Category: children


Sexualised images of children in ads

Filed under: advertising, children, sexualisation — Leave a comment
April 16, 2012

The Australian Medical Association has called on the government to enforce advertising regulations, saying ads that sexualise children are causing health problems such as eating disorders, depression and low self-esteem.

Chief executive of the Australian Association of National Advertisers, Scott McClellan, said the issue of children and advertising was well canvassed in last year’s review of outdoor advertising and the recent classifications review, and the overall conclusion was that self-regulation worked.

But take a look at many of the ads reluctantly pulled from advertising campaigns in recent months as a result of public outcry, and you might conclude that advertising self-regulation has failed. What is most disturbing is the fact that there is little doubt sexualised images of children in ads, often shared on social media sites, encourages paedophiles and may be a factor in initiating child sexual abuse.

Corporations and creative industries need clear moral guidelines that accord with public sentiment on what’s right and wrong.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 15 Apr 2012.

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Too sexy, too soon

Filed under: children, pornography, sexualisation — Leave a comment
March 17, 2012

Opponents of the sexualisation of women applauded news this week that men’s magazine FHM is to cease publication.

Meanwhile, leading psychiatrist Professor Louise Newman has warned that the emphasis on “sexiness” among children (linked to self-esteem and the ability to make friends) can cause emotional damage.

“I have seen young children becoming quite confused about how to behave with older children and becoming victims of sexual exploitation,” she said.  This is happening in our primary schools, and censorship should be an option because childhood is being eroded.

Professor Newman said research indicated that premature sexualisation in children could have damaging long-lasting effects which impact on future relationships, cause gender role problems, and lead to an inability to make sound judgments.

The demise of FHM magazine may be a victory for women, but the primary reason for falling sales is that more explicit material is available free online.  Our children deserve better.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 18 Mar 2012.

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Danger of underage online gambling

Filed under: children, gambling, social justice — Leave a comment
February 17, 2012

While the big guns in the battle for gambling reform are focused on policy proposals such as mandatory pre-commitment technology for poker machines, and the simpler but more radical option of limiting all pokies to $1 bets, spare a thought for the new generation of problem gamblers being lured and nurtured, and addicted, to online pokies and card games such as Texas Hold ’Em Poker, as young teenagers.

As the Sunshine Coast Daily reported on Thursday, unregulated online gambling has spawned an emerging group of online gamblers still too young to gamble legally.

Relationships Australia’s Sunshine Coast manager, Sue Miller, said “addiction can be quite cruel and harsh, [and] unless it’s nipped in the bud it turns into bigger problems.”  It’s estimated that one in eight adolescents who gamble are at risk of developing problem gambling.

Prevention is better than cure, but the attractions of gambling are so strong, and the political will to enforce consumer protection is simply not there.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 12 Feb 2012.

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Lego and gender differences

Filed under: advertising, children, gender — Leave a comment
February 12, 2012

As a child, in the days before iPods and iPads, I spent countless hours playing with Lego pieces – a mish-mash of coloured blocks and wheels garnered from school fetes and second-hand stores.  The beauty was that we could make whatever we imagined, however rudimentary and piecemeal, and the fun was in creating something unique.

These days, Lego has embraced “sets” and themes based on blockbuster movies.  And they’ve just released new sets designed for girls aged five and up, with the theme “Friends.”

Nothing wrong with that.  But to me the sets look remarkably like Barbie doll merchandise, sending exactly the same negative messages about gender stereotyping, and how girls should look and behave.

That’s not to say that gender differences aren’t important, but children’s play should promote authentic self-expression, creativity and individuality.  It’s time Lego widened its vision of girls (and boys), and encouraged kids to be who they’re wired to be, and do what comes naturally.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 22 Jan 2012.

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The politicisation of foster care

Filed under: children, homosexuality, law — Leave a comment
September 23, 2011

In April I commented on a ruling of the British High Court, which put on hold an application by Owen and Eunice Johns to foster a child because the couple had indicated they would not be able to promote the homosexual lifestyle of a child in their care.

The September issue of the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship Newsletter points out that counsel for the couple made sweeping statements not backed up by evidence, and it seems the couple could in fact have gone to other agencies where their attitude to homosexuality would not have been an impediment to being a foster carer.

The newsletter also contrasts the case with a similar case involving a homosexual couple looking to become foster carers, who took Sydney’s Wesley Mission to the Anti-Discrimination Board, a dispute eventually resolved in favour of Wesley Mission.  That couple also had other agencies they could have turned to.

What a tragedy when the needs and rights of children are overlooked to advance a political agenda.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, Sunday 25 september 2011.

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