Why do kids want to be sexy?
Most girls as young as 6 are already beginning to think of themselves as sex objects, according to a new study of elementary school-age kids in the Midwest.
Researchers have shown in the past that women and teens think of themselves in sexually objectified terms, but the new study is the first to identify self-sexualization in young girls. The study, published online July 6 in the journal Sex Roles, also identified factors that protect girls from objectifying themselves.
Psychologists at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., used paper dolls to assess self-sexualization in 6- to 9-year-old girls. Sixty girls were shown two dolls, one dressed in tight and revealing "sexy" clothes and the other wearing a trendy but covered-up, loose outfit.
Using a different set of dolls for each question, the researchers then asked each girl to choose the doll that: looked like herself, looked how she wanted to look, was the popular girl in school, she wanted to play with.
Across-the-board, girls chose the "sexy" doll most often. The results were significant in two categories: 68 percent of the girls said the doll looked how she wanted to look, and 72 percent said she was more popular than the non-sexy doll.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/17/6-year-old-girls-sexy_n_1679088...
Most of the girls were recruited from two public schools, but a smaller subset was recruited from a local dance studio. The girls in this latter group actually chose the non-sexualized doll more often for each of the four questions than did the public-school group. Being involved in dance and other sports has been linked to greater body appreciation and higher body image in teen girls and women, Starr said.
"It's possible that for young girls, dance involvement increased body esteem and created awareness that their bodies can be used for purposes besides looking sexy for others, and thus decreased self-sexualization." (The researchers cautioned, however, that a previous study found that young girls in "aesthetic" sports like dance are more concerned about their weight than others.)
Media consumption alone didn't influence girls to prefer the sexy doll. But girls who watched a lot of TV and movies and who had mothers who reported self-objectifying tendencies, such as worrying about their clothes and appearance many times a day, in the study were more likely to say the sexy doll was popular.
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On the other hand, mothers who reported often using TV and movies as teaching moments about bad behaviors and unrealistic scenarios were much less likely to have daughters who said they looked like the sexy doll. The power of maternal instruction during media viewing may explain why every additional hour of TV- or movie-watching actually decreased the odds by 7 percent that a girl would choose the sexy doll as popular, Starr said. "As maternal TV instruction served as a protective factor for sexualization, it’s possible that higher media usage simply allowed for more instruction."
Mothers' religious beliefs also emerged as an important factor in how girls see themselves. Girls who consumed a lot of media but who had religious mothers were protected against self-sexualizing, perhaps because these moms "may be more likely to model higher body-esteem and communicate values such as modesty," the authors wrote, which could mitigate the images portrayed on TV or in the movies.
However, girls who didn’t consume a lot of media but who had religious mothers were much more likely to say they wanted to look like the sexy doll. "This pattern of results may reflect a case of 'forbidden fruit' or reactance, whereby young girls who are overprotected from the perceived ills of media by highly religious parents … begin to idealize the forbidden due to their underexposure," the authors wrote.
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So basically, instilling your daughter with a sense of self worth and teaching her that she's more than a sex object, and that her body is for more than just sex, is the key to raising healthy girls?
We all want to be sexy. Nothing wrong with that.
it is one thing to look beautiful and another to be sexy.
Kids are kids, and whilst they may have not yet developed a sense of sexuality and desires they may still wish to look attractive and pretty(sexy is not really an adjective here,since they have no real intention of looking good in order to attract anyone in a sexual way). It's up to the parents/guardians then to teach them the importance of inner beauty and good character along with the beautifying of one's outer appearance.
My daughter is seven years old and she just loves to look all pretty and dressed up BUT she is also aware that as a Muslimah once she grows up she will need to adorn the outfit of a Muslim woman. Mind you I hardly had to teach her that, only leading by being an example.
I do however instill in her the importance of being humble and kindhearted, and to shun arrogance, pride, discrimination etc. This is important.
And whilst I encourage her to look her best and take care of her health and outer appearance, I also tell her that beauty maybe a valuable asset but it is far more important to be a good human being and never look down on others. This I feel is essential duty of any parent.
blame it on tv, internet and the ads that pop up everywhere.
Blame TV...
Shaktimaan... even grown ups worship GAGA...
blame their mothers.
Mimi i dont think its kids who wants to be Sexy its parents who wants to dress kids in a sexy way, so naturally when they grow up they believe the sexual ideology and yeah i can see in facebook where some parents dress their kids in sexy way and share the photo to the world.
It is not known exactly the kind of dolls that were provided to the girls in the test.
It could well be that one doll was very attractive and other was not very.
Media has impacted young minds significantly as (almost) everyone that comes on TV (mainly) is shown to be beautiful and attractive and the ones that are not are shown to be undesirable and to be laughed at.
The responsibility is on the parents to regulate children's access to media and instilling a sense of self esteem and confidence in the child. Good family and social bonds could probably help too.
This Adult Like Behaviour is a Mutation Through Waves Of Electronic and Print media I Saw A Post On Yahoo News That they just introduced a BABY BIKINI And that really made some ppl say against this sexy stuff .... I Really dont understand this concept of human trading we say we live in free modern society but where women is SOLD on every Purchace we make Ranging from ur ATM Machine advertisement till u buy an airway ticket... why We HUMANS Always Rely on This Natural Process Called "SEX" For Every Thing What We See Today From Machanical Products to ANY Thing.... Why Women Is Made A Symbol Of Satisfaction For Ur Wild INHUMAN Hormones ... I Advise aLL Parents For See this Post To Please Take Care o ur children never take then to laungire section in malls or inapropriate parties to maintain the innocense of the children
Being religious and high media usage is the answer then ..
'Her body is for more than just sex',how would we explain this to a 6yr old who doesn't know the meaning of the word.
I think it is the influence of TV mostly. Also even from a tender age there is a competition among girls from school.
They want to look good and want to be popular.
When my daughter does something like tht,by the way she is just 5 I am astonished at how she knows these things though we have never done things like these at home.
My idea we should always choose something pretty and eye catching but modest and praise her how beautiful she looks when she wears it,so that she knows pretty alwaz does not need to be sexy.We should never be harsh but gently try and explain these things without being obvious that we hate seeing them in these outfits, coz kids vl do things exactly opposite when they know their parents are against it.
And finally just try to be patient, parenting is the world's toughest job.
Because today kids worship LADY GAGA :-P
Your question is suggestive. It should be: Do kids want to be sexy? It is not known IF kids want to be sexy. The questions 'why' assumes that they are. Talk to yourself.