Assignment 2: Blog Assignment: The Sexualization of Early Childhood

The environment in which children are growing up is saturated with a media culture - the screens such as television, movies, video and computer games, the Internet as well all the products that are linked to what children see on the screen. Media culture is a central part of the foundation children build for understanding the world, how it works, and how they fit into it. It affects how they behave and treat each other. It can shape how they learn and what they want to learn and much more. As children rely on these highly stereotyped media messages to define their gender, they develop narrow definitions for themselves, thereby limiting their opportunities to develop a full range of their human potential (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009).

Sexy girls: Today even preschoolers are exposed to images of sexy appearance, sexualized behavior, and skinny bodies in media and popular culture. On television, in videos, and at the mall, preschoolers see entertainers and cartoon characters wearing short skirts and bellybutton exposing shirts. Preschoolers also see wedged-heeled shoes and make-up kits designed for children their age. Although they cannot fully understand what they see and hear, from a very young age they try to figure it out. As they do it influences how they think about being male and female and their bodies. It affects what they want to be, do, and wear. Girls quickly learn to see themselves and other girls as objects judging each other by how they look. Boys learn to judge girls as objects by how they look-too. (Levin & Kilbourne, 2008).

Teachers should not be surprised when children bring this sexualized content into the classroom - for instance, girls focusing on being princesses or doing sexy dances like they see on TV, or wearing sexy clothes that inhibit their physical activity that other girls covet. In one classroom, when 5-year-old Jenna had a “High School Musical” birthday party, all the girls began doing sexy “High School Musical” dancing at school in the dramatic play area and at outdoor time. The teacher decided to write parents a newsletter suggesting guidelines for age-appropriate birthday parties. Girls quickly learn to see themselves and others as objects; how they look and what they can buy become the basis of their self-understanding and social judgments. 

Work to protect children as much as possible from exposure to media and products that can teach harmful lessons. Often this means helping families: 

1) make good decisions about the media and toys in their children’s lives (as discussed earlier when the teacher sent home a newsletter about age-appropriate birthday parties),

2) create rules and routines for what media children consume,

3) set guidelines for what, when, and how children acquire new things and take part in shopping. When children know what will happen and when they are less likely to keep asking their parents for more and more.

Children need a safe place to process what they see and hear in the media. Teachers can create classrooms that recognize and work to meet this need. Adults should let the children know that they are interested in what children see and what questions they have. For instance, when children pretend to go on dates like Hannah Montana does, try asking, “What do you know about dates? “What do you do when you’re on a date?” “What happens if you don’t have a date?” “How old do you have to be to go on a date?” From such conversations, children learn they can talk to you without being embarrassed, ridiculed, or punished. The teacher can provide information that clears up misconceptions and make comments that influence children’s thinking like: “It’s nice having a boy (or girl) who’s a friend when you’re young. But it’s only when you get to be older than boys and girls go on dates.” Notice that the teacher listens and gives the children a lot of room to voice their own ideas. The teacher does not try to provide the “right” answers, based on how adults think.

Reference

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.