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Girls grew up with an innocent character of Hannah Montanna. As they grew up so did Miley Cyrus... and possibly to quickly. All you have to do is google her name and you are blasted with sexualised images of the once innocent child star actor.

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Lumbry, Catherine; Albury, Kath. 2010. Too Much? Too Young? The sexualisation of children debate in Australia. Media International Australia incorporating Culture and Policy, Issue 35, p141-152

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Every 28 minutes a girl under the age of 18 is married (whether arranged or not). Girlsnotbrides.org is an organisation fighting back against child brides.

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Child marriage is any formal marriage or informal union where one or both of the parties are under 18 years of age.

Each year, 15 million girls are married before the age of 18.
That is 28 girls every minute.
1 Every 2 seconds.

Child marriage is fuelled by gender inequality, poverty, traditions, and insecurity. Why does it happen?

Child marriage looks different from one community to the next. Solutions must be local and contextual. How can we end it?

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Child marriage is any formal marriage or informal union where one or both of the parties are under 18 years of age. Each year, 15 million girls are married before the age of 18. That is 28 girls every minute. 1 Every 2 seconds. Child marriage is fuelled by gender inequality, poverty, traditions, and insecurity.

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Children as young as seven are taking part in what their mum's refer to as just another fitness option. The girls of this pole dancing group were streamed live on national tv which received an array of backlash. Is this just another sport? or is it exposing children in a sexualising way? To view the video visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvo798HfOOo and decide for yourself.

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Girls as young as seven are being offered pole dancing lessons at a gym - and pictures of their moves have been posted on Facebook.

Parents and councillors have raised concerned for the safety of the girls after JLN Pole Fitness in Bolton, Greater Manchester, put the images online.

The instructor at the dance studio said the classes are fun, good exercise and do not teach their children anything erotic.

Kate Eaton, 33, from Harwood, takes her daughter Jen to the classes. She said: 'Jen had her seventh birthday party there with her friends. She loves it.

'I do not have a problem with it at all. It is nothing to do with lap dancing, it is gymnastics. It is not in the slightest bit sexual.

'I have put pictures of her on Facebook because she wants people to see what she can do. We wear short shorts and vest tops so we can grip the pole and they are not performing in front of anyone.

'If she was doing gymnastics in a leotard or at a swimming gala in a costume, anyone could be watching and people don't complain about that.'

Jess Leanne Norris, 18, who runs the classes, said: 'What I teach is pole fitness, nothing else. I have never received any complaints.

'There is nothing at all rude going on at JLN. I have had nothing but support, it is an art. We only put pictures on Facebook with parents' consent. It is nothing inappropriate.'

Concerns have been raised about the nature of the photographs being posted online.

Cllr Nick Peel, Executive Member for Children's Services, said: 'In general, parents and organisations need to be careful about publishing photos of children on the internet. It is unsafe and people trawl the internet looking for things like this.

'On the one hand, I don't want to jump to conclusions, but on the other, it is a dangerous world on the internet when it comes to children and people need to be aware of the situation they can be putting children into quite innocently.'

One mother, who asked not to be named, said: 'This concerns me greatly as I would not want my 13-year-old wandering round in hotpants and hanging upside down.

'They advertise as being aerobics/gymnastics with a pole but if you see the pictures, you will see this is not the case. These pictures are also being posted across Facebook and this just invites child grooming.'

A dance teacher, who also wished to remain anonymous, added: 'I think there has got to be a line that should not be crossed with children.

'Children want to do it and some parents will let them do it, but it could damage their developing bodies and that might not show now.'

Another pole dancing school Northern Pole Divas, in nearby Horwich, also offers pole dancing for children aged 14 and older.

Owner Carren Bell said: 'Parents come and sign consent forms. It is not a pole dancing class, it is a pole exercise class.

'It is a regulated environment, I am fully insured and CRB-checked. They are not being put at risk. But some parents and dance teachers feel the classes are "inappropriate".'

