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Sexualized girls clothing is becoming a real problem, Entity reports.

The sexualization of women has been a constant throughout history, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

However, this is now effecting little girls. The harsh reality is that it will play a part in the women they become. It is important to distinguish what exactly sexualization is, since it is NOT the same thing as sexuality.

According to the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, sexualization is either when “a person is sexually objectified — that is, made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than seen as a person with the capacity for independent action and decision making” or  “a person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness (narrowly defined) with being sexy.”

Shot from the hit movie Little Miss Sunshine of sexualized girls costumes for a beauty competition via pepperbough.com

According to this definition, little girls are most likely not sexualizing themselves (as if this wasn’t obvious). It is society and the people that surround these young women who are turning them into objects, instead of people. We have started to hold young girls to the same messed-up standards we hold women to, which isn’t OK.

A study was conducted among 15 different retailers (high end and low end) in which individuals were asked their opinion on whether girls clothing was sexualized or not. The study found that “Of all clothing items, 31 percent had sexualizing features.” This is where part of the problem lies.

But for those of you who are still weary that clothing stores are sexualizing young girls, take a look at this. This isn’t a fictional concept.  An article by The Huffington Post shows some extremely sexualized little kids clothing, including this ‘Kid’s Nipple Tassle T-Shirt’ shown below.

The Kid’s Nipple Tassle T-Shirt, a perfect example of sexualized clothing for young girls via incrediblethings.com

As if this wasn’t enough to convince you of the sexualization young girls face, we can turn to the recent post that Jessica Simpson made. The star shared a picture of her daughter wearing a two-piece bathing suit on Instagram.

The backlash she received for ‘sexualizing a minor’ was intense. However, I doubt Jessica Simpson was actually sexualizing her young daughter. Instead, society took it upon themselves to sexualize the young girl because her stomach was showing.

via @giphy

The effects of this sexualization on girls, especially girls who are developing and becoming young women, can be tremendous. According to Eileen L. Zurbriggen, PhD, chair of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, “We have ample evidence to conclude that sexualization has negative effects in a variety of domains, including cognitive functioning, physical and mental health and healthy sexual development.”

Ultimately, we as a society need to change in order to help girls turn into powerful women. Clothing stores need to make all different types of clothing, for the wide range of girls there actually is.

We, as a society, need to stop sexualizing these little girls and impacting their view of themselves. After all, they are little girls. Just because they wear a two-piece doesn’t mean they are trying to be provocative.

If you would like more information, the APA has a list of information on what both girls and their moms can do, an overview of their full report, and a video talking to real girls about their thoughts on sexualization.

For now, maybe just stop thinking of little girls as sexual objects — okay?

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