Sexualization of early childhood is a
sensitive topic for many families, and early educators. I think that young
children are being exposed to a lot of sexual images, TV, movies, and children
are being exposed to sexualized material every day. There are commercials with
negative languages, violence in shows, and some children movies, and provocative
scenes from movies/TV shows, etc. These messages that young children are
getting starting from such an early age are so unhealthy and demeaning.
The implication this may have on
children's healthy development: is that children are being exposed to too much
sexual and violent content, which affects how they play with others, how they
view others, as well as themselves, and possibly persuade young minds on
thinking this type of behavior is appropriate before adulthood.
A healthy goal to help limit the amount
of sexualization in early childhood, would be to partner with families.
Families and teachers need to be on one accord about what the child is being
exposed to, and having an open mind to discuss any challenges or issues with
the child, in terms of sexualization concerns in the classroom. " Rather than their gender anatomy, young children typically focus on the external and cultural aspects of their gender identity- that is, they believe that how thy dress (appearance) or what they like to do (behavior) is what makes them a girl or boy" ( Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 91).
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J.
(2010). Anti-bias education for young children and
ourselves. Washington,
DC: NAEYC
Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteThe first time I had to apply make up to my nine-year-old daughter for a dance recital was extremely difficult. Although the dance teachers were very conscious of creating age appropriate moves, using kid friendly music, and choosing modest costumes, the make up dilemma could not be avoided otherwise their faces would be washed out while on stage. I was very conscientious of discussing the need for make up in this situation and believe that this was helpful in curbing any negative effects of this type of experience. Having a 21 year old daughter who now wears very little make up and dresses modestly may be a result of these and many conversations we had about gender and sexuality. Parents and teachers need to be aware of the necessity in having these conversations. It makes a difference.
Sandra
Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteI am sickened by the increase of demeaning material, demands on appearance, and exposure of all these things on children. Often, however, I find that in discussing these issues with parents, they are not taken seriously or seen as needing to change. How do you go about having these discussions with parents to create change?
Hi Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteIt's scary to think that in addition to addressing racial and gender biased issues in the classroom, we also have to effectively protect our children from sexualized environments. We have to monitor t.v. shows, computer websites and the conversations that children are engaged in. It's an even bigger challenge to encourage children and their parents to dress in a respectful manner.
Hi Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteYour post reminds me anther example of sexualization. Two weeks ago in the end of year party, one of the children in my class wore makeup, put on high heels and dressed in a fancy way, which makes her look like an adult. From this example, it can be seen that even the families are affected by this sexualized environment by supporting her dressup, let alone the girl aged 4 years old who is significantly affected by her family. I think it is also teachers' responsibility to help families to become aware of what negative impact this sexualized envrionment would bring to children. With families, teachers should try to minimize the influence of sexualization.
Xiaowan
Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteJust this past weekend I attended a pageant and was completely overwhelmed by some of the participates and the amount of make up they had on. I even made the comment about one girl looking like a porcelain doll. Parents have to be aware of the damaging effects of exposing young children to things that are not age appropriate.