Another excellent post by Susan Platt:
Every year we go shopping for clothes to wear for Resurrection Sunday, also known as Easter.
I mean shopping, at a real life, brick and mortar, department store.
It’s kind of a big deal for our daughter.
Usually, we just wait on someone we know to pass us a whole bag full of clothes someone at their house has outgrown. But Easter Sunday is different.
We go buy something.
We pay retail.
We get ripped off.
We try to semi coordinate, and it’s fun for the girls in the house.
(The boys of course, don’t care much. Color coordinated is not even in their vocabularies.)
Every year though there is a running theme in our shopping trips:
Disappointment
You see our daughter is not quite 12 years old yet. That means she is 11.
Eleven years old!
Now , if you have a daughter who is not a little girl (and not quite a big girl yet) you probably understand the challenge of choosing age appropriate (and stylish clothes) that you both feel good about.
Actually, if you have a daughter at all, you understand this dilemma.
Why Are We Sexing Up Children?
This was not the first time I encountered this culture shock while shopping in the “girl’s” section. I started noticing the difference about 4 years ago, when we had to move out of the little girls section to the in-between-girl’s section (that’s what I call it).
It’s always the same.
“This is too short.”
“This is too tight.”
“This is too low.”
She has even suggested sewing things at home to make them more appropriate.
Can you imagine?
First you pay overpriced, retail prices, AND then have to take it home and alter it to make it wearable.
I don’t think so!
This always sends my mind whirling! What is going on with these stores; with our culture?
The department stores are only exhibiting symptoms of the disease our society is infested with.
Sexing up the people, but especially sexing up children!
We have all witnessed this firsthand. A little girl (or not so little girl) at the park running around with sweats on that read “juicy” on the bottom, or “dancer” or “cheer” or some other message.
Whatever they say, the end result is the same. Sexing up a child is drawing the attention of every man, woman, and child at the place.
Our brains see words, they read them.
You are doing it right now.
The written word is one of our main forms of communication.
WHY IN THE WORLD are we attracting attention to the rear ends of our children?
What good can come possibly come of this?!
It does not stop there, just like it did not begin there.
Shorts so short the pockets hang out, and they cost more! Ugh…
How about underwear for tweens and teens that read, “Flirt”, “Fun”, or “Party”?
I have passed EVERY one of these while shopping with my daughter.
It is beyond me how we became so numb to what is happening to our children!
What message are we giving our girls by buying them underwear (of all things!) with these words printed on them?
To say this is a BAD idea, is a drastic understatement!
Do you know why stores are selling this overpriced merchandise?
They are making money.
It is profitable.
That’s how commerce works.
They sell what we buy!
When we buy these things for our daughters, it’s the equivalent of shooting them an email that says:
“Hey, we’re okay with you stripping the innocence of our daughters. Please, keep putting out clothing that does not cover what needs covering, draws attention to all the WRONG places, AND we’ll keep buying it!”
It is not only our girls who are being targeted. Our boys, after all, live in the same world as the girls.
It is a struggle (to say the least) for teenage boys/young men to control their thought-lives.
Hormones are a real thing.
(this girl was shopping with her mother, her little siblings, and her all-over-her boyfriend)
I can see how it is nearly impossible for boys not to view girls in a sexual way from an early age. Boys are already trying to swim the waters of puberty and adolescence, and everywhere they turn is SEX. It’s all over the television and computer screens.
TV shows and the internet are full of pornography.
It is difficult to have exact data on porn because so much of it is digital; free online. There was an estimation in 2012 that 8 billion dollars a year is being generated by the porn industry in the United States alone. This also happens to be the same amount being spent on bottled water in the U.S., 8 billion dollars.
Interesting, huh?
We need food, water, and….umm…porn?!
We have Victoria’s Secret models on prime time television, Super bowl halftime shows with so little clothing that body parts are popping out (that’s the last Super bowl halftime show I’ve seen).
16 and Pregnant.
Teen Mom.
It goes on and on.
WHY?!
Why do we allow this?
Why are we acting like it doesn’t matter what we watch or wear?
It obviously matters!
We have some serious sex issues in our society!
There are websites dedicated to helping you know if your neighbor is a sex offender. We are not living in the days of “I wonder what kind of pie I could bake for my new neighbor?”
