Entries Tagged 'Julie Gale' ↓

There is an increasing trend for fashion houses to glamorise death. The obsession with beautiful dead women has seen a number of recent ad campaigns idolise death, murder and suicide in women’s fashion. Young girls are being told that you can even look sexy when you are dead.

Taking the theme of ‘dead women are sexy’, Gucci recently featured a new ad campaign shot in Marrakech which showed models lying lifeless in the desert sand.

More disturbingly are the more graphic ads which further suggest that the model’s demise has been the result of male violence. Ads like Duncan Quinn show a man in a smart suit who has clearly strangled a woman. She is wearing nothing but sexy underwear and is lying motionless on the bonnet of a car.

Another ad by Dolce and Gabbana (later banned in Italy) featured a woman being pinned down by a man while a group of men looked on (waiting their turn?) the scene looked like a gang rape, and yet it was actually selling shoes.

Author of Getting Real and Generation Next speaker, Melinda Tankard Reist is a long standing campaigner for the portrayal of sexualisation and violence against women in the media to be banned.

“All these images and messages make a mockery of global campaigns to stop the abuse of women. They feed violence, fuel violence and contribute to an environment which every day becomes more dangerous for women and girls” she said.

Now to suicide – The South Korean fashion label Lewitt recently engaged American photographer Ryan McGinley to make a video promoting their brand of clothing.

It featured Australian model Abbey Lee Kershaw and was apparently inspired by Alice in Wonderland. However the clip depicts Kershaw jumping from a tall building rather than falling down something. Her climb to the top of the building, hesitation before jumping and free fall as she tumbles down over the building all feature multiple changes of wardrobe.

But Alice in Wonderland wasn’t climbing a very tall building with the intent of throwing herself off, oh no, she fell down a rabbit hole and it was an accident.

Adolescent psychologist and Generation Next speaker Dr Michael Carr-Gregg commented that it seemed like an odd concept for promoting fashion to young women in a country that boasts one of the world’s highest female suicide rates. Odder still, given that seven models have committed suicide in the last 2 years (4 by jumping), including South Korea’s Daul Kim who committed suicide in November 2009.

The data showed that 18.7 out of every 100,000 South Korean women committed suicide in 2008 while suicide rates in other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries remained stable (source: World Health Organisation 2008).

Julie Gale, founder of Kids Free 2B Kids suggested calling for a protocol where these themes are not used. Just like newspapers have an ethic of not reporting suicides. She went on to say that the Advisory Group on Body Image set up by Youth Minister Kate Ellis in March 2009, should be looking into advertising which depicts acts of self harm such as suicide as glamorous and something to aspire to.

At the time of the launch she said “The Advisory Group will help to develop a new Voluntary Industry Code of Conduct on Body Image, and provide advice to the Government on a national response.”

“Young Australians are telling us loud and clear that they are concerned about negative body image and the impact that it has on them, their friends and the community,” said Ms Ellis.

“This is a very complex issue and the Government believes the most affective approach is to work in partnership with the media, health sector, fashion industry and young people themselves to develop a national approach to tackle negative body image in a coordinated and targeted way.”

Melinda Tankard Reist, when talking about suicide and body image said “now Lindsay Lohan, soaked in blood, is showing us you can still sell yourself as a sex object while threatening to kill yourself.”

She added “self harm is the highest cause of hospital admission for girls aged 13 to 19 in Australia. Should it be treated so lightly? Should it be seen as something you do if you want to be seen as hot and sexy? Branding yourself with blood as some kind of artistic statement?”

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.
Source: Dr Michael Carr-Gregg. Melinda Tankard Reist. Kids Free 2B Kids (Julie Gale)

Kids Free 2B Kids  

This website was started as part of a grass roots campaign to apply pressure to the mass media, current cultural trends and manufacturers that are exposing children to inappropriate sexualised imagery as they try to sell products and make profit. Kids Free 2B Kids is in alliance with The Australian Council on Children and the Media.  (Formerly Young Media Australia).
 
The American Psychological Association describes the sexualisation of someone as being when “a person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness with being sexy” and  “a person is sexually objectified – that is, made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than seen as a person with the capacity for independent action and decision making.”

Kids Free 2B Kids is full of the latest information and research regarding the effect this kind of exposure has on children and young people including:

• How children are portrayed in advertising: What they wear, how they’re posed?
• The images children are exposed to in their environment:  Billboards, magazines, internet, TV?
• The toys, dolls and games children play with?
• Exposure to adult sexual images that a child is not developmentally ready to absorb?