Julie Hilling, Labour MP for Bolton West and a former local authority youth worker, said: 'There's already too much sexualisation of children in our society.

'Pole dancing does have a very poor reputation but I know there are people running classes round here that could change that.

'As long as it's done purely as exercise and not sexualising children in any way then I don't have a problem with it.

'But I think you have to be very careful, and I think I'd have to actually see it for myself to say more about it.'

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Outrage as girls as young as SEVEN are given pole dancing lessons - and pictures are posted on gym's Facebook page

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Girls as young as seven are being offered pole dancing lessons at a gym - and pictures of their moves have been posted on Facebook. Parents and councillors have raised concerned for the safety of the girls after JLN Pole Fitness in Bolton, Greater Manchester, put the images online.

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It's no wonder girls are becoming more sexualised , younger. If popular girls dolls are anything to go by. As you can see in the picture these dolls are dressed in a manner that could arguebly be described as sexualised. From the stiletto shoes, to mini shorts to mid drift tops. What is this teaching our girls?

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A young baby being modeled in leopard print stilettos, not to mention the rest. What is the purpose?

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Unfortunately it is, and it's only one click away for anyone to view. A quick google search and this appears. A shocking image of a girl who appears to be no older than 4-5 years old sporting a "I love cock" mid drift tee.

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The sexualisation of young girls can be defined as the portrayal of young girls in a “sexy” manner often portrayed through the various media outlets. Girls can be seen as being sexualised by the clothing they wear, applying make up at a young age,  behaving in a sexualised matter (e.g. erotic dancing) or taking part in activities that are marketed for adult women (Lumby and Albury, 2010).

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The terms of reference were outlined in such a way that strongly referred that the sexualisation of young girls in the media was undeniably taking place. The purpose of the enquiry was to determine who was benefiting  from this and how the committee would address this crisis. In 2008 an addition to the Advertiser Code of ethics was introduced to include explicitly  dealing with the sexualisation of children in the media (Lumby and Albury, 2010).

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The sexualisation of young girls in Australia has been a growing concern over the last few decades reaching its peak at the beginning of the century. This growing public concern saw the initiation of the Senate enquiry which ordered an investigation in to the 'sexxualisation of children in the contemporary media environment, including radio and television, childrens magazines, other print and advertising material and the internet' (Lumby and Albury, 2010)

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The sexualisation of children's clothing in the last five years.

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The sexualisation of children's clothing in the last five years.

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This article is covers various controversial sexualising clothing articles being marketed over the last 5 years and the parents fighting back against it.

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Let Them Be Young: The past five years
Living in an increasingly sexualised society results in heightened social issues that has the potential to affect young girls in the United Kingdom. From John Lewis selling bras for two-year-olds, to Primark retailing padded bikinis for children, this interactive timeline outlines various events regarding the sexualisation of children's clothing in the last five years.
The Sexualisation of Children's Clothing on Dipity.

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January 2010 - UK's largest parenting website Mumsnet launch 'Let Girls Be Girls' campaign
In January 2010, the UK's largest parenting website Mumsnet launched its ' Let Girls Be Girls ' campaign. The main goal was to challenge retailers and ensure that they did not sell or advertise products, which would contribute to the premature sexualisation of children.

Mumsnet spokesperson Jane Gentle stated that the campaign was not a way of demonising particular people or retailers, it was more of a way of joining forces all together to make a change.

"We're pleased that a number of major retailers have backed the campaign and that our key asks were endorsed by the government's Bailey Review into the sexualisation and commercialisation of childhood. I think that Let Girls Be Girls has shown that change can certainly be achieved."
14th April 2010 - Primark withdraws padded bikinis for young girls
Retailer Primark faced severe scrutiny after they released padded bikinis for girls as young as seven. At first the store supported their product stating "every girl wants to look her best and at Primark we make no exception for the younger ladies. All the high fashion trends can be found in our girlswear section, no matter what age you are."

