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Posted by Susan Carney Oct 30, 2007 |
Shopping for Halloween costumes for my toddlers, I notice a disturbing theme among the available offerings for the girls. Nearly all of them, from the adult versions down to those for pint-sized young ladies, are getting skimpier.
I realize that Halloween is the time to get creative and outlandish, to be someone completely different. That’s part of what makes Halloween so much fun.
But is it necessary to dress five year olds in fishnet stockings and miniskirts?
I like the baby costumes we buy, the all in one plush numbers that zip easily up the front and have built in hands and feet. But I know my kids won’t be satisfied being bunnies and puppies forever. Not that it matters, because I can’t find anything in the “cute and cuddly animal” category in anything over a size 2T.
Which, for my daughter, leaves little more than pirate girls, divas, and princesses. The costumes bear a striking resemblance to each other: the skirts are short, the heels are high, and the cleavage is low cut. Things get worse as you move into the larger sizes. While scanning the racks for older girls, I had a hard time finding anything that I didn’t consider provocative.
Marketing sexy clothing to teen girls isn't new. But now clothing stores are full of similar merchandise in sizes all the way down to preschool. It’s something called age compression, where products for a specific age group are marketed to younger kids. Marketers know that kids want to be like older kids to appear more “grown-up,” and parents, unfortunately, don’t always say no to their requests. In fact, some parents find these styles “cute,” even for their youngest girls.
In a time and culture where girls often become involved in sexual behavior much too early, this "harmless" practice is not a healthy one.