The early sexualization of children is a social phenomenon that worries many parents. On social networks or in advertisements, sexuality is trivialized and often conveyed in a misleading manner. And the youngest find themselves faced with such images almost without realizing it.
It is not uncommon to find adult outfits offered to very young girls on online sales sites.
And on social networks, little girls wearing makeup like adults even though they are not yet ten years old are commonplace. And they feature themselves in easily accessible videos.
Young girls used to such videos
At 12, Louise is often confronted with this type of image in the videos she watches, for example suggestive dances which she then imitates with her friends. And if she finds some of them strange, she is no longer really surprised. “It’s true that when we see their stomach, their buttocks, it can be sexualized, but it doesn’t shock me,” she confided on Friday in 7:30 p.m.
Her mother Jenny is more worried: “What shocks me is that it doesn’t shock her. It’s as if it’s normal that a woman has to do suggestive dances to get likes on the internet.”
We accept behaviors that were usually attributed to adolescent girls and that we see in children
Louise explains that these videos come before her eyes almost by chance: “When I look at shorts or spotlights, I come across this anyway. I can come across a funny video and right after that a lady moving her butt to music, so even without intention, even if we’re being controlled and don’t want to watch that kind of image, we come across it. We don’t have a choice in what we watch.”
A phenomenon that has grown with the internet
Over the past fifteen years, the internet has accelerated the early sexualization of children. A phenomenon that sexologist Francine Duquet observes closely: “There is a shift, a shift where we accept behaviors that were usually attributed to adolescent girls and that we see in children.”
This expert on the issue, also a professor at the University of Quebec, was invited by the Valais Office for Equality and the Family to give advice to parents. His message is to always dialogue with your children, especially regarding easy access to pornography.
Children are afraid to tell their parents, afraid of being scolded or being denied access to the internet.
Maintain the dialogue
“Several children are afraid to talk to their parents, to say that they have seen pornographic images, they are afraid of being scolded or that they will be prohibited from accessing the internet. So parents need to tell them that if they ever see images, they need to close the computer and come and talk to them about it. These are not images for children,” advises Francine Duquet.
Talking about it is precisely the approach that Louise’s mother chose. “It reinforces what I already do by sometimes being strict. Continuing to set rules and a framework but above all maintaining dialogue and communication is very important.”
Because despite parental prohibitions and filters, Louise will continue to be exposed to such content. While learning to consume them with distance.
Romain Boisset/boi
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