Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
In a move that should be repeated around the world, the French Senate has passed a law that will forbid beauty pageants for children under the age of 16 in an effort to protect children from being prematurely sexualized. France24 is reporting that the proposed ban, which is part of a broader bill on women’s rights, calls for steep penalties against anyone engaging in child beauty pageants including up to two years in prison and a 30,000 EU ($40,000) fine.
The law was proposed after the release of a parliamentary report entitled “Against Hyper-Sexualization: A New Fight for Equality” which calls for a ban on child pageants as well as on adult-style clothing for children such as padded bras and high-heeled shoes.
“Let us not make our girls believe from a very young age that their worth is based only on their appearance,” said Chantal Jouanno, author of the report and a current senator.
Controversy over the sexualization of girls peaked in December 2010 when French Vogue published a photo spread of a 10 year-old girl posed in suggestive positions while wearing tight clothing, make up, and high heels.
This scandalous photo spread was followed a month later by the website of a French fashion designer who published photos of scantily clad girls as young as four sporting makeup, beehive hairdos and a new line of age-inappropriate underwear.
The photos brought a firestorm of criticism from around the globe and brought much needed attention to the increasing trend toward the premature sexualization of young girls. The trend is perhaps most advanced in the U.S. where The Learning Channel produces the hit show, Toddlers and Tiaras, which features pageant contestants as young as three dressed as hookers.
The consequences of this treatment of girls are serious and well-documented.
A 2007 report by the American Psychological Association cites a link between the overt sexualization of girls and three of the most common mental health problems diagnosed in girls and women – eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression.
“Frequent exposure to cultural beauty ideals via the media has been shown to be associated with higher rates of eating disorders,” the report states. “The incidence of anorexia nervosa among 10 to 19 year old girls during a 50 year period found that it paralleled changes in fashion and idealized body image.”
The physical damage resulting from the sexualization of girls is only one area of concern. The report found that this kind of objectification also undermines a girl’s confidence and comfort with her own body, which leads to emotional and self-image problems such as shame and anxiety.
It also has been shown to have a negative impact on a girl’s ability to develop a healthy sexual self-image.
“Developing a sense of oneself as a sexual being is an important task of adolescence,” the report states. However, “in the current environment, teen girls are encouraged to look sexy, yet they know little about what it means to be sexual, to have sexual desires, and to make rational and responsible decisions about pleasure and risk within intimate relationships . . .”
The French should be applauded for taking steps to curb a dangerous cultural trend that needs to be addressed with serious scholarship, not made-for-TV reality shows designed to increase ratings no matter what the cost to the public.
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