Hall of Shame: Submarine's Ad Campaign for Girls' Swimwear

My latest Hall of Shame award goes to (drumroll, please) the current ad campaign from Submarine for girls' swimsuits. (My Hall of Shame awards go to anyone or anything that I deem to be disrespectful to girls or harmful to the healthy self-image of girls, especially tween girls like my own munchkin.) These COULD be cute suits but the sexualized presentation ruins them for me. Little girls in heavy makeup, wigs, dangling earrings, and insouciant pouts? Seriously? These girls don't look like sweet and innocent children out to have fun at the pool or beach. They look like sexy adult-wannabes.

Another blogger, Nancy at Parent Girls (part of New Moon Girls Network), puts it very well when she says Submarine is playing up the pending sexuality of these girls to sell a product, and that's repulsive. If you agree, you can let Submarine know. Both Nancy and Melissa posted examples of letters you can send to Submarine owner Deborah Soriano at deborah@submarineswim.com. I sent one.

The American Psychological Association also agrees that this type of imposed sexualization is harmful to children. It contributes to an inability to concentrate, anxiety about appearance, eating disorders, low self-esteem, depression, and poor sexual well-being.  A publication from 2007 by the APA Task Force addresses the sexual objectification of girls, and is worth taking the time to read if you are a parent or a manufacturer or distributor of kids' products. Be sure to read pages two and three which contain suggestions on what parents and kids can do. Think about the girls in that Submarine ad when you read this quote from the APA:

Girls get this message repeatedly: What matters is how “hot” they look. It plays on TV and across the Internet. You hear it in song lyrics and music videos. You see it in movies, electronic games, and clothing stores. It’s a powerful message.

As parents, you are powerful too. You can teach girls to value themselves for who they are, rather than how they look. You can teach boys to value girls as friends, sisters, and girlfriends, rather than as sexual objects. And you can advocate for change with manufacturers and media producers.

In fact, Nancy has come up with a great idea for communicating with companies. It's called Girl-Caught. She's made up some printable stickers you can put on any product ad or packaging that show that you either hate it because it objectifies and disrespects women or girls, or that you like it because it is respectful. Mail the offending (or exemplary) ad or product packaging to the company with the sticker, and before you do, scan or photograph what you're sending and share it with NewMoonGirls.com under "My Stuff."  I'm going to do this with my munchkin to teach her how to evaluate the advertising she sees.

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The Summer Reading We Won't Be Doing

Reading is not my munchkin's first love. She'd much rather be doing something active like whacking a tennis ball or playing with the Wii, but I know how important it is for her to improve her reading skills over the summer. We've been trying to do some every day. I don't care what she reads, as long as she's reading. We've read recipes, game directions, cereal box labels, you name it. Yesterday, I thought, "Hey, let's look at some news sites on the internet. She'll not only be reading; she'll gain a better understanding of how our society works." I thought I'd better preview them first so I'd be prepared for her questions.

So, off I went to CNN. As I scanned the headlines, I imagined what she'd ask:

"Mommy, who is Anthony Weiner? And why does anybody care that some guy's engagement got called off? I think his name is Hugh Hefner?"

Okay, maybe CNN isn't the best site for an 8 year old. I'll try Fox News. They're conservative.

"Mommy, what's this about a lady named Maria Shriver crying with a mistress? What are they crying about? And there's that Weiner guy again. What does 'sexting' mean?"

I decided to scratch the plan to read the news. I'm not ready for her to know how our society works just yet.

My second EBIIT Hall of Shame Award will be shared by three recipients:  Arnold Schwarzenegger and Anthony Weiner for behaving shamefully while holding public office and the media channels who continue to report every sordid detail when there's plenty of real news to focus on. All three parties need to develop a little more propriety. Shame on all of you.

EBIIT Hall of Shame: Skechers Shape-Ups for Girls

That's my girl! For you moms who still have girls in the baby/toddler/preschool ages, here's fair warning. The body image hangups start early. "Momma, I don't like that outfit! It makes me look faaaat!"  (I ask you, do you see an ounce of fat on that 8-year-old body?)  She doesn't hear that kind of self-denigrating talk from me. My daughter hears this stuff from her friends, and they all hear it from the overwhelming truckloads of marketing aimed at women and their insecurities. Yoni Freedhoff, M.D., agrees with me over at Huffington Post.

The sad truth is, my girls are almost certainly facing a lifetime of advertisements that will be geared to make them feel like their looks are inadequate. They'll regularly be made to feel that their bodies are too fat, their lips insufficiently red, their skin too rough, their hair too frizzy, their breasts too small, and their butts too big. Magazines, TV spots, product placements, celebrity spokespeople -- there will be no shortage of unrealistic expectations to eat away at my babies' self-esteem.

The truth is, she's beautiful just as she is. And that's why I'm disgusted with the latest ad campaign from Skechers.

Yep, Skechers has decided to capitalize on the insecurities of tweens by marketing their Shape-Up shoes to  girls as young as 7. They start at size 2 - the size my munchkin wears. Of course, their excuse is that they're promoting fitness. I might buy that if they made Shape-ups for little boys. They don't. The message to girls? You're never too young to hate your body, and we hope you will be gullible enough to think our silly-looking shoes will tone up your fanny.

Skechers Shape-Ups For Girls

So, for shame, Skechers! I hereby confer upon you the first-ever Everything Beautiful In Its Time Hall of Shame Award! This award will be periodically offered to anyone or anything that I deem to be a bad influence on my tween girl. Now, pick your shoes up off the floor and go stand in the corner.