So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids

I loved the way this book answers the question: "How has our culture been warped into an unenviable cesspool of uncaring sex and gratuitous violence?" Diane Levin & Jean Kilbourne offer great rationale as to how and why this happened -- and more importantly, they offer excellent action steps to help families and communities counteract these forces. I'm a 22-year-old recent college graduate who majored in Communications and completed a highly educational internship at the Media Education Foundation (www.mediaed.org), a remarkable nonprofit organization. I was raised to be very open-minded, yet when I first arrived at college even I thought things had gotten out of hand. I was astounded by the number of women students who would readily bare their breasts in large groups of students, with little provocation (and a few beers). When you're constantly bombarded with the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch ads, it's easy to believe that the portrayal of barely clad beautiful bodies cavorting sexually is the gold standard to emulate. There are no ads, of course, to portray the morning after regrets in our double standard culture that these women will be labeled (and feel like) "sluts", while their male companions will relish their own enhanced party-animal status. I agree completely with MediaMaven about witnessing our "MTV Generation" peers (especially women) who struggle with low self-esteem and depression -- it's epidemic on campus. What I didn't realize before reading this book were the new "lows" corporations and their advertisers had reached ~ Victoria's Secret makes thong panties for 8 to 12-year-olds?! It makes one wonder what the rates of depression and low self-esteem will be in 10 years. So Sexy, So Soon is a call to action. While Norway and Sweden have banned all advertising aimed at children under age 12 - and Belgium, Denmark & Greece strongly restrict advertising targeted at children ~ why on earth should we allow the United States to stay mired in this mess? We should all heed the call to contact our Congressional Representatives, advocating a ban on all advertising aimed at children.

I first heard Jean Kilbourne lecture at The Harvard Medical School over 30 years ago. Her lecture was transformational, and I never saw the world in the same way again. Since then, I have followed her career closely. She brought her message into print form with her first book; "Can't Buy my Love". Dr. Kilbourne's raison d'etre is to educate the public to unconscious and conscious psychological devices that keep women and girls in a one down position. She described the way in which sexism is ingrained in the media, which both reflects and perpetuates cultural stereotypes. Her message is extremely effective in inoculating women and girls against the negative effects of the media. She was decades ahead of her time, and a lone voice of warning. Unfortunately, she tells us that things have only gotten worse. Now, once again she is the messenger of our times who sees so clearly the crisis which is happening to our girls. Both her books are a must read for anyone who cares about girls and women. Dr. Kilbourne's newest book, So Sexy So Soon (co-authored with Diane Levin) is a greatly needed therapeutic intervention for girls and their concerned parents. The American Psychological Association Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls also concurs with Dr. Kilbourne and they too recommend early media education awareness in schools and community centers in order to fight sexualization of girls and counter the negative effects which Jean so masterfully describes in her book. I would recommend both of Dr. Kilbourne's books for anyone who wants to fight sexism and educate our society to the negative effects of the media on female potential. Her books will begin the much needed healing process for any one who reads them. I cannot recommend this book more highly. It should be required reading for anyone in the education system and helping professions as well as parents of girls. Stephanie Jones, Ed.D. Founder of the Girls Institute for Empowerment.

It doesn't sound to me that one of the previous reviewers, Mr. Males, bothered to read the book. If he had, he would recognize that the main premise is ALL children from a very early age are learning toxic lessons from the media about sex, gender, body image and human relationships that have devastating effects on every aspect of their development. These effects can not be measured solely by statistics. Anyone who spends time with children knows that the lesson that corporate America teaches them (especially girls) is that self-worth is based on appearance and acquiring material possessions. The main purpose of this constant barrage (children spend more time with the media than with their own parents according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study) of commercialism into every aspect of children's lives is to increase corporate profits. When a culture is more concerned with money than healthy human growth, it is obvious that our children are at risk for a host of physical, cognitive, emotional and social problems. We are at a crucial time in our history when more than ever we need competent creative problem solvers who can tackle the real issues we face as a nation and as citizens of the world. Levin and Kilbourne, internationally recognized educators, authors and social activists, solidly grounded with scholarship and experience provide us with the guidance we need nurture the healthy development of our children. If you want to read a comprehensive, eloquent and practical book on this extremely important issue, this is the one to buy.

Drs. Levin and Kilbourne have written a savvy and sophisticated analysis of the insidious and treacherous sexualization of our children as a marketing tool in an increasingly depraved market. As a psychologist and a woman who loves children, I understand far more deeply the impact this abuse engenders going forward in the lives of young people, girls and boys alike. I particularly appreciate the way in which the authors acknowledge the importance of sexuality within adult relationships and how crucial it is to show our children that its power is best experienced and most fully expressed within the context of a loving, durable relationship. Kudos to these eminent authors for writing this crucial book and for writing it so well.

I responded to the intelligent and common sense approach to dealing with the issues at hand. I appreciated the emphasis on communicating with children about the things that society is forcing upon them. Rather than just having to say, "No, no, no - ban, ban, ban!", parents will be helped by this book because it provides tools for children to use out on the streets. Like it or not, this is what they are facing. It always seems as though the people who have the most difficult time in life are the ones who were brought up in a shell with parents who tried to protect them from the world. The successful people are those who were given the opportunity to gain "street smarts" and coping skills, along with the ability to make choices based on good information, such as that provided in this book.