Tots to Tweens to Teenagers: What message is society sending?

Thanks Courtney Carmondy

While it is well known that the generalized “Western Culture” (think of countries with Western European roots) tends to be a patriarchal society, it is sad to see the perpetuation of the traditions of sexualization of girls and women in the twenty-first century. You don't think that messages of females being eye candy and trophies still exist? I present to you some issues that have arisen in the past few months in the United States – a land of the free and equal, where women are allowed to vote and wear whatever they want.

It starts at a young age:

By this point many of you have probably heard about the “makeover” of the Disney princess Merida, from the 2012 film Brave, that was made just in time for her to be “crowned” a Disney Princess on May 11^th of this year.

Instead of maintaining the image of Merida as a teenager who defies princess tradition by skillfully riding her horse while able to accurately shoot her handy bow and arrow as her very frizzy red hair flies behind her, she has been transformed into a bow-less, bare-shouldered, more buxom young lady whose now thinner waist is shown off very well as she wears the dress that she detested during the movie.

As news reports of this event continue to proliferate, many journalists and psychologists are rightfully saying that what this change in appearance is teaching the young girls who look up to Merida as an alternative from a princess who needs rescuing (think Cinderella or Aurora from Sleeping Beauty) that in order to be a princess (and therefore pretty) a girl must be thin, feminine, have tame hair, and expose some skin.

This is just sad. But then, it gets worse as the girl grows older..

What we're telling tweens:

In March 2013, there was an uproar about the launching of Victoria Secret's Pink's “Bright Young Things” line. Though there is contention about whether this new lingerie and swim wear is aimed at tweens or not, the Pink brand, when launched in 2002, was aimed at “15-to-22 year olds.” So of course the younger sisters of the girls that this line is aimed at (so girls who are 13 or 14) want to wear what their older sisters are wearing – even if it's a lacy thong or undies with the words “Call Me” on it.

It is just sad that teenagers and even young adults are being told by society to wear underwear that will perpetuate the idea that women must be sexual to be fashionable or be liked romantically. Even saying that sex is part of romance is sad – whatever happened to going on walks in parks instead of going to night clubs? Yes, every girl is different and likes different sorts of dates, but going on dates does not mean that the two involved in the date must have sex.

But even when you break out of the under layer, the world of casual clothing is just as disgusting and sad.

The teenage years:

Through the years, the CEO of the clothing line Abercrombie & Fitch has made remarks about why his clothing line does not have larger sizes for ladies. The highly spread quote of his that is inciting the most protests is “ ʻ In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody, either. ʼ ”

Though it's true he said this exact statement seven years ago for an article by Salon, it is being brought up now, when many teenagers are coming of age in a land where it's hard to find easy, healthy food options. He carries larger sizes for guys, because of course the football-playing quarterbacks need fashionable clothes that will fit them and their muscular body type. But girls? Nope. Nothing past size large.

Isn't it hard enough for a young adult who is trying to find his or her identity and comfort in his or her own skin as he or she comes of age? Why add in the heartache and societal confusion of not giving these larger boned individuals the same options as their friends who may happen to be a few pounds lighter? It's already hard enough for some of these young adults when it comes to financial matters – not being able to buy whichever brand that their more affluent friends can afford. Why add in the next level of maybe not being able to fit into the clothing? Can you imagine the disappointment some of these living, breathing, feeling human beings may have when they finally come into the store at the end of the summer to do back to school shopping with the money that they earned by mowing lawns or baby-sitting and saved up only to find out that the clothes they yearned for can't fit them?

The good news:

Despite some corporations in society trying to tell our daughters, cousins, and friends that you must be skinny and never challenge traditional gender roles, there is still hope for the future.

Many people have signed an electronic petition for Disney to “Keep our Hero Brave” and change the image of Merida, the eleventh Disney Princess, back to the one with her bow and quiver and her favorite dress that offers her mobility and freedom.

Many of the more provocative underwear for teenagers and young women made for the “Bright Young Things” line have been discontinued.

As for A&F, change will be hard (just read the article from Salon about how hard headed the CEO, Mike Jeffries, can be), but hopefully one day there will be clothing options for teenagers of all shapes and sizes, without exclusionary practices based on size.

In the meantime, there are several new developments in the world of Abercrombie & Fitch. Jeffries posted an apology which many people do not seem to be buying. Greg Karber, an avid Youtuber, has made a video that has gotten much acclaim in which he gives out A&F clothing to the homeless. Similarly, a blogger/vlogger Jes Baker, also known as the Militant Baker, wrote a personal letter to Jeffries and added some pictures of herself modeling in A&F clothing and partially nude with a male model whose body type A&F would prefer. An article written about her photo shoot can be found here, where she publicly thanks Jeffries for bringing to the limelight the sizeism that is present in our culture.