Experts world wide are condemning the sexualisation of young children and teenagers through the media. All are agreed that it is damaging the youth of today.
At this time, it is surprising then, that Monash University’s Dr Blaise is condoning the teaching of sexuality to pre-school and kindergarten children. In fact she is going one step further by actively encouraging it and suggesting the subject be incorporated into the teaching curriculum.
It is even more surprising that in the name of research, children at an unnamed childcare centre have been subjected to questions like “are you a flirt?”, “Do boys give you the dreamy eye?”and “have you ever kissed a boy?”
Dr Blaise said it was important that kids felt “healthy sexuality was not dirty or wrong”.
To argue that children are already ‘sexual beings’ at the age of 3 years old goes against everything we know about the innocence of children. If they are displaying any kind of ‘flirtatious’ behavior at this age then it is learnt behavior that they do not understand. Behavior usually learnt to get the approval of a grown up. Bits and pieces they have heard from older children or siblings; comments heard but not really understood.
Maggie Hamilton, author of “What’s happening to our Girls?” and Generation Next speaker says “that through toys and the media, little girls are increasingly being exposed to a superficial, sexualized way of seeing themselves and their world. As these girls are too young to properly judge what they’re experiencing, they begin to assume that’s what is expected of them”.
Could it be that if Blaise has seen any kind of evidence that children are ‘sexual beings’ it is because of the influences they are exposed to on TV and the sexualisation of young children by the media, marketing and toys such as ‘Bratz dolls’?
By introducing this topic into children’s attention at such a young age, there is a potential to cause damage and deprive them of those very short years when they can be truly innocent and enjoy being ‘themselves’ before the conditionings of society step in.
Psychologist and Generation Next speaker, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg said he was deeply concerned by the research and surprised it cleared the university’s ethics committee.
“Why the hell can’t we just let children be children?” he said.
Echoing Dr Carr-Gregg’s sentiments, Terri Kelleher of the Australian Family Association said “we’re surprised such research would be carried out drawing the attention of pre-school children to such matters.”
“Children of that age would not be thinking of sexual or gender issues” she added.
Although the paper “Kiss and Tell: Gendered narratives and childhood sexuality” has been published by the Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, it was financed by the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, a US-based organisation dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about sexuality.
Research techniques included asking children to photograph things they thought were cool, sexy or pretty, and to discuss a photograph of two crocodiles kissing. This line of questioning is totally inappropriate for 3 and 4 year olds.
As Dr Carr-Gregg pointed out; it is very surprising and of great concern that Melbourne’s Monash University’s ethical review board passed and approved this research without raising any concerns.
The fact that it was published in the Australasian Journal of Early Childhood also sets of alarm bells. Surely there is something wrong when a leading member of the Early Childhood Association is prepared to endorse these sorts of subjects being introduced into childcare centres and incorporated into the curriculum, as long as it is “child-led”.
How on earth can a child of 3 or 4 years old ‘lead’ a topic like this? Has anyone ever heard a toddler say “mummy I want to talk about sexuality”? Children don’t even know what sexuality is. Most children at the age of three are only just getting to grips with the idea that boys and girls exist.
Dr Blaise goes on to talk about the “myth” of childhood innocence.
Innocence is no myth; it is a fundamental instinct that protects us when we are young. It allows children a few precious years of freedom to truly be themselves. It is the innocence of a child that makes adults want to protect them and shield them from harm.
Why are we allowing our children to be robbed of that in the name of research to prove a point that someone somewhere has already decided to be true?
Let children be children, while they still can be. There is time enough later for the complications that hormones and relationships create within a teenager’s life.
Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.
Source: Journal of Early Childhood and Herald Sun.
Why are we doing this to our small children? Is it parents who are wanting to dress up the children like little adults to show others how pretty or handsome their children are – vicarious satisfaction? Too much pressure is putting on our youngsters including the push down effect of formal schooling when these children should be allowed to create and delight in their own discoveries. Dr Blaise should be ashamed of herself – Dr Carr Greg is correct – let children be children!!
I totally agree. Let children be children!
It is a war against children’s rights, the author of this research looks back to the 16th Century to refute our ideas of childhood innocense. Why would be want to repeat the failings of the past. We can learn from mistakes of childhood slavery, we know that children think and act differently to adults, we have so much evidence from studying the brain.
I’m with Marian; ‘Dr Blaise should be ashamed of herself’. Really – what was she thinking? More importantly, what was the director of that child-care centre and the parents (if in fact they were informed) thinking when they allowed this ‘expert’ to undertake this study? It is Dr Blaise who is exploiting healthy sexualisation, making it “dirty and wrong” by somehow assuming children of this age actually understand and can emotionally process what ‘sexuality’ is in the first place. What research is she practicing from if she believes children of 3 & 4 are ‘sexual beings’? And if (in fact) they are displaying any kind of ‘flirtatious’ behavior at this age, it is learnt behavior as a result of the sexualisation of a society that sexualises everhthing – cars, clothes, plants and tanks! They hear the word ‘sexy’ all the time through the media, which has then generated a social language through our society and into our main-speak. As a woman, is it any wonder we have created a sexualised way of seeing ourselves? For pities sake, let children be children. There’s plenty of time for them to become indoctrinated, exploited and ‘sexualised’ by the media and our sexualised society – usually by the time they hit their tweens.