Boobie Boosters or Not?

I have to admit that I wouldn't mind if my daughters dressed in clothing that covered their bodies from throat to toe...all year round. All the better if flip flops weren't available and they had to cover their feet as well. The less skin they can reveal, the less stupid boys will be attracted to them for the wrong reasons. I want a boy to be interested in my daughter for all of the right reasons. Covering as much of her body as possible on a consistent basis is, in my mind, one of the better ways of accomplishing that.

Seriously, though, my Dad Radar caught a disturbing report the other day, and I had to check it out.
I sort of wish I hadn't.

One of the country's largest clothing retailers has introduced its spring line of clothing, and it includes bikini bathing suits with push up padding in the bikini top -- for 8-year olds. I wouldn't kid you about this.

Abercrombie & Fitch has a division specifically marketed to 8-14-year old kids (Abercrombie Kids), and the "Ashley" Push-Up Triangle is a triangular-shaped bikini top that comes armed with a fully padded breast enhancement feature. Of course, to a father of daughters, I don't see this as a "feature" as much as I see it as an evil marketing ploy aimed at seducing young girls into trying to look 'hot'.

In almost 50 years of life, I completely understand corporations trying to make a buck, and many of those corporations doing so without any conscience whatsoever. But I struggle with the question, "when will the insanity stop?" When will someone figure out that they've gone too far?

I also will admit that I leave the clothes shopping sprees to my wife. I have not interest in shopping for clothing for myself (my wife would say that's evident), let alone spending an eternity in a clothing store with a teenage girl who's trying to decide between 97 colors of the same shirt, at the same time attempting to match eye liner and footwear. All I want to know, when they return home with their goodies, is are they appropriately covered? The more covered the better.

So what's a Dad to do? There's little chance that fathers are shopping for bathing suits with their second-grade daughters. At the same time, Dads need to exercise their concerns about this type of exploitation of our daughters for the sake of a nickel.

Now, there are plenty of people who've taken A&F to task for this bikini blunder. Plenty of psychologists who've debated the self-esteem issues surrounding this type of clothing ploy. Other experts have chimed in with their concern about how this type of clothing can promote promiscuity at a frightening young age.

I understand all of those arguments, and even discussed some of them in a post last month http://fathersagainstdaughtersdating.blogspot.com/2011/02/makeup-for-second-graders.html

But there was an interesting analysis put forth by Shirlee Smith, CEO/Founder of "Talk About Parenting with Shirlee Smith." Smith said, and I quote from a Fox News article, "...I'm slapping the blame on moms for not seeing any further than their own breast implants when it comes to purchasing push-uppers for girls that don't, as yet, actually have breasts."

I'm not sure if that's what an attorney would call the, "you reap what you sow," defense or not. I can't help but think there's something to that argument.

P.S. Don't forget to tell your daughter that you love her.