海角大神

When blogger Stephanie Giese went to Target to shop for her two-and-a-half year old daughter, she was .

A Target brand鈥檚 size 5T shorts 鈥� a size meant for toddlers 鈥� were shorter than Fisher-Price鈥檚 2T pair, she wrote on her blog. And in a , she compared the length of extra-small girls鈥� and boys鈥� shorts. The boys鈥� shorts were twice as long as the girls鈥� jean shorts, which had a 1-inch inseam. 聽

鈥淲hy are you offering my kindergartener clothes that are sized for children less than half her age?鈥� Ms. Giese asked in the first post, which she published on her blog on Sept. 20.

For Sarah Murnen, a psychology professor at Kenyon College, the answer is clear. The sexualization of children鈥檚 clothes, she says, can be traced to the increased availability of sexualized images online. This trend leads to the prevalence of images and ideas of pornography in everyday culture, like clothing.

In 2011, Dr. Murnen examined tween online聽clothing outlets and found that about 30 percent of offerings for 10- to 12-year-old girls had sexualizing characteristics 鈥� short shorts, a curved shirt, a pinched waist.

surveyed 702 clothing items at Target. About 79 percent were categorized by participants as 鈥渃hildlike鈥� while about 19 percent received the label 鈥渁mbiguously sexualizing.鈥� Two percent of the surveyed clothes were 鈥渄efinitely sexualizing.鈥� In contrast, researchers tagged 72 percent of Abercrombie Kids clothing as 鈥渄efinitely sexualizing鈥� or 鈥渁mbiguously sexualizing.鈥�

When women and girls are taught to pay attention to how they look, Murnen says, they may begin to objectify themselves.

鈥淚t does affect their mental health,鈥� she says.

Stores continue to sell these styles to align with what buyers see in the media 鈥� young girls who watch teen female stars on the Disney Channel want to mirror celebrities' styles, wrote Kerri聽McBee-Black, an instructor in the University of Missouri's department of textile and apparel management, in an email to 海角大神.

When apparel manufacturers research their markets, she says, they realize that without this trendy clothing, families will shop elsewhere.

While Giese wrote that sexualizing children too early concerns her, she said her main qualm is a practical one.

鈥淐an my daughter sit 鈥榗riss cross applesauce鈥� on the reading rug? Does it meet the finger tip length dress code rule? Are those too tight for her to button herself after using the bathroom?鈥� she wrote.

Murnen notes that this practical concern is real 鈥� it鈥檚 hard to play outside in tight, short jeans. But her research shows that sexualized clothing can harm its wearers more deeply. In 2012, Murnen on pre-teen girls, finding that people perceive girls in sexualized clothing to be low in competence, less moral, and less self-respecting.

鈥淭his could affect her opportunities,鈥� she says.

聽Parents expressed support in the comments of Giese鈥檚 blog post and on social media. Commenters said that they had similar experiences, at Target and elsewhere.

鈥淎s far as tween daughters go, the children鈥檚 clothes are too small and the juniors clothes are way [too] revealing and tight,鈥� on a republished version of Giese鈥檚 story. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 even let my teenager wear them.鈥�

鈥淏oys clothing is for providing coverage, girls clothing is for displaying their bodies for others to look at,鈥� commented another on Giese鈥檚 blog.

Since her initial post, Giese has tried to keep the conversation going by collecting images of 鈥渃ute clothing options that offer better coverage鈥� and starting the hashtag #ModestMavens on Twitter.聽

Target鈥檚 corporate headquarters responded to Giese by asking her for specific feedback about children鈥檚 clothes, which prompted her second blog post on the topic. She said she has formed a behind-the-scenes partnership with the company and will provide feedback on its children鈥檚 products.