We need to see concerns about the premature sexualisation of children through inappropriate clothing and other products against this backdrop. Professor David Buckingham, in a book to be published in 2011, considers the issue of whether, as well as society being increasingly sexualised, this lowering of the age at which children reach physical and sexual maturity provides a biological driver towards them seeing their
potential as sexual beings at a younger age (Phoenix, 2011).Sexualised products
Parents responding to our Call for Evidence told us that they felt that retailers could do more to offer age—appropriate ranges of clothes. They said that they preferred children's clothes to be clearly age—appropriate and not simply scaled—down versions of adult fashion. Figure 6 shows findings from the omnibus survey about views on clothes for children.
Figure 6: Views on clothing styles for children
- 55 per cent of parents surveyed thought that adult style clothes for children in shops encourage children to act older than they are.
- 45 per cent of parents surveyed thought that adult—style clothes for children put pressure on children to conform to a particular body shape and size.
- 48 per cent of the children surveyed agreed with the statement 'It's difficult to find clothes in the shops that I like and that my parents would allow me to wear'.
Source:TNS Omnibus Survey, 2011