The website includes a section on how to complain to the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) if you feel an advertisement, music video clip or free to air TV program features the sexualisation of young people.

Childhood is recognised as a time of innocence, playfulness, fun and spontaneity. Children should be able to develop at their own pace, without undue pressure and influence from mass media marketing and advertising.

Julie Gale, founder and Director of Kids Free 2B Free believes that parents, carers and teachers try to provide an environment in which children can develop to their full potential. It is a time when children can be free to explore their world through play, spontaneity and innocent fun.  Children should be able to grow at their own pace, without the pressure and influences of the mass media, marketing and advertisers.

Recent international and Australian studies have highlighted the significant impact that the sexualisation of children in advertising and marketing campaigns is having on children’s physical and psychological health.

Dr Joe Tucci of the Australian Childhood Foundation said “children continue to be exposed to a whole range of sexual imagery that normalizes sexuality for them, and in that process, I think there are some long term consequences to children and to childhood in Australia.”

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha
Source: Kids Free 2B Kids

Since 2005 there has been a bus doing the rounds in Oakleigh displaying a near naked reclining woman in high heels, her legs stretch almost the full length of the side of the bus. This is the long running advertisement for the Kittens School of Striptease.

In 2005 the advertising regulator didn’t even bat an eye lid over this ad. Luckily things have changed and experts, educators and parents alike are more aware of the harmful effects images like this can have on young people.

Back then the ASB said the images were not “overly graphic” and did not expose the breast “in any way”.

According to the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) chief executive Fiona Jolly the bureau was different 5 years ago “Issues such as the sexualisation of children are an issue now, but they weren’t an issue in the mainstream media five years ago,” she said.

Maggie Hamilton author of “What’s Happening to Our Girls?” and Generation Next  speaker said “If sexy’s where it’s at, then that’s what some girls will aim for. Knowing this, advertisers push the importance of girls being sexy.”

She added “The interest in being sexy may seem harmless enough, were it not for the fact that the sexualisation of girls is taking its toll. ‘What troubles me is that it’s like girls don’t feel they have any rights’ one young teacher confessed. ‘It’s like they want to be objects to be desired.’ This in your face sexuality is present in almost every form of media”.

5 years on and the ABS has finally reviewed the advertisement and with the pressure of changing community attitudes, led by  campaigners like Kids Free 2B Kids, it has decided that the ad is indeed sexually suggestive and could expose children to sexual themes.

Kids Free 2B Kids Director and Generation Next speaker, Julie Gale, was delighted with the turn around by the ASB. “It is a good thing that the ASB are getting up to speed with how children are being impacted by adult sexualised imagery,” she said.

The Kids Free 2B Kids website has a dedicated page Who Controls Ads to help people wishing to complain to the ASB should they feel an advertisement (print or TV) is overtly sexual or depicts sexual exploitation.

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha
Source: Herald Sun, Kids Free 2B Kids

By Julie Gale, Kids Free 2B Kids Director.

The premature sexualisation of children and young teens is a global issue which has been increasing over the past decade. Our kids are inundated with confusing messages that serve to minimize what it means to be a whole well rounded human being.

Popular culture encourages girls to focus on their appearance and sex appeal, and while females are offered more opportunities in the work force than ever before, marketing and advertising frequently diminishes girls aspirations to simply being ‘hot’ and ‘sexy’.
Ariel Levy – author of Female Chauvinist Pigs argues that girls and young women are objectified today as never before. Their physical appearances – especially their sexual attributes – are portrayed as their most important assets.

The sexualisation of children can be defined in two ways:
1. Direct sexualisation occurs when children are dressed or posed in ways designed to draw attention to adult sexual features that the children do not yet possess.
2. Indirect sexualisation occurs when a child is involuntarily exposed to sexualised imagery, which is often aimed at adults…for example outdoor billboard advertising.

It is important to note that sexualisation is not the same as sexuality or sex. According to the Report of the APA Taskforce on the Sexualisation of Girls published by the American Psychological Association in 2007, sexualisation has to do with treating other people (and sometimes oneself) as “objects of sexual desire…as things rather than people with legitimate sexual feelings of their own”. When people are sexualised, their value comes primarily from their sex appeal, which is equated with physical attractiveness. This is especially damaging and “problematic to children and adolescents who are developing their sense of themselves as sexual beings.” 

It is normal for a child to go through a gradual process of learning to understand about sex, sexuality and intimacy and what it means to be a caring and respectful human being.

