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Originally Posted by missbuns  when we go to the pool or beach she wears a bathing suit, or only bottoms, which is normal here. she is a healthy little baby. thank god i live where this is OK (in europe).
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I live in Europe too, in Italy. I've seen toddler wearing thong bikinis, little girls wearing skirts that say "sexy" across the bottom, and preteens wearing shirts that say "slut." I suppose in the last two examples there could have been a misunderstanding about what the writing meant if their parents didn't speak English.
I think the human body is good and beautiful. I'd rather see a baby naked than in a bathing suit that sexualizes her. There is a difference between sundresses with straps, tank tops, and shorts that are made to suit toddlers' bodies and those that are just scaled down versions of what grown women wear.
In this country it is normal for half-dressed women to appear on television shows, co-hosting with men in three-piece suits. Smocks that little girls have to wear in school can be found printed with messages like, when I grow up I want to be a showgirl. Breasts are everywhere in adds, to sell pasta or clothes or whatever, yet almost every mother weans at 4 mos. I am not convinced that most people look at naked female flesh in anything other than a sexual way. (Those of you in North America may be thinking, that's what it's like here. Believe me, you have no idea.
) There are few positive role models for girls here outside traditional ones and I believe that is related to the fact that women are viewed in a predominantly sexual way. This is why I don't want my daughter to look like a little grown-up already- I need as much time as I can to work against all of this.
(Sorry for the rant, but this issue is very important to me, as I am very worried about how I will raise my daughter to have self-respect, a positive self-image, and a sense of worth that isn't based on how sexually attractive she is.)
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