Stop Pimping Our Kids

One of the more pernicious aspects of the media is how it can sometimes create a climate of paranoia over nothing more than froth and hot air. An example was the campaign Stop Pimping Our Kids promoted a while ago in the Channel Four programme The Sex Education Show. The motivation for this campaign was the paedophile hysteria, the objective of which is not the protection of children, but the demonization of men. Unfortunately, it is not confined to its source, feminists and children’s charities, but also includes the gutter press. The latter, when its attention is momentarily distracted from the salacious activities of celebrities, plays a pivotal role in fanning the flames of this hysteria.

The title of the campaign would more accurately have been 'Stop Pimping Our Little Girls' since there was no mention of boys. It conflated two issues, the supposed sexualisation of girls with the sexual depiction of adult women. With regard to the former the show condemned various items of 'inappropriate' clothing sold for young girls. On the latter it attacked W H Smith for displaying mostly 'lads mags' at children’s eye level.

Some of the clothing seemed unexceptional such as high heeled boots. Others were underwear which would not be seen in public. One item which provoked particular ire, which has become a symbol of this dubious campaign, is padded bras. It is unclear why any kind of bra is considered necessary for pre-pubescent girls since there is nothing to cover. Their purpose can only be to instil prudishness and body guilt in young girls. As one slightly older girl (already body guilt ridden) commentator put it 'it is completely normal for girls as young as nine to start developing breasts - the padding is for modesty, not to sexualise'.

As previously mentioned the motivation for this campaign is the paedophile hysteria. Child molesters (as they should more properly be termed) are unlikely to be influenced by girls wearing adult clothing since they are attracted to children as children, not as mini adults. The vast majority of men are not physically attracted to pre-pubescent girls and their wearing of more adult clothes is unlikely to fool them. The clothing stores vilified in the programme pointed out that they had received no complaints. So there is no real problem, just contrived outrage.

With regard to magazine displays, magazines these days are heavily censored for the amount of anatomical detail they can show on their covers. Such censorship does not extend to good taste, and some of the 'lads mags' feature the depiction of women in degrading poses. However, it makes no difference which level of shelf they are displayed on, since children can still see them all, not just those at their eye level. Bizarrely, one magazine that was condemned showed a woman in a 'revealing' bikini, a garment seen by children on any beach or swimming pool. Is this article of clothing now to be banned when children are present? Remember that the paedophile hysteria is incremental.