A bed called Lolita?

[QuakerBear]

I don't know why Woolworths did this, was it a publicity stunt, was it ignorance, who knows.

It is however symptomatic of a growing trend. Other products I've seen for sale, all of which are aimed at pre-teen girls include: padded bras, thongs, underwear which says 'Little Miss Naughty', Playboy stationery, Playboy bed linen, knee high 'kinky boots' and then there's all the make up and magazines on how to have fun by putting make up on and dressing up to look good for boys.

As a society we have turned little girls, children into sexual objects. This isn't just letting the children have what they want because it's only harmless fun. It is very harmful indeed, for two main reasons. One, we are taking away their childhood and giving them adult concerns and bringing them into a sphere of sexual relationships for which they are unprepared and unable to cope with. We all know the arguements against sexualising children. Two, we are raising a generation of females whose main concern in life is to be conventionaly attractive and 'sexy'.

Mary Woolstonecraft wrote: "taught from their infancy that beauty is woman’s sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and, roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison,"

We are returning more and more to this situation and we are doing it by choice, these gilded walls are there by choice! It is women themselves who choose to enslave themselves to the desires of men and, perhaps predominantly, the habit of judging one’s peers and oneself based on appearance. If this is the case genuine female emancipation can not be given, women are not held by anyone or anything but themselves. No amount of campaigning, moaning, litigation and jurisdiction will ever produce equality as women refuse, or are ignorant of how, to award freedom to themselves.

The pursuit and maintenance of beauty is so time and effort consuming that other tasks and activities and even self respect and proper consideration for the improvement of the self are subsumed. Beauty overrides so much, including non judgemental compassion for others. We may have a right to imprison ourselves, if that is our individual choice, but do we have the right to inflict our life choices onto others. Thought of like this, subjection to, and by beauty becomes a lifestyle choice which is worrying similar to nineteenth century concepts of the feminine nature as naturally submissive and inward-looking.

I'm sorry if I've offended or spoken with stong words, but I feel very strongly about this. Does anyone feel in a similar way?

[hamster]

I agree with you, Quakerbear. I've always been troubled by the Playboy logo being a fashion symbol...

[QuakerBear]

Why does it say 'Sick person alert' in my post. I didn't type that.

[Masco&Bongo]

I agree with you too QuakerBear....

Children are becoming sexualised and full of adult concerns far too soon.

I remember a niece of mine, only a few years ago, declining something to eat at our house as she was "cutting down" because she was "overweight". She was only 11, and still hadn't gone through puberty etc, so hadn't even started to develop.

Also I defintely agree with the statement about raising a generation of female whose main concern is to be conventionally attractive and 'sexy'...

An interesting book this made me think of was Marya Hornbacher's "Wasted"; a real life story of a young girl with an eating disorder. It really puts things into perspective when you're "having a fat day"

[wulf]

Why does it say 'Sick person alert' in my post. I didn't type that.

Can you remember what you did type? A word like pubescent might trigger an automatic replacement (which would fit the sentence... we'll see if it makes it through here!).

Wulf

[mrsflibble]

I don't agree with sexualisation of little girls; for instance Tshirts on basildon market which say "lick me" for a 5 year old etc... but i also don't agree that woolies made this mistake deliberately; or even that it IS a mistake. Surely lolita is just a pretty girl's name without the connotations attached? it's our social surroundings and public attitude which has lead us to see "lolita" as something dirty.
look at it this way, 50, 60 years ago stockings were a means of keeping your legs warm and suspenders were there to hold them up- what do they mean now and why? it's all from the same bag of crap we call social conditioning. Kinda like Pavlov and his salivating dogs it's the sun, mail, other tabloids and their stupid twisting of words. man i hate the press industry. And more than that I hate the bandwaggons which begin with the tabloids and just get snowballed by more and more poeple jumping on them.
As for bratz dolls; they may be manufactured but that doesn't force anyone to buy them. if you don't like it, avoid it. I would never buy sophie anything with "lick me" or the playboy symbol on it or with high heels, bratz etc on; but then again I'm not going to go running to trading standards and complain 'cos it's just not worth the hassle.

