Lewd t-shirts
Children’s clothing is bearing increasingly sexual slogans, causing the Daily Telegraph to appeal for a ban on such t-shirts.
In an article in August, writer Judith Woods interviewed Dr Catherine White, director of the Sexual Assault Referral Centre at St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester. Dr White said that she had seen a rise in the number of youngsters admitted – more than 400 in the under-18s unit, compared with 250 in 2006.
She believes that clothing carrying messages such as ‘Porn star in the making’ or track-suit bottoms sporting the words ‘Lush’ or ‘Juicy’ are instrumental in the growing sexualisation of children.
Leading retailers are emblazoning lewd messages right down to baby wear, while others are glorifying the ‘yob’ culture with words like ‘Asbo’ and ‘Scum’.
Worryingly, in the light of so many child abuse cases, a line of clothing for toddlers from Future Freak even displays the words ‘They beat me’ and ‘They shake me’. The designer defended his actions by stating: ‘Anybody buying one for their child obviously isn’t beating them, and the fact that they are outrageous makes it funny’.
