Letting Children be Children
3.
Among the parents who voiced concerns about the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood when they responded to our Call for Evidence, the sexualisation of clothes and products for children was a big concern.We recognise this is a highly subjective issue, intimately bound up with notions such as good and bad taste, personal preferences and the ability to exercise choice, the enjoyment by parents and children of fashion, and the expression of innate or learned gender differences.We also recognise that children's clothes, products and services are bought mainly by parents, and that what some parents find appropriate, others find distasteful or even offensive.
4.
Manufacturers and retailers therefore have to tread a difficult path in deciding where the line of public taste and approval lies. But retailers cannot be passive reflectors in children's products of adult fashion, or simply adopt an attitude of 'if customers don't like something they won't buy it'.They want to build the trust of customers so that they can maintain a long—lasting relationship with them. Retailers are aware of parents’ concerns and do respond to them but what we heard from retailers suggests they could be more systematic in their approach.As with other business sectors, retailers need to be helping to build a family—friendly public space throughout their business practices, from the design and sourcing of goods through displays and marketing and in the way they listen and respond to customer feedback.
5.
The concerns that parents expressed about the sexualisation of products for children when they responded to our Call for Evidence fall into two broad areas.
6.
The first area of concern was about products that are seen to depend on, or to promote, the idea that children at quite a young age are more sexually mature than their chronological age suggests. That maturity might be physical, emotional or psychological, and the child may be aware or unaware of it. Girls’ clothes and accessories are the most frequently cited examples: bras (padded or not), bikinis, short skirts, high—heeled shoes, garments with suggestive slogans, or the use of fabrics and designs that have connotations of adult sexuality.
7.
The second area of concern was about the use of gender stereotypes. The commercial world is seen to offer only very narrow concepts of what it means to be a boy or a girl and what kind of accessories boys and girls need in order to fulfil those gender roles. This is demonstrated through colour (pink, for girls, blue or camouflage for boys), clothes ranges (ultra—feminine clothes for girls, sportswear for boys), and toys and games (dolls, cuddly animals, make—up kits, fashion accessories for girls; cars, action figures, guns for boys).
8.
To inform this debate, it is important to understand the normal physical and sexual development of children and young people, which we explore below.
9.
We also examine the role of retailers in bringing products to market and their handling of sexualised and gendered products. We acknowledge the view of Professor Buckingham and his colleagues in their assessment that:
