Summary: Tonight is part II of our II part show on the sexualization of our children. Tonight of my guest is Melissa Wardy of Pigtail Pals- Redefine Girly offers empowering products for girls (and girls at heart) that encourage girls to be smart, daring, and adventurous. Created by a mom who believes our daughters need to SEE and GROW with images of girls in action and achievement. Our Topic So Sexy So Soon is based on how constantly, American children are exposed to a barrage of sexual images in television, movies, music and the Internet. They are taught young that buying certain clothes, consuming brand-name soft drinks and owning the right possessions will make them sexy and cool—and being sexy and cool is the most important thing. Young men and women are spoon-fed images that equate sex with violence, paint women as sexually subservient to men and encourage hooking up rather than meaningful connections. The result is that kids are having sex younger and with more partners than ever before. Eating disorders and body image issues are common as early as grade school. There is nothing wrong with a young person's natural sexual awakening, but it is wrong to allow a young person's sexuality to be hijacked by corporations who want them as customers. We will talk about how parents can limit children's exposure to commercialized sex, and how parents can engage kids in constructive, age-appropriate conversation about sex and the media.
