God this irritates me!
Have a little looky here if you'd like a bit of background: Belle de Jour "Sexonomics"
Basically, it's a report given to the government by a bloke with a clear agenda to get a few column inches and shock a few people. It's all about how the government should "clamp down" on Sexualisation. As mentioned in Belle de Jour's blog, nowhere is "Sexualisation" actually defined. But I think we can safely take it to mean children wearing ridiculous crop top-type clothes and talking like a nigga from the ghetto, innit. Or other similar things, anyway.
I can tell you now that it irritates me a lot. An awful lot! Let me tell you why. But first, if you'd like to, you can check out the full review here.
So, the first problem I came across was in one of the first quotes from a parent;
Silly parent quote #1
"There is a need for such a huge cultural shift away from consumerism that I feel powerless as an individual to act"
Bollocks. If you don't buy it, they won't sell it. That's how it works. And even if there is a market out there for whatever particular product you don't want your child to have, just don't buy it yourself. I always wanted a cat when I was a child, not particularly sexual I know (unless you are slightly creepy, actually, very creepy) but you know what? My mum wouldn't let me have one. She didn't require all cats everywhere to be slaughtered and never sold again in case other children wanted one too.
Silly parent quote #2
"Advertising for perfumes is almost always of a sexual nature"
You ready for this? No. It's not. And here's why;
Reason 1 - A strapless dress.
Reason 2 - A strange lady with a moustache.
Reason 3 - A fairy. Clearly. It's hot where fairies come from, hence the silly gold top.
Reason 4 - A man and woman having a cuddle.
It's only as sexual as you make it guys.
Silly Parent quote # 3
"It is unfortunate that the lazy, uninventive ‘sex sells’ attitude of the media which plasters sexual images and articles everywhere, causes parents to have to address the topic with their children a lot sooner than many would like, before they are at an age where they are emotionally equipped to understand it."
Bollocks. If your child asks you "what that man is doing on top of that woman", lie. Lie through your teeth! Wrestling, fighting, cuddling, practicing press-ups, whatever you can think of. There's no reason to have the birds and bees talk any time before you want to. If the child is too young, they will accept any ridiculous made up answer you give. If the child is old enough, you're likely to get a response like "looks like they're shagging to me, mum" anyway, making the whole birds and bees exercise slightly pointless.
Silly Parent quote #4
"There is too much sexual (and violent) content before the watershed, particularly in soaps... The other problem is often programmes are repeated on digital channels at different hours of the day."
Simples. Stop watching soaps with the kids around. (Let's face it, for the most part, they're godawful anyway) And for goodness sake, don't put a bloody telly in a kids bedroom!
Silly Parent quote #5
"Whenever I have seen music videos lately I have been completely disheartened by the relentless portrayal of women as sex objects. More often than not they show young women in hardly any clothes … basically simulating sex... For a lot of acts that are popular with young people, the music video has become a way of pushing boundaries to see how much they can get away with."
Buy your child an Iron Maiden album. Then buy them a copy of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner. If, anywhere, there is a video of Eddie "in hardly any clothes … basically simulating sex", I should very much like to see it!
Silly Parent quote #6
"The music videos that children can watch are extremely explicit – from the clothes they wear to the words and actions. Some songs my 13 year old sings back are shocking."
I refer to my previous statement;
"Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink."
I suppose it is shocking, but not in the same way. And a child that understands the way in which it is shocking doesn't exactly strike me as a bad thing...
Silly Parent quote #7
"The internet and on-demand TV is my main concern, with children watching in their bedrooms. What is needed is a default setting for pornography, so that parents cannot leave it accessible by mistake."
Solution 1 - No TV in the bedroom.
Solution 2 - Don't watch porn on the PC your kids use!! Common sense people!
Silly parent quote #8
"My biggest concern is the internet which is also invading young people’s mobile phones."
I can fully understand giving a child a phone, the benefits are obvious. I cannot understand giving a child an iPhone. Tesco do still sell these you know.
Silly Parent quote #9
"The problem is that when you are ‘out and about’ with kids, things aren’t neatly compartmentalised – so clothes shops, music shops, games shops etc sell things aimed at say 9-12 year olds alongside adult products."
I'm going to be perfectly and completely honest here. I have never, not once in my life ever, seen a Dildo for sale in a supermarket next to a Barbie Doll.
Seriously though, if there happens to be a copy of Debbie Does Dallas next to Bambi, don't buy it for your child! How hard is that?*
*Just a little side note here. I once had a woman in my shop with her toddler. Said toddler was running around all over the place, grabbing things, picking things up and throwing things and generally just being a brat. I did my usual "honey please don't do that" which normally does the trick if you glare at the child and smile at the mum, and it didn't work. So I asked the mother to please stop her son running around in case he hurts himself. She snapped back at me and said "you try telling a two year old not to run around" When I offered to do so properly with a good solid clip round the ear, strangely, she declined! But it did make me think. If you cannot control your child, should you necessarily take them shopping? Or should you even be a parent?
Silly Parent Quote #10
"The problem is that parents sometimes feel the peer pressure too and often feel almost forced to buy certain products because other parents are. They feel like bad parents if they don’t."
You are not a bad parent if you refuse to buy your child P. Diddy-Dickhead's latest album and instead buy them a more suitable album. Or better still, a bloody good book. You are a good parent, who is setting your child a foundation for a better future by giving them a good education. They will be the ones laughing all the way to the bank when their company hires one of their former schoolfriends as a cleaner, and informs her that she can't listen to P. Diddy-Dickhead on her iPod whilst working.
And finally, the only sensible thing I found in the entire review!
"You have a choice as a parent, as an adult. If you don’t like it, don’t let them (have it)."
No shit, Sherlock.
I think that one just about sums up my entire point y'know.
