Momania: A Blog for Busy Moms Babies in bikinis; sexy 7-year-olds dancing to ‘Single Ladies’: Which of these is age-appropriate or neither?6:10 am May 13, 2010, by Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
Yesterday morning I ran across a blog asking if babies in bikinis were cute or icky? Strollerderby found the original conversation on Café Mom where the moms were pretty evenly divided on the topic. Here’s a sample of the conversation.
From Strollerderby:
“What’s interesting to me is how the debate is framed from such vastly different perspectives. For some moms, it’s an issue of modesty and for others, it’s a question of the sexualization of girls. A few moms expressed concern about sexual predators, and others said that bikinis should be reserved for grown-up women.�
“The majority of moms who weighed in seemed to think it was “no big deal,� but several voiced strong opposition.
“ ‘The point of the bikini being created was to show off as much body as possible including ***** and ****, hips, etc… the parts men find sexy. Bikinis are lingerie that have been accepted to be worn in public. Why would anyone put publicly accepted *** attire on a child?’ wrote one mom.�
I sort of chuckled at the discussion. I don’t really have a problem with a baby in a bikini as long it isn’t a thong or have padded cups – a la the bikini marketed to tweens with padded cups.
I usually get my girls tankinis – which cover a little bit more than a true bikini – because it’s just so much easier to go to the bathroom (or change a swim diaper) in a two-piece suit.
But I digress.
Later in the day I ran across another blog with something a bit more shocking than the babies in bikinis.
The Huffington Post picked up a You Tube video of girls identified as 7-year-olds not only dressed scantily but dancing fairly suggestively to Beyonce’s “All The Single Ladies.�
Now they are good dancers. I am amazed by their dancing.
However, I don’t think that some of the moves they are doing (some of the straight legs bends or should/chest shaking) were really appropriate dance moves for their age. Especially not in red and black “bikini� tops and hot pants.
So what do you think about the video? Is there a line crossed here? Could this be made right if they weren’t dancing as suggestively or they had on more clothes?
What do you think about the babies in bikinis? Anything wrong going on there?
An AJC reporter is seeking parents who own a drop-sided crib for a story. See this blog for more details.
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..230 comments Add your commentolivia
May 13th, 2010
7:03 am
I’m French and I do my first year in university, so excuse my English. I think Beyonce and other French singers have a very bad impact on young girls and unfortunately they corrupt even the French. Now when I take the bus and I passed my college, I see little girls dressed in small jeans with a string that exceeds or a mini skirt and these girls are model Rihanna and Beyonce. anyway I find it very unhealthy for these people to idolize these artists as gods. it is imperative that Americans react because there youth is doomed. ppourquoi they have all these singers need to be vulgar, so they know that their fans are pertinant children.
LinkReport this comment.fred
May 13th, 2010
7:06 am
Babies in bikinis, no issue for me, My girls, both under 7 wear them and have worn them since they were babies. But the dancing video just did not feel right to me. As a parent I would not feel comfortable seeing my daughter perform some of those moves. I think it is a combination of SOME of the dance moves, the costumes and the song. Now I would like to say that it is obvious that these girls are very talented and I hope they continue doing what they do, I do however think that the fault lies with the choreographer of the routine.
LinkReport this comment.Christina
May 13th, 2010
7:15 am
I am a mother of 2 girls, 11, and 13. I am not religious, and I consider myself to be very liberal and open minded. That said, this video makes me want to hurl. What the heck are these moms thinking? I LOVE the actual Beyonce video, the moves, the song, all of it. But these girls are dressed up like little hookers, and flaunting their sexuality with these grown-up dance moves. At the very least, this is going to distort these girls images of themselves and cause them to behave more sexually at an earlier age. GROSS GROSS GROSS!
LinkReport this comment.motherjanegoose
May 13th, 2010
7:15 am
To me, it just depends on what your want your daughter to portray. If it is all about her body, be prepared to deal with it later. Parents send these messages to their kids.
Honestly, my daughter has a great figure ( better than mine ever was) and she would look cute in a bikini but she has never been interested in one. She is modest an not at all about attracting anyone with her body. We have never had the � you are NOT walking out of my house in that� episode.
LinkReport this comment.Jeff
May 13th, 2010
7:15 am
My sister framed this issue very well:
If she wears a bikini @ 7, what is she going to want to wear when she hits puberty? If we have her in a one-piece and she gets to “look forward� to wearing bikini at a pre-determined age, then we’ve controlled the issue.
Then again, when some of these moms dress the way they do, what do you expect?
LinkReport this comment.Christina
May 13th, 2010
7:16 am
OH – and little girls and/or babies in bikinis is CUTE! Little girls in red and black ruffled hot pants is NOT!
LinkReport this comment.Cogitatus of Borg
May 13th, 2010
7:19 am
The dance routine and music was grossly in appropriate for 7th graders let alone 7 year olds.
@Fred – not only was the choreographer wrong, but most of the blame lies with the parents who allowed them to perform this routine. They need to be parents and not cheerleaders who just want to make sure their darlings participate.
LinkReport this comment.Belle
May 13th, 2010
7:24 am
I have no problem with bikinis on babies. When I was a child most babies ran around in just a diaper anyway. Even the Coppertone baby was in just a bikini bottom and that ad was from the 1950’s..so bikinis are no big deal.
The dancing was amazing but the costumes were pretty bad. I would not have been comfortable with my daughter performing those moves at that age.
LinkReport this comment.Patrick
May 13th, 2010
7:24 am
Bikinis at the beach are OK, most of them at least. But if your kid isn’t swimming, you need to have them covered.
As far as this video, this is disgusting, those parents should have their children taken away, do they want their daughters to grow up to be strippers? Or have eating disorders as a teenager because they are too body focused?
Best case scenario, those girls grow up to be hapless floozies. You know the ones I’m talking about, they still call their father “daaadiiieee� when they are 30 years old, have never had a real job, no skills, float from one boyfriend to the next, before marrying some jerk just because he has a good job.
LinkReport this comment.Mattie
May 13th, 2010
7:25 am
What is shocking is that adults think encouraging young girls to dress and act sexy is OK and will somehow be healthy for them. This is not an isolated dance school, I have seen it in my comunity too. When will parents wake up and be the parents? NO is still a word in our English language.
LinkReport this comment.This is Mrs. Norman Maine
May 13th, 2010
7:29 am
Babies in bikinis=no big deal. But it’s hard to believe that any parent, anywhere thinks the above video is okay.
LinkReport this comment.Jeff
May 13th, 2010
7:31 am
I’m going to take what some would consider a cheap shot but it doesn’t mean it’s not true. Anyone want to guess how many of these girls have active, participating fathers involved in deciding whether to do this dance thing?
My father’s generation would have NEVER allowed their 7 year old daughters to do this.