However, the company were eventually shamed into withdrawing the bikinis from sale, and apologised to customers, promising that they would 'donate all profits to a children's charity'.
6th June 2011 - The Bailey Review Released
After being asked to lead the independent review six months prior, Reg Bailey, the Chief Executive of Mothers' Union released The Bailey Review of Commercialisation and Sexualisation of Childhood - aptly named 'Letting Children be Children'.
6th June 2012 - 86% of parents still concerned about sexualised products
One year on from The Bailey Review, a poll conducted by the Chartered Institure of Marketing revealed that 86% of parents were still highly concerned about the marketing of over sexualised children's products despite government's promise of action.

Part of the response to concerns was the creation of ParentPort, a website run by British media regulators where parents could find out the rules on content for children or make complaints about inappropriate material. Nevertheless, another poll created by Censuswide showed that out of 1,000 adults and children only 15% knew about the site.

A spokesman for the Department of Education states that they "look forward to working with the Chartered Institute of Marketing in exploring what more can be done to tackle the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood."
May 2013 - Letting Children be Children: The Progress Report
Two years on from the Bailey Review: Letting Children Be Children, Mr Bailey published a progress report. Since it was first released, it is believed that there was significant progress in regards to retailing to children.

Initially, retailers and trade associations were encouraged to develop and comply with the voluntary code of good practice for all aspects of retailing to children. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) was asked to continue its work as a matter of urgency and encourage non-BRC members to sign up to its code of practice.
July 2013 - Redditch School becomes first to ban school skirts
A school in Worcestershire became the first of its kind to ban girls over the age of nine from wearing skirts as uniform.

Walkwood Church of England Middle School in Redditch decided to ban the skirt after a sharp increase in the number of young girls copying the 'sexy schoolgirl' look, which has been popularised by celebrities, and pop stars including Rihanna and Katy Perry.

Headmaster of the Worcestershire school, David Doubtfire, said that the ban would eliminate 'unladylike' short skirts.
October 2014 - 'Let Clothes Be Clothes' campaign is created
Ruth Lopardo and Francesca Aitkin initiated the campaign ' Let Clothes Be Clothes ' after they found that most of the children's products on the market were over-sexualised and gender specific.

Both ladies already owned children's wear businesses that are based around unisex and age appropriate clothing, however; they were inspired by ' Let Toys Be Toys ', a campaign which sets out to stop the toy and publishing industry from limiting children's interests by promoting gender-based toys. Ruth said that as a duo, herself and Fran approached Let Toys Be Toys and asked permission to use a similar name as both campaigns have very similar goals.

"I have two daughters and just felt that most of the clothes marketed on the high street towards kids are so gender-stereotyped. Everything is pink, with slogans like 'little princess', and ultimately the sexualisation of products concerned me and led to the creation of my business."

Through the use of social media, the campaign has managed to create a large movement both sides of the Atlantic, including here in the UK and in Canada. Most recently, they campaigned heavily against John Lewis selling bras for two-year-olds.
17th October 2014 - Huffington Post journalist Stephanie Giese creates a movement in America
A mother in America used her position of power as a Huffington Post journalist and owner of blog Binkies and Briefcases to create an article which went global within a matter of weeks. Stephanie Giese was out shopping for clothes for her daughters when she became very concerned about some of the young girl's products that were sold at the American store - Target.

She wanted to make the issue a matter of public interest and decided to bring attention to the long-term psychological effects it may have on children. "We are normalising 'sexy' before our children even understand what sex is."

Stephanie is now working with various independent film companies to create a documentary about the issue, found at Seamingly Obvious.
9th December 2014 - John Lewis sell bras for two-year-olds
Despite everyone's love for John Lewis at Christmas, the large retailer was called out for sexualising toddlers when they started advertising and selling bras for girls as young as two.

When contacted, John Lewis stated 'that there was an error loading the item onto the site, and they were meant to be labelled by size, not age.' Only a few hours later, the website altered the product name to 'crop tops'.