[QuakerBear]

I agree very much with you Mrs Fibble. But then, I don't think the majority of people agree with us and I get upset when I see these horrible things being foisted on kiddies. I know people have a right to bring up their children how they see fit and that everyone is special and unique and has their own set of unique gifts to offer, but well, sometimes some people seem to hide that well. When I'm feeling pessemistic I wonder if the world would be better if there were incredibly strict regulations to control parenting as a way of protecting children. I know that can't be the way forward though. I suppose the best option is just to lead by example.

[Ellendra]

We've got adults trying to act like kids and kids trying to act like adults. Seems like we lost a generation somewhere.

I guess in some ways I was lucky, nobody would ever consider my body "gilded", but just today on another discussion group, someone called me "a source of knowledge for a broad spectrum of topics" and thanked me for "taking a fluff topic and making it more than that."

This was probably the highest compliment I have ever recieved, particularly as it came fom a scholar with a PHD!

If someone had just called me beautiful or sexy, I would have thought they were a creep.

-Ellendra

[Wombat]

I don't know why Woolworths did this, was it a publicity stunt, was it ignorance, who knows.

It is however symptomatic of a growing trend. Other products I've seen for sale, all of which are aimed at Sick sick person alert girls include: padded bras, thongs, underwear which says 'Little Miss Naughty', Playboy stationery, Playboy bed linen, knee high 'kinky boots' and then there's all the make up and magazines on how to have fun by putting make up on and dressing up to look good for boys.

As a society we have turned little girls, children into sexual objects. This isn't just letting the children have what they want because it's only harmless fun. It is very harmful indeed, for two main reasons. One, we are taking away their childhood and giving them adult concerns and bringing them into a sphere of sexual relationships for which they are unprepared and unable to cope with. We all know the arguements against sexualising children. Two, we are raising a generation of females whose main concern in life is to be conventionaly attractive and 'sexy'.

Mary Woolstonecraft wrote: "taught from their infancy that beauty is woman’s sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and, roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison,"

We are returning more and more to this situation and we are doing it by choice, these gilded walls are there by choice! It is women themselves who choose to enslave themselves to the desires of men and, perhaps predominantly, the habit of judging one’s peers and oneself based on appearance. If this is the case genuine female emancipation can not be given, women are not held by anyone or anything but themselves. No amount of campaigning, moaning, litigation and jurisdiction will ever produce equality as women refuse, or are ignorant of how, to award freedom to themselves.

The pursuit and maintenance of beauty is so time and effort consuming that other tasks and activities and even self respect and proper consideration for the improvement of the self are subsumed. Beauty overrides so much, including non judgemental compassion for others. We may have a right to imprison ourselves, if that is our individual choice, but do we have the right to inflict our life choices onto others. Thought of like this, subjection to, and by beauty becomes a lifestyle choice which is worrying similar to nineteenth century concepts of the feminine nature as naturally submissive and inward-looking.

I'm sorry if I've offended or spoken with stong words, but I feel very strongly about this. Does anyone feel in a similar way?

Hear, hear QB! I couldn't have put it better myself. The only thing I find sicker than the sexualisation of young girls is that people are doing it to make money! It disgusts me. We had two daughters and we would not have dreamed of buying this crap.

On the bed, stupidity more likely than not, and on the name - my SIL has an Aunt Lolly (Lolita).

Nev

[Wombat]

If someone had just called me beautiful or sexy, I would have thought they were a creep.

-Ellendra

I tell Mrs Wombat every day that she is beautiful, but I don't suppose it is the same thing

Nev

[Millymollymandy]

Why does it say 'Sick person alert' in my post. I didn't type that.

You typed pre teen. I'm going to change it in the swear word filter, because this is the 2nd time I've come across this and as we have no spammers spamming us right now we don't need sick sick person alerts!

[Millymollymandy]

Done.

[mrsflibble]

omg got to love filters.

[Russian Doll]

i am proud to say that i have two girls who thank god are not into half the crap that is foisted on young girls these days...my oldest loves animals and is happiest in a pair of jeans and a jumper like her mummy and my 5 year old loves her preety preety dresses..someone tried giving me this type of mimi dress the other day...amy saw it and said god mum i wouldnt wear that it shows my bum

[mrsflibble]

I have some wide lace with a pretty "dancing ladies" motif on it, we could add an extra hem if you like? I'm sure I have enough to fit round Amy...