It's been awhile since I've shopped at Victoria's Secret, but I had a $25 gift card burning a hole in my pocket so I stopped there in hopes of finding a super-cute pajama set. (which I did find, by the way -- a lavender cami and pants with white polka-dots!)
I hadn't been in the store for more than three minutes when four or five junior-high age girls walked in. The rest of the customers and I stared at them in disgust as they rifled through piles of thongs and PINK sweatpants and squealing in a way that only 11- and 12-year-olds can. You could tell that everyone in the store was asking themselves the same question: Why in God's name are these little girls shopping for thongs and sexy underpants?
It would be easy to blame VS. After all, when VS created the PINK line for the 16- to 22-year-old demographic, it unwittingly hit a gold mine when middle schoolers started buying its merchandise, too. But blaming VS oversimplifies the issue, in my opinion. The real problem lies with parents who are basically okay with their young daughters dressing like hoochies--even if the hooch-wear is concealed. (Let's hope so, at least.)
I guess the VS incident touched a nerve because it's just one more example of little girls turning into mini sorority girls in the blink of an eye. I don't think I'll offend any of you when I say that we weren't cute 12-year-olds. We had glasses, braces, possibly bad skin, maybe were a bit too chubby or a smidge too skinny. But guess what? Everyone else was a dork too! These days, I don't see many awkward 12-year-olds walking around. They have expensive highlights and Coach satchels and PINK sweatpants. True, this seems to be a bigger trend among the more affluent families, but I find it disturbing nonetheless.
Let's face it: VS doesn't just sell underwear. It sells an image, and that image is BE SEXY. Whether you're a glamour girl or a girl next door, VS has a sexy look for you. Twelve-year-olds shouldn't be trying to act sexy. Pubescent girls are massively insecure as it is. Why add the burden of trying to figure out what it means to be sexy when 12-year-olds are still children emotionally, even if they have signs of physical maturity?
Can we get back to the days when kids bought their underroos in a Hanes 6-pack until they were at least 16?
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4 comments:
Well I still buy hanes.
Oh boy Paul! You crack me up.
Dude, this sickens me that youngsters run around like the are sexually experienced human beings by the age of 14. Things like VS and Sex and the City haven't helped by putting out a casual sexual image that everyone is having sex and it's never awkward and pregnancy is an urban legend. Stupid mothers should stop trying to be like their little daughters and spend more time shopping with them in the granny panty department.
what 11 or 12 year old girl has money to spend on expensive clothes anyway? i'm pretty sure i still shopped at shopko for clothes back then.
Paul: I'm surprised VS hasn't put out a men's line of underroos. Until they do, I'm sure Hanes will work just fine. :)
Hayley: I agree. We live in a very sexualized culture. No matter what happens on TV, I'm still pretty sure that having sex on the first date isn't a smart idea.
Lindsey: No kidding! I'm pretty sure those girls aren't using their babysitting money to pay for those $38 sweatpants.
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