No. Now its like, “I wonder if I should Google my neighbor to see if they are a sex offender.”
This is not normal!
HERE is one of those websites.
If you want to be depressed, check it out. I warn you, don’t be surprised to find a map lit up like a Christmas tree with known offenders in your neighborhood.
You see what I’m getting at?
You don’t send your daughter around with “juicy” on her bum when you know there are CONVICTED sex offenders all around you.
They are convicted; they obviously struggle with preying on children. There are A LOT of predators in this world. They don’t need the added temptation of seeing young girls dressed up and sexed up this way.
We are always hearing about something damaging to us. We are alerted to the dangers of too much fat in our food, too much cholesterol, stay off the sugar you’ll get diabetes, get off the caffeine. They may as well label aspartame with skulls and crossbones! (You know that stuff will kill you, right?)
WHAT do we hear about the dangers of sexing up children (and adults)?
NOTHING!
Instead, we celebrate it.
We pay for it in the form of clothing.
We exploit it in the name of entertainment.
Remember that little box office hit, 50 Shades of Grey? It was one of the most pirated movies of ALL time! That wasn’t even DVD quality. It was a copy made by someone with a shaky camcorder at the movie theatre!
We are obsessed with sex, or more accurately, what the media has told us sex is.
Harmless?
Well, that seems to be a flawed theory.
Sex is very dangerous when it is taken out of the context of a monogamous, dare I even say it, marital relationship?
I don’t know about where you stand in your belief in God. I will tell you plainly where I’m at. I am sold out! 100% standing on the Word of God. He gives us good advice in His Word, the Bible.
Even if you are not living your life by God’s standards, surely you must still acknowledge the many consequences that come of sex outside of a faithful marriage.
Sexing up changes statistics. A few not so fun facts:
In 2009 an estimated 8,300 young people (young people being people between the ages of 13 and 24) reported to the CDC that they had been diagnosed with HIV.
Nearly fifty percent of the 19 MILLION new STDs each year are among young people between the ages of 15 and 24.
Chlamydia and gonorrhea cases are highest in Americans between 15 and 24.
Does talking about this stuff make you uncomfortable?
Me too!
Uncomfortable, sad, nervous for my children (they have to marry someone), angry…..
The CDC also reports that in 2013 there were 273,105 births to teens between the ages of 15 and 19 years old, and those rates are down.
I wonder how many teen pregnancies are ending in abortion, chemically and surgically because of the commercial push for sexing up children.
An estimated total of 35% of pregnant teens have an abortion. Those are the ones that are actually reported. Abortion not only KILLS a child, it damages these young mothers for the rest of their lives. Yes, I called them mothers. They are mothers, their babies just happen to be dead (and they have to live with the knowledge that they helped kill them for the rest of their lives.)
Post abortion statistics are NOT pretty.
Sexing up leads to Abortion. Abortion doesn’t only end one life, it forever changes another.
I have stood outside an abortion “clinic” on a day the “doctor” was “terminating” pregnancies. The parking lot became so full at one point that the girls had to park on the street and walk in.
Does THIS indicate we may have a sex problem?
But after all, we do live in the land of “Don’t be so judgmental.” I can already hear the “Don’t judge me!” comments.
We will forewarn people that McDonald’s French fries have 17 ingredients in them and the dangers of aspartame, BUT we mustn’t talk of things that are killing us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually; that would be too judgmental.
If we are going to warn people of the dangers of diabetes, (to the point that we ban sugary drinks in our public schools) should we not also warn them of the dangers of sexing up children, teens, and society?
What does it say about us as a society, that we celebrate and profit off of these behaviors? Behaviors that are proven to rob people, especially young people, of their innocence, health, and happiness.
Sexing up our daughters will not make them happy.
Sexing up our daughters will not make your life easier as a mother. It will make it harder.
Sexing up our girls is not love.
If you are standing on a train track with a train rushing at you, but I don’t tell you to step off the track, do I love you?
OR
Am I judging you for standing on the track in the first place?
We have become so afraid of offending anyone that we will not speak truth.
I don’t know about you, but I will NOT be buying any clothes for my girl that tote words on the seat of the pants; nor will her underclothing have inappropriate and ridiculous messages written on them.