Thankfully, after further complaints, it has now been changed and displayed in size-order.

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You may also like...

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Let Them Be Young: An overview of the past five years

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divide] [divide] Living in an increasingly sexualised society results in heightened social issues that has the potential to affect young girls in the United Kingdom. From John Lewis selling bras for two-year-olds, to Primark retailing padded bikinis for children, this interactive timeline outlines various events regarding the sexualisation of children's clothing in the last five years.

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A french lingerie company has now released a range of underwear aimed at girls 4-12yrs old that matches their mums. Cute? or crossing the line?

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Here's a new development in the neverending saga that is France's apparent disregard for age-appropriateness (or our extreme prudishness and over-sensitivity-depending on your persective): a new line of "loungerie" (that's lingerie plus loungewear) for girls aged three months and up has just been brought to our attention. It's called Jours Après Lunes, and it bills itself as "the first designer brand dedicated to 'loungerie' for children and teenagers, comprised of loungewear and lingerie to be worn over and under, inside and outside."

It basically looks like lingerie-with maybe a tad more coverage-and would be totally okay for adults to wear but Jours Après Lunes is producing this stuff for girls ages 4-12 (the "loungerie" for the 3 month - 36 month age range is actually age-appropriate and cute, thankfully), so that mother and daughter can match. According to the site, the designer has a long background in designing lingerie (for grown ups) and she's designed a "femme" collection for the over-tween set.

What's disturbing about Jours Après Lunes is not just the fact that it's lingerie for people who probably shouldn't be old enough to even know what lingerie is, but the photographs on their website. The little "filles" are styled like grown women with Amy Winehouse hair, sunglasses and pearls and there are a few instances of Thylane Blondeau-esque seductive gazing and reclining poses.

We now know what Thylane Blondeau's mother was talking about when she said her daughter's French Vogue spread wasn't that bad-at least Thylane was fully clothed!

Despite being more age-appropriate, even the photographs for the "femme" collection are unsettling. The way the young-looking model is posed with that sunglasses-wearing teddy bear--she's made to look like a child, while the actual children are made to look like adults.

What do you think? Should four-year-olds be hanging out in bras and panties...with nothing over them...with pearls? Is there any context in which that makes sense?

Take a look at the collection.

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New French Lingerie Line Jours Après Lunes Is for Girls Ages Four Through 12--Cute or Crossing the Line?

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Here's a new development in the neverending saga that is France's apparent disregard for age-appropriateness (or our extreme prudishness and over-sensitivity-depending on your persective): a new line of "loungerie" (that's lingerie plus loungewear) for girls aged three months and up has just been brought to our attention.

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Botox, eyelashes and fake teeth.. all part of the process. 

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Botox, eyelashes and fake teeth.. all part of the process. 

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Young children are participating in beauty pageants where they are being judged and ridiculed on nothing more than their physical appearance. Is this a result of bad parenting or are the girls really choosing to tamper with their bodies to the point they are having botox injected. Watch the video and you decide.

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Gone are the days where girls would celebrate their birthdays with  a slumber party or McDonalds. Girls are now being offered "Pamper Parties" wear they will have their nails painted, pedicures and eyemasks.

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Kids and Teen Day Spa Parties and Pamper Parties

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Day Spa Parties offers an Award Winning mobile pamper party service to your home or venue. Services includes Kids and Teen Birthday Parties, Girls Birthday Parties, Girls Slumber Parties, Mother and Daughter pampers, Baby Showers, Corporate and Community Events. Fun, Friendship, Fabulous! Cardinia Shire business servicing Greater Melbourne.

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The full report from the findings into the sexualisation of Girls as conducted by the APA Task Force

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The Media's role in childhood exploitation

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The Media's role in childhood exploitation

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Children and teens are bombarded with sexualised images as we see in this short documentary.

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Blue Jay Journal TV www.bluejayjournal.com