Authors of So Sexy So Soon, Dr Jean Kilbourne and Professor Dianne Levin state: ‘We are not alarmed that today’s children are learning about sex and sexuality. We are alarmed by the particular lessons that children are learning. The sexualisation of childhood is having a profoundly disturbing impact on children’s understanding of gender, sexuality and relationships.”

It is important for parents to realise that concern about the images their children are exposed to is not about being old fashioned or prudish. Child development professionals are also speaking out about this issue and increasing research supports this concern.

Amanda Gordon, President of the APS says: “The Australian Psychological Society is very concerned with the sexualisation of children in society. The research is saying that the sexualisation of children is leading to real mental health problems for those children as they get into their adolescence and their adult years.

We think that the sexualisation of children from as young as eight is what is doing the damage – that’s the danger time, middle childhood. We want to protect those children in those years.

We are not being prudish in doing that, we are actually giving them a chance then to stride out and be sexual beings when their time is right -when their body is right – when their mind is right – to make better choices based on feelings rather than on what they read or what they see.”

Adolescent psychiatrist Dr Sloane Madden from Westmead Children’s Hospital Sydney says: “One third of eight year olds are not happy with their weight and shape. Nearly one in four are dieting. I think there is a growing concern amongst eating disorder professionals around the world that children at this age are being subjected to increasingly sophisticated and adult messages. Messages acquainting thinness with success – sexualised images – presented to children at an age when really they’re psychologically unable to understand those images.” 

Sexualised imagery and easy access to pornographic images on the internet also impacts greatly on our boys and young men.

Kilbourne and Levin go on to say: “Boys are surrounded by media messages that encourage them to judge their female peers based on how they look, often to view them with contempt, and to expect sexual subservience from them. Young men these days are quite actively discouraged from entering into mutually satisfactory intimate and committed relationships with women. Men who have been conditioned to judge women by the current standard of beauty and to compare real women with the idealized images in the popular media and pornography often find it difficult, if not impossible, to feel empathy for women. Needless to say, they are unlikely to be satisfying partners for women. Boys who lack empathy, who have deficit compassion disorder, often become men who find it impossible to have deep and fulfilling intimate relationships with their partners, with their children, with anyone. This is a very high price to pay.”

Exposure to sexualised imagery and pornography at young ages is having negative impacts on our kids’ mental health. This exposure is linked to increased depression, anxiety, body images problems, eating disorders, self harm – a decrease in the age of first sexual experience and an increase in sexually transmitted infections.

While some parents and teachers are concerned about sexuality education leading to earlier or increased sexual activity, recent and comprehensive literature reviews find instead that sexuality education leads to a delay in the onset of sexual activity, reduced rates of sexually-transmitted infections and greater adoption of safer sex practices by those young people who are already sexually active.

It is incumbent upon parents to communicate with children about the messages they are bombarded with in the media. Children need strong direction and guidance, and permission to reject the hyper sexualised culture that imposes unrealistic expectations on them.

While teenage boys may be stereotyped as sex-mad, a report by researchers in the Journal of Adolescence (USA) suggests on the contrary, that boys are motivated more by love and a desire to form real relationships with the girls they date.

“Let’s give boys more credit,” said study author Andrew Smiler, an assistant professor of psychology at the university. “Although some of them are just looking for sex, most boys are looking for a relationship. The kids we know mostly aren’t like this horrible stereotype. They are generally interested in dating and getting to know their partners.”

The data also suggest that teenage boys will be receptive to parental messages about the importance of getting to know a girl and respect within relationships, even if they act otherwise. “Very few parents really talk to their sons about relationships,” Dr. Smiler said. “We know that many parents do have these kinds of conversations with girls.” Dr. Smiler said parents should talk to boys and girls and try to teach them about both romantic and platonic relationships, how to develop and maintain them, how to deal with ups and downs and how to forgive and regain trust.

“Somehow we buy into this idea that guys aren’t emotional, that guys aren’t interested in relationships, so we don’t give our teenagers the information,” Dr. Smiler said. “Boys rarely hear this kind of information about relationships from parents, whether about friendships or romantic relationships.”

