Why Our Daughters Are Becoming Sexy Too Soon

American girls are increasingly being fed a steady diet of products and images that pressure them to be sexy. From clothing to cartoons, choreography to commercials, the emphasis on sexuality undercuts parents’ efforts to instill purity in their daughters.

The American Psychological Association (APA) warns that this sexualization of girls is harmful to their self-image and healthy development. “[Girls are] experiencing teen pressures at younger and younger ages. However, they are not able to deal with these issues because their cognitive development is out of sync with their social, emotional and sexual development,” the APA reported.

The proliferation of sexual images also undermines a girl’s confidence in her own body. In fact, research links sexualization with three of the most common mental health problems diagnosed in girls and women – eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the cultural influences bombarding our daughters.
Suggestive fashion

Have you shopped for girls’ clothing lately? Toddlers to teens are inundated with adult fashions. Pop singer Beyonce now has her own clothing line that introduces the red-light district to the school lunchroom.

Popular clothing items among teens include thong underwear and shorts displaying suggestive words across the backside. The abundance of racy clothing emphasizes the message: Dress sexy.
Tarted-up toys

As young girls, most moms probably owned Barbie dolls and enjoyed collecting their clothing and accessories. Mattel today takes style to a new level with the introduction of Black Canary Barbie for adult collectors. Designed as a comic-book character, this doll is dressed in fishnet hose, a leather bikini bottom and a black leather jacket. She’s available in toy stores, right next to Ballerina Barbie. Explain that to your preschooler.

Pop-culture icons
You can't walk through the grocery checkout aisle without seeing the latest shenanigans of young celebrities. The lives of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan fascinate young girls. The Hannah Montana phenomenon, while seemingly innocent at first, has been colored by provocative photos of teenage actress Miley Cyrus. The media push young starlets to move beyond "precocious and cute" to "sensual and sexy." All the while, impressionable tween fans stand by in wide-eyed wonder, wanting to be just like them.

Who's to blame?
While it's easy to blame media for these poisonous influences, we also need to scrutinize ourselves. How many of these influences have we allowed into our homes? Are we modeling a healthy biblical view of gender and sex? If we fret over physical appearance or enjoy media laden with sexual images, chances are we will pass on the same mind-set to our daughters.

We must take a fresh look at what messages enter our home. While it would be impossible to shield children from every damaging influence, we can certainly take a stand against the worst offenders. And we can inoculate our kids against the world's counterfeit sexuality by talking to them about God's good plan for men and women.

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.

This article first appeared in the February/March, 2009 issue of Focus on the Family magazine. Copyright © 2009 Vicki Courtney. All rights reserved.

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Comment by Marlon on July 5, 2011 at 6:26pm: Not surprising. My pastor was talking about some of these things over the weekend. Not only about women, but also the same-sex trend that's getting more and more public. He spoke about Lot in the bible and Sodom and Gomorrah. He mentioned that God's word said that just as it was in Sodom and Gomorrah, so will it be in the last days. Which was the abundance of homosexuals and so forth. These things have to happen because it was written and can not be stopped.

But of course, parents are the ones responsible for what their children are fed. Make sure they are watching something that will uplift their mentality instead of the garbage that the world will feed them. This evil nation that is America as strayed so far away from God. It's going to end really bad for this country.

Comment by Deir-Dre' Scott on July 5, 2011 at 4:48pm: This article was very well understood and beautifly written. I enjoyed the information. Thank you for sharing

Comment by martymar on July 5, 2011 at 3:04pm: roger that! this is a good article :) i must say carbbean fever is out doing global gind news

Comment by Dellareese Smith-Styles on July 5, 2011 at 1:44pm: I have to agree with this article, and yes we want to blame everyone but the parents. We have to look at ourselves first,we are the ones that buy the clothes, the music, make-up it all begins with the parents. I remember when my daughter was young she would come home wanting this and that, because her friends has it or is doing it. I would have to remind her of who her parents are and where she lives. Yes the images are out there but as parents we have to be the first line of defense for all our children and not just our daughters.

