Has Abercrombie and Fitch Kids Gone Bonkers?

Walking around the aisles at your local children's clothing store this summer, have you noticed how the clothing makers have started describing clothes for little under-10s in a slightly unexpected way? Have you noticed for instance how mainstream articles of clothing under the Abercrombie and Fitch Kids label can lay it on a little thick when describing jeans for six-year-olds as “just the right kind to make your little kid look sexy and with the perfect butt”? What on earth is going on, and why do these clothing companies believe that anyone would want to see your children spoken of in this way?

What on earth is going on with Abercrombie and Fitch Kids? Actually, it would appear that they aren't trying to head for commercial suicide. There's been a survey done of popular clothing for little girls sold that mainstream clothing stores like Neiman Marcus and Aeropostale all over the country and they’ve found that more than 25% of all clothing available for tween girls is quite overtly sexualized. They make T-shirts with racy messages, they make very short shorts that are designed to show off their bottoms, and they make bikinis that show off their “figure” in a certain way.

Women's rights activists are worried that the mainstreaming of scandalously designed clothing (which you could define as clothing that is cut to reveal or show off certain parts of the body or that are made with suggestive prints) for very young girls is aimed at pushing back some of the advances that have been made in women's rights. Apparently, societal forces are trying to put women back in their place.

But girls to go to school and are presented with all the opportunities that are available to boys today aren't they? Even if they did learn from these cues that they were supposed to be objects of attraction, wouldn't  they get an education, a good job and then learn to respect themselves? Well, a big part of what makes children grow into a serious role in life comes from what they see is expected of them as they grow up. Study after study has found that children who wear revealing or suggestive clothing are regularly perceived as being less intelligent, less capable and less serious. Imagine the kind of effect it could have on a young child to have everyone around her think that she isn't capable. She is almost certainly going to grow up believing she isn't capable. Book after book today documents how society somehow seems to be completely determined to sexualize young children - serious scholarly books like The Lolita Effect: The Media Sexualization of Young Girls and What We Can Do About It by Meenakshi Gigi Durham, GIRLS GONE SKANK: The Sexualization of Girls in American Culture by Patrice A. Oppliger and The Sexualization of Childhood (Childhood in America) by Sharna Olfman routinely make it to the best seller list as they make people aware of what's going on.

Abercrombie and Fitch Kids for instance sells lots of push-up padded bikini tops for little girls. Stores that sell clothing for children are having to show clothing designers their distaste for this to reign them in. In the end, it depends on the parents. If parents show their distaste for this kind of trend, the brands will respond.