Reply #142: I understand what you're saying but I didn't mean it like that.

[riderinthestorm]

I meant that any adult that sees an 8 year old and thinks she's sexy, is sexualizing her. An 8 year old girl still wearing her beach stuff isn't thinking she's portraying herself that way in the normal world (ie. she hasn't been molested or prostituted or modeled or....).

I have a 23 yr old and a 14 yr old who love A&F so we've had this convo often since this old feminist has a lot of ideas about women, clothing and the latest styles as they relate to our self esteem.... At 8 yrs old, most girls simply want to wear what the older girls are wearing, to fit in. They aren't thinking "does this make me look sexy", they simply want to look fashionable since that's about then the whole clothing thing starts for girls.

Any adult who thinks an 8 or 10 year old is sexy regardless, is a perv. Stores like A&F market to young tweeners because they know how desperate this age group is to "fit in", and to most successfully do that many young girls ape the older girls (where the A&F stuff really is about sexiness). But this mom firmly believes young girls 8 - 10 yrs old aren't trying to sexualize themselves or be seen as sexy... yet. And adults shouldn't be "going there" in their minds about these young girls either.