On Sunday afternoon we went to a local cider mill to breathe in the crisp Fall air and indulge in some hot cider and donuts. This particular cider mill brought in a very diverse crowd, which meant that our donuts came with a side of people watching. Of all of the interesting characters that we saw that day, one in particular stood out to me the most.
I was innocently sipping my cider when a young girl walked past our table and immediately caught my attention. She couldn't have been older than fifteen, but she had the makeup of a streetwalker and she was wearing stretch pants so tight that I could see everything her momma gave her. My instinct was to run over and cover her with my jacket so that all of the filthy men of the world couldn't see her, because goodness knows they were looking too.
It was then that I noticed three other pre-pubescent girls wearing the same type of outfit. Way too much makeup, some sort of baggy sweater, and stretch pants that I would have categorized as tights.
Remember when girls used to wear tights?
It's understandable and probable that teenage girls left to their own devices will make bad decisions in an attempt to get approval from friends and boys. That part is easy to understand. What I want to know is WHY their parents are letting them out of the house wearing pants that look like they've been painted on?
Why is there such a pressure for young girls to be sexy? And why aren't we doing more to stop it? I am constantly baffled by this phenomenon.
I'm not a parent and I can only imagine how stressful it is to raise teenage girls these days (or ever, for that matter). What I do know is that my parents played a huge role in my understanding of the world around me and in the development of my self worth. The memories from my childhood do not involve skinny jeans or Bratz dolls or a desire to be seen as "sexy."
I may not have always wanted to listen to what my parents had to say, but that didn't mean they stopped talking. If I'm lucky enough to have daughters of my own in the future, I hope I'm able to give them the same gift that my parents gave me. Innocence and age-appropriate clothing.
8 comments:
I am SO with you on this!! It' so sad to me that young girls feel like they NEED to dress like this to be noticed :( They don't realize they are being noticed in the wrong way!
And this cider mill sounds amazing! I have such a weakness for donuts :)
Oh can't wait for this phase and Molly's not even here yet! I can imagine my response will be something like, "Buy that crap with your own money, I will only be purchasing appropriate clothes." Because the second I outlaw a specific article of clothing I know she will sneak out with it on anyway... :)
a lot of times it's the parents who see nothing wrong with the way their girl's dress or aren't present enough to notice. girls don't have a genuine desire to be seen in such a way, but often use sexuality as a form of attention seeking. and why do they seek attention? because they never got it in healthy ways from their families. i used to be a teacher, and over the past 5 years i've worked with a lot of kids/teens in therapy. based on all of those experiences, i don't ever feel sorry for parents. they're usually the problem behind their kids' actions.
OMG! Thank you, Lauren, for bringing it up.... this has been such a huge phenomenon in recent years and the girls get younger and younger!
If I compare today's outfits with what I wore when I was 8, 10, 12, even 14.... it's like another world!
My Mom and sister are both elementary school teachers and what she can tell you about makeup, heels, etc. on young girls is just mind-blowing!
... AND WRONG!
My parents got VERY lucky with me. Because my large chest always drew attention anyway I always tried to dress a little on the conservative side. I still loved clothes but I wasn't the type for low cut or short skirts or anything overly tight.
Kids these days are ridiculous.
Oh man, I hate to add that I see college girls dressed like this all the time! It's not even just about age-appropriateness, it's about looking like you respect yourself. I think what Kim said is part of the problem--girls aren't taught how to respect themselves and dress so others will look at them as people and not just bodies.
I'm lucky I have great parents who taught me well. I realize that so often!
It's funny that I came across your blog today because I was just almost-ranting about this with a friend who's a high school teacher. Her school doesn't have a dress code but they're considering instituting one...
SO glad I didn't have a girl!! Boys are way easier. Even if they wear baggy pants, which thankfully mine never cared for, or grow their hair long, which is funny - they don't typically have things they wear that turn them into a two-dollar hooker.
The clothing industry is to blame as well, right? Why are they selling/marketing to young girls??
I agree!!
I went to a higher end salon in town and there was a girl wearing regular tights (like I'd wear under a dress) as pants. You could clearly see her thong underwear through the ensemble.It was like she forgot to put on her skirt for the day? Anyways, the place went out of business about a month later. Maybe if they had a little more class they would have survived! Oh, and Tim always says, "Most girls should NOT wear skinny jeans/pants/etc." I've been seeing lots of kids with leggings in the grocery store and that stupid shorts with tights trend. How is this practical for winter?
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