If we leave our kids’ sex education up to the media then we will continue to see an increase in dysfunctional relating between boys and girls. We will continue to see girls acting out of an imposed ‘hot’ and ‘sexy’ construct, which, along with objectified and sexualised images of females, affects the ways boys relate to and treat them.  We will continue to see our kids depressed and confused about how they are supposed to behave in their relationships…or their ‘hook ups’ …or their ‘friends with benefits’…or their f**k buddies. We will continue to see girls and boys sexting naked images of themselves, and very young girls performing oral sex under tables at school and at parties long before they are emotionally and psychologically equipped to engage in such behaviour. We will continue to see rates of Chlamydia soar – the silent sexually transmitted infection, which according to medical professionals, may see the next generation of young women with an unprecedented high incidence of infertility. The ramifications are many.

The media is devoid of valuable information about love, respect, caring, intimacy and importantly for our girls, sexual assertiveness, the right to say “no” and the right to expect respect.

In Australia, one in three girls and one in five-seven boys will experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of eighteen. This is totally unacceptable.

It is well and truly time for parents to demand that the contemporary media environment and marketing and advertising – works responsibly to support their efforts to raise whole well rounded and happy children.

Australia is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC) which was first adopted in 1989.  In May 2002, world leaders convened at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children to review the progress in meeting the goals and to agree on new goals for the next decade.

Comments from the 2002 United Nations General Assembly on the World Summit for Children include:
• Eleven years ago, at the World Summit for children, world leaders made a joint commitment and issued an urgent, universal appeal to give every child a better future.
• We reaffirm our obligation to take action to promote and protect the rights of each child – every human being below the age of 18 years, including adolescents.
• We stress our commitment to create a world fit for children…taking into account the best interests of the child…including the right to development.
• We hereby call upon all members of society to join us in a global movement that will help to build a world fit for children.
• Put children first. In all actions related to children, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.
• In line with (the) principles and objectives, we (are) confident that together we will build a world in which all girls and boys can enjoy childhood – a time of play and learning, in which they are loved, respected and cherished, their rights are promoted and protected, without discrimination of any kind, in which their safety and well-being are paramount and in which they can develop in health, peace and dignity.

Our Government must focus on recommendations made by child development professionals and groups concerned about the wellbeing and mental health of our children, in the recent senate inquiry into the sexualisation of children in the contemporary media environment.  The inquiry is due for review at the end of 2009. Parents and other concerned individuals and groups must take action and speak out about the negative impacts on our children.

We have a right to expect better for our kids, and the Government has to show us the action promised when Australia signed CROC. Our kids deserve that.

Reference:

1. Faking It. Women’s Forum Australia.
2. Corporate Paedophilia Report. The Australia Institute.
3. So Sexy So Soon. The New Sexualised Childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids.
   Diane E Levin, Ph.D and Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D
4. So Sexy So Soon. The New Sexualised Childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids.
   Diane E Levin, Ph.D and Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D
5. Sunday Program. Nine Network. 22 June 2008
6. AM – ABC. Eating disorders on the rise. 28 May 2008
7. So Sexy So Soon. The New Sexualised Childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids.
   Diane E Levin, Ph.D and Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D
8. APA Taskforce on the Sexualisation of Girls. American Psychological Association. 2007.
9. (Grunseit et al. 1997;Roker and Coleman 1998, p 15) Youth and Pornography in Australia -  Evidence on the extent of exposure and likely effects. Flood and Hamilton 2003.
10. “I wanted to get to know her better”: Adolescent boy’s dating motives, masculinity ideology and sexual behaviour. Department of Psychology SUNY Oswego NY. 2008 Feb;31(!):17-32.Epub 2007 May 29
11. Inside the mind of the boy dating your daughter. Parker-Rope. New York Times. 15 Feb. 2008
12. Childwise.
13. Ratified by Australia in Dec 1990.
14. S-27/2. A World Fit For Children. United Nations
15. href=”http://www.aph.gov.au/SENATE/committee/eca_ctte/sexualisation_of_children/index.htm”

Writer: Julie Gale, Director, Kids Free 2B Kids. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.

Guest Post: Julie Gale. Director, Kids Free 2B Kids.

Note: This blog necessarily contains explicit material not suitable for children and which may offend some readers.

“It is a continual frustration that the media will not print examples of covers of pornographic material sold within view and access of children. (or examples of content and text in unsealed mags.) So, of course, my message is continually minimised in the process. And it means that many people understandably don’t really get what the fuss is about.

One of the reasons BP, Mobil and Shell/Coles Express removed all category 1 restricted magazines from their company owned stores nationwide is because I sent them graphic (but pixilated) images of the covers, content and text in magazines they were selling. I also explained that many distributors were flouting the law, and this meant that unintentionally a lot of their stores were selling illegal content.

