I had an epiphany today. Lily and I took a shower today. While waiting for me to finish drying off so I could dry her off she started dancing. She wiggled and wiggled her butt in a way that if she were an adult would be sexual. Only she is not an adult and it wasn't. She was a 3 year old that was dancing. There was nothing more to it than that. It hit me that I've been very stupid and that my daughter just taught me something on accident.
A naked 3 year old is a natural phase and to be expected to some degree. You add clothes to that child and suddenly it's wrong and sexual. They're just clothes until we add meaning to them. The problem with children's clothes these days isn't just the clothes. It's our preconceived notion of what these clothes mean. We put a meaning to them and shove them down our child's throat.
Lily's generation and the generation before hers is not over sexualized because of what they wear. It's over sexualized because of the attitude we have about what they wear. It's time we realize that clothes are just that...clothes.
YAY!
ReplyDeleteDoes my reaction to your earlier comment about "slutty" clothes for her make more sense now? :D
Yes, it does make a lot more sense now.
ReplyDeleteCan I blame this on me unlearning years of religical teaching?
Interesting thoughts. I honestly had never thought of it that way. I guess if I'm honest sometimes I do look at someone and judge them based off of what they are wearing. However, at the same time I think as parents we do have a responsibility to make sure they aren't dressing overly sexual at a young age. Does that make sense?
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense. We want to protect our children. Sometimes we do harm attempting to do the right thing, but that's just part of being a parent.
ReplyDelete