What People will do for Money
A couple days ago I happened to be strolling through Target with my roommates and we were shopping for the best deals on food because, well, we’re college students. We happened to be walking past the little girls place. Something caught my eye that made me laugh, thong underwear. At first I thought someone must have put it there because they didn’t want it anymore, but then I looked at it further, and it indeed was meant for that rack.
Let’s take a further look into this issue. First of all, what happened to the innocence of children? Not only are they being portrayed much like adults, they’re image is becoming more and more like sex objects. Even women these days are made to look like our youth. They are posed as having a vulnerable look and or position. And the models they use look very youthful and expose a lot of skin. Whatever kind of method the company uses; one thing has been proven over many years, sex sells. No one can deny that, and of course there will be a group of people that don’t conform to these ads, but nonetheless, when skin is exposed, it grabs people’s attention whether you’re male or female.
Another thing that’s wrong with intimate apparel for our youth is, that companies would even think of this. Yes, it is untapped as far as no one has tried this before, but there is a reason for that. Look at models for Victoria’s Secret. They are flawless, being thin, very good looking, and most of all they have guys chasing them wherever they go. Now that there is intimate apparel for girls, young girls will be chasing that image of a model. Also if they can’t achieve that image and or look they will take it out on themselves. This has already been proven; in fact there is a show on T.L.C. about it. According to Medical News Today, as many as 40% of models are suffering from some kind of eating disorder. If this doesn’t raise any concern for our youth then I’m not sure what will.
We can also take a look at the beginning of this. Barbie dolls in general teach girls how to look good and teach responsibility for their belongings, but a look deeper into the dolls might raise eyebrows. Barbie dolls are eight inch figurines, and they are girls or women that are perfect. They are tall with long legs and are very thin. Of course a little girl is going to look like a Barbie doll. Barbie’s in a way are advertisements themselves to look good, and better yet start them at a very young age to strive for that look, and again, if they don’t achieve this look they might take it out on themselves. I remember playing with my G.I. Joe action figure and thinking that I wanted to be ripped like him and fight evil, but until I really realized how impossible that is to grasp, I gave up on my dreams.
Advertising to our youth is very tricky because you really don’t know what you’ll get. Of course you’ll win the children over, but it’s the parents who are buying the toys. So not only do you have to market to the children but also to the parents. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. I feel that putting children’s lingerie on the market is based on the parents. Parents who feel that their children need this particular type of apparel, then that’s up to them. This kind of issue is bringing our society to the epitome of the sex sells theory. If we’re selling this to young children then when will corporations draw the line as morally wrong, or a chance to make millions.
Picture from: http://rickbowes.com/2011/10/06/dolls-for-boys-pfeiffer-1898-to-g-i-joe/
Information from:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/76241.php