Comment by Danielle Bullen on July 5, 2011 at 1:35pm: I ammm sooo in agreement with this article. It is time we took a stand.

Comment by Cecelia Cornelius on July 5, 2011 at 12:43pm: I agree with this article. 100%. I enjoyed the reading.

Comment by JamRockLady on July 5, 2011 at 12:43pm: Yet another consequence of living in a "culture-of-perpetual-sex". "They" want to keep young people constantly focused on sex so that young people won't use their natural god-given curious nature, to find out what the government "really" has in store for the future for us all, namely melanated folks.

Once young people find out the "truth" in this society, they will most likely use their natural god-given rebellious nature to form an army and uprise against the evil people at the top of the pyramid, the very one's who dethroned melanated folks and incorrecly replaced our melanated folks, with racist Zionist Jews, Roman Catholics and Europeans, at the top of the pyramid in society.

This is why there is so much out there distracting and confusing young girls AND boys today, becuase if they're in a state-of-contant-confusion-and-distraction, they won't focus their time and energy on meaningful things in life that really matter to the human race. Tricky demons, aren't they?

This world, western society in particular, has become a homosexual / perdophile playground "by design". The "mind-control / "brainwashing" techniques, used by mainstream media, has a lot to do with the "over sexualization of young girls AND boys" of today, also.

This is part of the not so "hidden agenda" of the "powers-that-be", now-a-days. SMH.

The solution; stop watching TELL-LIE-VISION, or supporting / buying anything having to do with mainstream music, news and entertainment. Homeschool your children, and if you can't, find a homeschooling program with a afrocentric curiculum that focuses their teaching on spirituality, ancient Kemet, Nubia and Kush.

For grown folks, you will have to step out of your "comfort zone", letting go of learned behaviors, not conducive to spiritual and intellectual evolvement such as; TELL-LIE-VISION-watching, the white man's Bible, church, "fast-food", "junk-food", consuming meat, soy and dairy products, promiscuity, consumerism, "man-made religious / education instituations". I've personally taken these steps, almost two years now, and believe me when I tell you, it's the most empowering thing I've done to date. You will have to do a complete spiritual cleansing as well; your clothing, what you eat, what you do for "entertainment" inclusive. Lastly, you will have to shift your consciousness and dig deeper to see what's behind the surface of everything; movies, newspaper, news, music, billboards, political messages, political adgendas...everything. Then, once we "collectively" shift our focus and change the behavior that is helping to "feed the beast" and making our enemies army grow strongert against us, only then will the maddness that's going on in today's society be reduced, or idealy, illuminated all togehter.

If we don't take action to improve ourselves, psychologically and spiritually, and help to make the world around us a better place, this sick / twisted society filled with distorted values, immorality, debachery, lies, evil and corruption, under the "mask" of "freedom of expression" and "artisitc license", will continue to be.

Still, no one has to take my advise, I'm simly sharing my thoughts on the matter.

Very insightful article, I co-sign to it's sentiments.

Comment by Shaneece on July 5, 2011 at 12:36pm: I like how parents make it seem as if these children bought their own clothes, lip gloss, underwear etc. I personally walked over to a young girl who was lying down on a park bench with a boy on top of her, and I gave it to her straight. She was embarrassed when I was done talking to her but I know she'll never forget what I told her about self respect and being a lady. She was only 13 and already grinding on boys IN PUBLIC! Sometimes we strangers have to be impromptu parents to these kids cuz their parents are either young adults themselves, overwhelmed or dare I say just don't care.
We also have to be mindful of the food we give our kids. A lot food geared towards them is full of artificial ingredients and hormones causing our girls to develop faster and our boys to have "breasts". They have no idea what to do with these changes and these predators on the street look at them like ripe fruit to pick. Each one Teach one

Comment by julianne benjamin on July 5, 2011 at 12:06pm: I got a 8yrs old who trying 2 b so sexy she even sleep in lip glass 2 bed she dress up every day nd wanted 2 wear only short close