While some might think it horrifying to see a 12 or thirteen year old girl wearing a thong or other tantalizing clothing, it is a trend reaching its peak with Tweens and Gen Y. Alison Pollet and Page Hurwitz of The Nation write about this proliferation of sexuality into ever-younger age groups. The biggest concern is whether it’s just an innocent expression of budding sexuality or a spiral downward into an abyss of a culture gone mad with sex.
Marketers, ever the ones to latch onto a trend, have not let this one slip past. Everything from Hot Topic, a sexy teen apparel store to “Thirteen,” a movie about the hypersexualized teen-girl consumer marketplace to music videos bordering on porn center on the appeal of this adolescent fascination with sexuality.
The debate rages on whether this is a good thing or a dance with the devil. It may all be moot because as soon as a trend is a trend, those living the trend will cast it off faster than the duration of a teenage boy’s first sexual encounter. And the fact that Oprah had mom’s get stripper makeovers on her show this past November would be enough to make any daughter rebel and return to Victorian era, full body coverage.
