> The interesting part is that it's not always clear to me why this exploitation is done
My cynical guess is that there is significant money to be made in pushing girls towards early sexualization. The idea is to get them worrying about sexuality, and all of the things they think they need to do in order to be considered sexually attractive. This would include things like hair products, lipstick, and clothing. By creating this association between the mere ideas of "sexy" and "what everyone's already doing," they can instill a deep sense of status anxiety at an early age. This anxiety is not only easy to create (as the age group is highly hormonal), it feeds off of existing social hierarchies that are emerging. And, I believe, the advertiser hopes it is the beginning of a lifelong addiction to buying things in order to feel worthwhile.
I hope you don't take this to be hyperbole; I'm actually surprised it came out as dark as it did. But, now that I think of it, it is violence against the soul, and thus, evil.
My cynical guess is that there is significant money to be made in pushing girls towards early sexualization. The idea is to get them worrying about sexuality, and all of the things they think they need to do in order to be considered sexually attractive. This would include things like hair products, lipstick, and clothing. By creating this association between the mere ideas of "sexy" and "what everyone's already doing," they can instill a deep sense of status anxiety at an early age. This anxiety is not only easy to create (as the age group is highly hormonal), it feeds off of existing social hierarchies that are emerging. And, I believe, the advertiser hopes it is the beginning of a lifelong addiction to buying things in order to feel worthwhile.
I hope you don't take this to be hyperbole; I'm actually surprised it came out as dark as it did. But, now that I think of it, it is violence against the soul, and thus, evil.