Much like many parents, fellow teachers, and early childhood experts, I my concern is growing quickly about the sexualization of early childhood. Some examples of this are the dolls many children are playing with and the characters they are seeing in movies and television show that they watch that show inappropriate outfits and overly dramatic make up. I see the implications of this daily in my classroom. Many of the young girls wear skirts and shorts that are very short, and refuse to have it any other day. Children are being exposed to images of sexualiztion that they cannot understand. This can confuse, and possibly even frighten them (Levin & Kilbourne 2009). It is our job as the adults in these children’s lives to help them to make sense of what they are seeing. Without our help, they can develop poor self identity, begin participating in sexual activity at a very young age, and even put themselves in situations that can lead to sexual harassment and abuse. While I was always aware and concerned with this topic, this week’s readings have made me begin to question what I can do to help protect our youth from what can happen due to this sexualization.
Resources:
Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1–8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf
Hi Rebecca. I can't agree enough. It is a critical issue that must be addressed. You make an excellent point about the dolls and the movies. I touched on the subject of television and other media sources such as music. It seems like parents today are too concerned about being the "cool" parent and that children are not allowed to be children anymore.
ReplyDeleteI also ended this week wishing I could do more to help this situation. One thing I want to do is to read the book by Levin & Kilbourne. Using our resources can help educators prepare to help these children make sense of the sexualized world they live in. Unfortunately, I am afraid that this problem is only going to get worse as the technology era becomes even more prevalent in our society.
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