The media has recently reported a string of stories concerning the sexualisation of young girls and the anxiety they are facing with increasing pressure on them to look ‘sexy’ when they are younger and younger.

The most recent story concerns the new trend of letting ‘tweens’ get their legs waxed, this follows the ‘push up bra’ and Noah Cyrus selling fishnet stockings and thigh length boots.

It is true that hair, fashion, beauty and make-up are all readily available to the youth of today, but is it the parents, youngsters, media or manufacturers who are deciding that children this young should indulge in such beauty treatments?

NSW Community Services Minister Linda Burney said “It raises the broader issue of children growing up too quickly and brings up the issue of sexualisation of children. Children should be allowed to be children and not feel they need to emulate what they see in gossip magazines and the advertising industry.”

Young girls who are not yet even teenagers are now bombarded with images telling them to be ‘sexy’ and encouraging them to portray themselves in a sexual way even though, at their  age, they are unable to fully comprehend just what this means.

They are struggling to deal with concepts far beyond their years and on the way they are missing out on their childhood and the freedom that innocence brings. All too soon confusion and anxiety sets in as they strive to present themselves in a provocative way but are unable to handle the attention and expectations that comes with it.

Generation Next Seminar speaker and author Maggie Hamilton says in her book “What’s Happening to out Girls?” that  “young girls are missing out on some of the essentials of childhood, such as being spontaneous and having unselfconscious fun… by taking things more slowly, parents give girls the chance to grow up at a more leisurely pace, and have many wonderful possibilities to look forward to”.

While Child sexualisation expert, Emma Rush said “It might seem like a nice thing to do for a little girl, but not at that age. Mid-teens, sure. Children aged nine or younger have not got the cognitive (capacity). They don’t have the need for it. There is the question of whether they are ready to cope with the attention that can attract”.

She said girls in primary schools were now exhibiting depression, anxiety and eating disorders, which had all been strongly linked to sexualisation.

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.

SOURCE: The Sunday Telegraph