TORONTO – While learning to read, write and count to 10, girls as young as six years old are also thinking about how to look sexy, results of a new study that’s sure to make parents cringe shows.
American researchers are sounding the warning bells after their study showed that little girls are facing pressure to have sex appeal.
Psychologists at Knox College in Illinois sat down with 60 girls from ages 6 to 9 years old along with their mothers.
The girls were shown two paper dolls: one was dressed in a sexy, skimpy outfit that included a bare midriff and short shorts, while the other was dressed in a more modest, but stylish outfit that included fitted jeans.
The girls were asked a series of questions: which doll looks more like you? If you could look like one of these two dolls, which one would you like to look like? Leila is the most popular girl in school. Which one do you think is Leila? Which doll would you like to play with?
The young girls “overwhelmingly” chose the sexualized doll over the non-sexualized doll as their “ideal” self and said the scantily clad doll would be the most popular girl in school.
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“Our findings indicate that there is reason to be concerned about the early sexualization of girls,” the researchers write in their report.
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“It’s very possible that girls want to look like the sexy doll because they believed sexiness leads to popularity, which comes with many social advantages,” lead researcher Christy Starr told MSNBC.
While the girls were interviewed, their moms were also asked to report the number of hours their daughter spent watching television. They were also asked to discuss how much they controlled what their daughters were watching, their level of religiosity, and how much value they placed on personal attractiveness.
Turns out, kids who preferred the modestly dressed doll had mothers who were either very religious or monitored what they were watching on tv, and discussed what they were seeing on the screen. Girls who took dance classes also felt less pressure to look sexy, the results showed.
On the other hand, girls who watched the most tv, and had a mom who said they valued their looks were more likely to face sex appeal pressures and reach for the sexualized doll.
What stuck the researchers was that none of the girls who took dance classes identified with the sexualized doll whereas most of their peers did.
“One possible explanation is that girls and women involved in physical activities are less prone to sexualization because they become aware that their bodies can be used for other purposes besides looking sexy or attractive to others,” the researchers wrote.
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