We will NOT be watching the soft porn that is everywhere on the TV screen for many of the same reasons we don’t drink out of our toilet.
It is dirty and will make you ill.
Whew!
I feel (a bit) better getting that out.
Let’s protect our children. Let’s stop the sexing up and protect their bodies and their minds.
Once it’s in there, you don’t get to take it out. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” It is so applicable.
As for us, we better stick with shopping at the thrift stores 😉
Susan is an imperfect wife and mother learning to love to do what must be done. Finding that genuine love is in the doing. Reveling in God’s grace, that becomes more beautiful each day, and trying to love and encourage all who come along my path. Rejoicing in His goodness to me!
Thanks a bunch for reading!
Find Beautiful Swimwear for Girls
In response to Susan’s words, some faithful FB readers gave a few helpful clothing recommendations, so I (Jacqueline) share a few of those sites here:
ModLi has some really cute girl’s swimwear (I am not an affiliate):
Jessica Rey shows girl’s swimwear which is also a great option (and they *may* still be offering 15% off over $50).
BaoHulu Girls UPF 50+ Rash Guard Set Kids Swimwear on Amazon
Hapari is a good site to look at for you or your teen daughter. Lots of full tankinis in great fabrics and they offer a less revealing swim bottom.
Solartex kids offers some are very cute styles and high UV protective fabrics.
I hope this helps!
©2025 Deep Roots at Home • All Rights Reserved
Erin
Amen!
Susan Platt
🙂
Please come over and check out my blog http://www.themodernmayflowerblog.com
Susan
Charlotte Moore
AMEN, AMEN, AMEN!!!! Sad but so true.
Heike
I´m not christian and I totally agree with you!!
Susan Platt
Heike,
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog:).
Susan
Sara K.
Thank you for the post. It was informative, insightful, and contained well thought out statements.
Susan Platt
Sarah,
Thank you for taking the time to read it. I would love for you to join me over at my blog: http://www.themodernmayflowerblog.com. Let’s challenge people together with truth and love!
Susan
Renee
Amen! Thank you for this article!
Jacqueline
You are welcome, Renee! Happy Mother’s Day, dear friend 🙂 I’m praying for this pregnancy!!! 😀
Susan Platt
Thank you all for taking the time to read and share my blog! Let’s all think about things that matter! Please join me over at http://www.themodernmayflowerblog.com.
See you there,
Susan
Therese Bizabishaka
Very true. The problem is that soon more and more of these inappropriate clothes will be in the thrift stores as people pass on what they have bought in the stores. The fact is that sometimes you do indeed need to sew in order to get modest clothing. I don’t know if the trend is the same in the US but in Australia I have really struggled getting shorts for my girls that arn’t so short that their cheeks are hanging out and this season there was a distinct shortage of shirts/tees that had longer sleeves. My daughters have a generous build and cannot fit easily into skinny cut clothes so I’ve always opted for looser fitting clothes but now it’s getting harder and harder to find.
Jacqueline
Theresa, I think we are seeing what you mention all over the first world. It is a first world problem, but a real one! I feel for our children and what is taking place on a wide-spread basis now. You are a good Mama to care! Blessings, new friend 🙂
Susan Platt
Therese,
It does become increasingly difficult to find appropriate clothing for our daughters especially when you are committed to not compromising modesty. You are invited to join me over at my blog: http://www.themodernmayflowerblog.com.
See you there!
Susan
Cindy
We have raised 3 daughters, the youngest is 17. It has always been a very difficult task finding appropriate clothing. We never bought pants or shorts with wording for the exact reason you said. I told them eyes went straight to their hiney. And, as they got older, and I looked at the younger children clothing, I was glad they had ‘moved’ up, because that level of clothing is just getting worse, more inappropriate. I continue to pray for our world.
Mary
I just highlighted a sentence & clipped it to my clipboard. I’m going to highlight more.
Louise Crawford
So very true Jacqueline – I live in a very hot climate and my grandchildren have been raised to wear long sleeved tops and shorts when swimming (even the boys) so that they don’t burn during the long hours they spend in the pool or at the beach. Their mother and I are not keen on using lots of sunscreen and we tell them that his will keep their skin beautiful for a looong time!
Jacqueline
Louise, I think you have hit on something! We are more concerned with “looks” and “trendiness” than over all health! Good job!