British Clothing Chain Pulls Padded Bikinis Aimed at Young Girls

by Sarah Menkedick · 2010-04-16 06:00:00 UTC
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The British clothing chain Primark has pulled a line of padded bikinis aimed at girls as young as seven after criticism from charities protesting the sexualization of children. The bikinis were either pink with gold stars or black with white polka dots and featured extra padding to boost the girls' breasts. A ten year-old with a padded bra? Really?

Primark is not the first to get called out for casually sexualizing kids; Asda and Tesco, two other British supermarkets, have also withdrawn products. The former yanked a push-up bra aimed at young girls, and the latter discontinued a pole-dancing kit featured in the toy section of the store and aimed at little girls.

Un-be-lievable. A pole-dancing kit. Because there's no better way for an 8-year-old to learn she's a sex object than by letting her have a few swings around the ol' plastic play pole.

It sounds like an SNL skit but no, these are the messages that British and American societies are sending to young girls: make your boobs bigger!  Learn how to sashay around that pole like a true pro! It doesn't start at the supermarkets — it starts with teen magazines, with bubble gum pop stars that the entertainment industry grooms into sex objects and who later hawk their own lingerie lines to first-graders, with the way women's sexuality is used as a ubiquitous marketing tool.

It's encouraging that these products have been denounced and pulled in Britain, but it makes you wonder what in the world is going on in the U.S. Kiddie lingerie? Thongs from Abercrombie and Fitch aimed at the 7-year-old set? Apparently, we still have an enormous way to go on this side of the pond. It's not "cute" for a pre-teen to sport fishnets, it's an indication that the objectification of women has reached new, seriously disturbing levels.

Photo credit: Caza_No_7

Sarah Menkedick is a freelance writer currently based in Oaxaca, Mexico. She has spent the last five years teaching, writing and traveling on five continents. She regularly writes about women's rights.
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