Being only recently out of my teens myself, I don't know how much wisdom I can contribute, but an opinion is something that I do have. A couple weeks ago, a friend and I wandered into a store in the mall that we had shopped at as middle-schoolers and that we thought was "scandalous" back then. Mind you, "back then" is about 7 years. Well, maybe we're getting old, but we really were scandalized by what we saw. The mini-skirts, suggestive t-shirts, and low necklines didn't even hold a candle to the underwear. Now, this is a shirt that middle-schoolers do shop at, and the racks held thong after thong, as well as lingerie! Why is lingerie being marketed to middle-schoolers? I don't know. But my friend had a comment after I held up a thong that barely fit around my hand. "If you're small enough to fit into that, you're definitely not old enough to wear it." And I agree. I feel that "sexy" is being marketed to children in a time when they ought to enjoy being children.
When I was in my teens, I didn't buy alluring things because I knew that my father would never approve. My sister, who's 16, is the same now. If she couldn't wear something in front of my father, she doesn't buy it. Now, I buy skimpy little underwear and things, but when I'm at home, I wash them myself. I think I would be too embarassed if my mother saw the thongs and such. And I think this engrained embarassment is what teenagers are missing now. Music videos, movies, TV... popular media is showing kids that this isn't something that you should be embarassed about. That your underwear is something you should keep to yourself doesn't cross many kid's minds, I don't think.
I do agree that some beauty cannot be covered up. But even the most beautiful can be modest. But I don't think all of the blame falls onto parents. Some, yes, because consumers can control the clothing market that is offered to them. But really, society can be to blame. Popular culture and media shows that sex sells. So to sell themselves to the "popular kids," and to the boys, girls are cashing in on their sex appeal.
