The President of the Girls’ Schools Association has joined others in condemning the “moral abyss” in which she feels girls are being raised.
Speaking at the Association’s annual conference, Dr Helen Wright said that she had “long been concerned by the seeming erosion of the innocence of childhood in the 21st Century.”
“What hope have we got of safeguarding our children’s sacred childhood if they are knocked off their feet on the nursery slopes of life by an avalanche of images and malign influences? And make no mistake, this is what is happening. … It is time to take up the drawbridge of the liberal dogma of the past which has left us with the moral abyss of the present. … If parents can’t see anything wrong in dressing up their children in ‘Future Wag’ T-shirts and letting them wear make-up, high heels and ‘mini-me’ sexy clothing, then something is intensely wrong in our society. … I truly believe that issues such as the protection of childhood, of young girls and of young women, and speaking out against the premature sexualisation of children, are vital.”
Dr Wright also criticised programmes like the X Factor, where she said contestants were “encouraged to be at each other’s throats”. She said: “Qualities such as bullying and arrogance are glamorised and become synonyms for ambition and drive. Young people look up to these so-called stars who have themselves been catapulted into a spotlight which can be far too much for them.”
Her comments follow on from a Home Office-commissioned report (1) in February 2010 which warned that children in the United Kingdom were being increasingly exposed to sexual imagery.
The Prime Minister recently launched the Parentport website (2), which gives parents a place to air their concerns about inappropriate products, adverts or services. This followed a summit at Downing Street which addressed how to tackle the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood.
(2) http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/pm-launches-parentport-website/
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