Removing ALL category 1 nationwide. That is responsible action… not undertaken lightly and goes to show that providing examples made the issue very clear.

It’s so ironic and hypocritical that the material is deemed ok to be displayed in front of kids – but definitely far too inappropriate for the media to show.

I understand it is a tough call from the media perspective – but so frustrating for those of us who are just wanting to show it how it is.”

Rather than including the images I provided, the ABC’s The Drum unlashed  chose to link to the sayno4kids petition site – which does have examples of some ‘soft p-rn’ lad mags –  but at the moment the images do not reflect the editors note (nor the child advocates statement) accurately.

I just wish that the media would say/show it how it is instead of editing out relevant and important information.

Julie Gale is the founder of Kids Free 2B Kids.

Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.

Editor’s Note: For images of the sorts of magazines child advocates are calling to have limited to sale in adults only premises, please see here. These images may offend some readers.

Generation Next founder Dr Ramesh Manocha and Generation Next seminar speakers Julie Gale (Director Kids Free 2B Kids) and Dr Michael Carr-Gregg (Author and Child & Adolescent Psychologist) were among experts and public figures who signed a letter which was recently sent to the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General Censorship Ministers.

Other key figures included:

• The Hon Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC, Former Chief Justice of the Family Court and Founding Patron, Children’s Rights International
• Tim Costello, CEO World Vision, and
• Noni Hazlehurst, AM Actor, Child advocate.

The Letter stated:

We, the undersigned, are opposed to Restricted pornographic publications and material being sold where they can easily be seen and accessed by children.
We call for the sale and display of Restricted publications to be limited to adults-only premises.

Further, we support a review of the Classification of Publications Guidelines, to determine whether there should be more stringent requirements for the display of the so-called "lads” magazines such as ‘People’ ‘The Picture’ ‘Zoo’ and ‘Ralph’ magazines etc.

Their aim is to ban the sale of pornographic magazines from public venues easily frequented by children and young people under the age of 18 years, such as newsagents, milk bars, convenience stores, supermarkets and petrol stations. It is feared that these ‘lads mags’ are adding to the increasing sexualisation of young people.

Julie Gale from Kids Free 2B Kids, said ”… allowing pornography and overtly sexualised images to be sold in the public arena with easy access for children and teens tells them that this is acceptable. It gives it public validation.”

This point of view was supported by Catherine Manning of Say No 4 Kids who feels that ”Exposure to adult sexualised material can send the wrong message to children about what’s expected of them as adults. Girls think they should behave like ‘porn stars’ and boys expect them to.”

A recent review written by Dr Linda Papadopolos, “Sexualisation of Young People” explores the dangers of the growing trend towards the ‘normalisation’ and acceptance of both the sexualisation of our children and the connection between this growing trend and the increased acts of violence against woman and children.

An online poll conducted by Fairfax found that out of 8,732 people who responded to the question “Do you agree that these magazine should be banned?” only 33% felt that the magazines should be banned.

The publishers see no harm in widely displaying and selling these magazines. Scott Briggs, manager of regulatory affairs at PBL Media, the company that owns ACP, said. “We have no issue with a stricter approach to enforcement but we see no need for the bans being proposed,” ACP is responsible for publishing titles such as Ralph, FHM and Zoo.

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.

SOURCE: Kids Free 2 B Kids

To read review “Sexualisation of Young People” in full

A recent study by Professor Craig Anderson “Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and pro-social behaviour in Eastern and Western countries: A meta-analytic review”  has confirmed that young people exposed to violent video games, themselves become more violent.

Researchers monitored individuals ranging from young children to university students and covering a wide range of cultures both in the east and west.

See previous Generation Next blog – Review confirms Violent Video Games increase aggressive behaviour - for an in depth report of this review which was recently published in the American journal Psychological Bulletin.

The Psychological Bulletin found that “exposure to violent video games is a causal risk factor for increased aggressive thoughts and behaviour, and decreased empathy and pro-social behaviour in youths."

Prof Craig Anderson confirmed that "… the effects are that exposure to violent video games increases the likelihood of aggressive behaviour in both short-term and long-term contexts. Such exposure also increases aggressive thinking and aggressive affect, and decreases pro-social behaviour."

This report comes at a time when the government is considering the introduction of R+18 rated games into the market in Australia (many of these games have high levels of violence and sex content).

Kids Free 2 B Kids director Julie Gale, and Generation Next Speaker says parents must take some time to sit and watch video games with their children to really know the kinds of games they are playing.

