Marketing Sex to Tweens

By The Franklin Lakes Journal

Published: June 9, 2010

A former Franklin Lakes, NJ nanny was recently acquitted in a Passaic courtroom on charges of having sex with a 12 year old boy under her care. The defense successfully argued to the jury that this was a case of false accusations being made due to the nanny’s deteriorating relationship with the boy’s mother.

While the defense also argued that the family’s close relationship played a role in charges that should never have reached the courtroom, the seriousness of sexual abuse is a charge and subject that cannot be taken lightly. Unfortunately, the same concern exhibited in the judicial system is one lacking in the general acceptance of how corporations use sex to market products to younger and younger consumers.

Most research on how sex marketing to tweens is focused on girls, but the residual impact on young boys is equally troubling. Women may control the majority of wealth in America, but the halls of power in government and private industry continue to be dominated by a male culture; domestic violence and date violence continue to be serious problems in American society. The sexification of young girls can do little to help instill values of respect and equality in growing boys.

One particular Youtube video, taped at the World of Dance competition in Pomona, Calif, is a remake of Beyoncé’s hit “Single Ladies” with the costume and dance moves of professional strippers being performed by 7 year olds. The website HollywoodLife.com defends the performance as innocent fun for innocent girls, but other publications like the Washington Post pine as to what, if any standards, America holds with respect to the sexification of young children.

A New York Times article in January of 2010 reported on the expected 1.9 billion dollar market for grooming products aimed at tweens and teens. The marketing ads work the same on young boys as they do on older men with promises of attracting females and increased confidence.  The marketing of cologne to children may sound goofy to some, but not to Disney which offers the cartoon character Goofy with his own cologne for boys.

Boys, just like girls, are susceptible to obsession over body image. The plight of many girls with eating disorders has been reported in the press, and now the increased use of steroids by teenage boys is also starting to gain greater attention.

The website ShapingYouth.org is an online resource readers might visit for information and insight on the media and marketing’s influence on youth. It’s a place where both parents and youth can learn how media can manipulate and also benefit youth.