearances and to be sexualized at such an early age. But, then again, I can’t stand bikinis on babies and hesitated before letting my girls playing with makeup, so I’m probably not the demographic for the show.

Based on the ratings, clearly, someone is tuning in to watch — the second season of “Toddlers and Tiaras” averaged 1.3 million viewers each week. Continue reading »

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Forget about babies in bikinis controversy. The pre-pubescent girls who strut their stuff to Beyonce’s “All the Single Ladies” in this racy viral video make Madonna look downright quaint.

Dressed in skimpy two-piece costumes that emphasize their non-existent curves, the 8 and 9-year-old girls gyrate like pole dancers rather than 3rd graders. The video, which was shot at the World of Dance Competition in Pomona, California last month, has been viewed more than 1.7 million times and has created quite a stir.

Critics say the video exemplifies the sexualization of young girls in popular culture.

“These lingerie-laden girls, who are said to be about seven, bumped, grinded, shimmied and shaked their way through the hit dance song. Suggestively lip synching that ‘he liked it so much he put a ring on it’,” Famecrawler wrote yesterday.

Most of the people commenting on the video are appalled. Someone called it a “pedophile recruitment video.” But Famecrawler points out that a few commenters defend the sexy moves. One woman wrote, “The choreographer went a bit far, but it’s a dance… nothing else. These girls are obviously pretty professional and dedicated to dance at an early age. They will spend their lives in a dance studio training for competitions, not on a street corner.”

Good to know! Continue reading »

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There are certain perennial hot button parenting issues that are guaranteed to spark controversy: Circumcision, Vaccination, Co-sleeping. Now we can add “Bikinis” to the list.

CafeMom has sparked a lively debate about whether or not babies and little girls should wear bikinis.

It all started with a poll asking moms their opinion on the issue. At the moment, 41% of respondents say it’s okay while 41% say “no way.” The remaining moms fall somewhere in between.

What’s interesting to me is how the debate is framed from such vastly different perspectives. For some moms, it’s an issue of modesty and for others, it’s a question of the sexualization of girls. A few moms expressed concern about sexual predators, and others said that bikinis should be reserved for grown-up women. Continue reading »

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