Adding an R18+ classification means that much more extreme violence and sexualised imagery will be available to young people as a whole.

Julie Gale also recently attended the conference ‘Growing up Fast and Furious’  held by the Australian Council of Children and the Media (ACCM) at Macquarie University where the issues of video game content and classifications were discussed.

Current criteria for video games in Australia

• The highest video game rating is MA15+
• Imported games are modified to meet MA15+ rating, and
• All video games entering Australia must pass through the classification system

The outcome of this debate has been made more precarious by the resignation of Attorney-General Michael Atkinson, who was himself a keen advocate and campaigner for opposing the introduction of video games into Australia with a R18+ classification.

Attorney-General Michael Atkinson made the following points in a letter:

• Despite classification stickers, parents still make “bad choices” in regards to what content their children view
• Our desire for unedited games shouldn’t come ahead of protecting children from inappropriate material
• R18+ content adds nothing to the gaming experience
• Games classification is different to film classification, in that films can be better regulated, and
• Children and “vulnerable” adults should not accept violence as a part of everyday life

The next meeting of the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General is held in Melbourne on April 29. It is not yet known whether the introduction of an R18+ games rating will be discussed.

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.

Generation Next Brisbane is on tomorrow! Speakers including Dr Michael Carr-Gregg  and Paul Dillon will talk on topics including drugs and alcohol, depression, cybersafety and sexualisation to a sold out auditorium in the University of Queensland.

If you’ve missed out you may like to subscribe to the newsletter to keep up with our regular updates or if you know of a school which might like to host a future seminar perhaps you’d like to contact Generation Next founder Dr Ramesh Manocha to organise a Generation Next seminar at your school.

We are currently in the process of planning the 2010 Generation Next series. Thanks to your feedback we have learned a lot of lessons about how best to run the events and use the limited financial and other resources available to us.

Importantly, in 2010 we would like to explore the possibility of running the events at a school hall rather than in a commercial venue. This will allow us to use our limited funds for more important things such as advertising and supporting the stakeholder groups that work with us.

A group of approximately 20 schools in Canberra, for example, have teamed up to offer both a school hall and help with ticket sales to each of their school communities. We think this is a way for Generation Next’s important information to get to more people in a way that is not only financially viable but also allows local communities to develop a sense of ownership with regard to these important issues.

It will also allow us more versatility in terms of timing and location.

Our calculations show that we need to sell about 800-1000 tickets to make each Generation Next event viable. Therefore we need to find a school hall (or halls) in each city that can accommodate an audience of that size or more in relative comfort.

If you think that your school’s hall may be suitable to a Generation Next event and that your school may be interested in working with us then please do get in touch with us by  emailing me at r.manocha@healthed.com.au or at info@gennextseminars.com.

Your help with this matter is deeply appreciated.

Sincerely,

Dr Ramesh Manocha, MBBS, BSc (Med), PhD,

Founder, Generation Next.

Issues like the sexualisation and abuse of children aren’t humorous. They are serious.

The Cotton On store declared in August that it would remove inappropriate slogan t-shirts after public pressure from around Australia and New Zealand – including comments from child development professionals, calling for the removal of the slogan t-shirts.

Today in The Herald Sun,  http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/boycott-call-on-tot-shop/story-e6frf7kx-1225799481123 it was revealed that Cotton On have continued to sell t-shirts such as ‘I’m a Tit’s Man’ ‘I’m bringing sexy back’ and ‘milk today, beer tomorrow’.

Retailers, marketers and advertisers need to be proactive in their responsibility to children and the messages they are exposed to.

It’s time for them to pay attention to child development professionals, and increasing research, which says the sexualisation of our children is impacting on their mental health and well being.

• Adult sexualised innuendo/humour does not belong on children’s/baby wear. It should be a no-go zone!
• Children/babies become billboards, and this is involuntary exposure for other kids, siblings and  friends to receive those messages.
• One of the strong messages is that this is OK. It’s acceptable…it’s normal.
• It’s part of the normalisation & desensitisation of what many academics are calling the pornificaiton of society and is symbolic of the broader issue of the sexualisation of children.
• Sexualised messages have become so all pervasive in our society that there are no longer any boundaries. It is no longer the preserve of adulthood.
• When retailers happily promote ’edgy’ and ‘provocative humour that pushes the boundaries’ on baby’s wear – then it is a clear sign that we have crossed a line.

Writer Julie Gale, Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha