Michelle Cove, who is the founder of MediaGirls, a media literacy program in Brookline, Massachusetts, sent along this photo and comment, as a follow up to my previous post about Old Navy advertising.
“Sexualizing girls early isn’t always about clothing with plunging necklines or words like ‘Juicy’ embroidered on the seat of their sweat pants. It also happens in more subtle ways, like this ad for Old Navy, which calls these girls’ jeans for toddlers “Boyfriend Jeans.” Why are girls getting identified through having boyfriends at age one to three? It’s not cute or innocent. Girls are paying attention to this. It’s the start of a long path in which girls learn to define themselves through attracting boys and men. We can and should demand better than this. Why not call them “Be Me Jeans”?
MediaGirls fall session after school program for middle school girls starts October 1.
Marketing, Media and Childhood 