Free Republic

To be "hot, hot, hot" is not a fitting encouragement for five- and six-year-olds, writes Emma Rush. AdvertisementAdvertisement BRAS for eight-year-olds. Lip gloss for six-year-olds. Fashion and gossip magazines for girls from age five. The sexualisation of children is changing the experience of childhood, yet there has been little public discussion of its implications. Children, particularly girls, are under increasing pressure from advertisers and marketers to adopt a "sexy" persona from very young ages. Those who apply the pressure claim they are simply responding to little girls' interest in looking "pretty". However, the forms "prettiness" now takes, which include "bralettes"...