No stranger to controversy, U.S. retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has come under fire for offering a push-up bikini top to young girls.
Its "Ashley" bikini -- described as "padded" and a "push-up" -- was posted on the Abercrombie Kids website earlier this week.
The company declined to comment Saturday but noted it has since updated the description of its bikini online.
The product is now being offered as a padded, "striped triangle." Bottoms are sold separately.
"How is this okay for a second-grader?" asked Rebecca Odes in a recent post on the Babble parenting blog.
"Playing at sexy is an inevitable and important part of growing up. But there's a difference between exploring these ideas on your own and having them sold to you in a children's catalog," she wrote.
Gail Dines, a sociology professor at Wheelock College in Boston, similarly slammed the top, saying it would encourage girls to think about themselves in a sexual way before they are ready.
Abercrombie criticized for selling push-up tops to little girls - CNN.com
I think its atrocious to sell such an item for young girls. And what is sad, is that somewhere out there, some dumb parent will buy the bikini top for their little girl.
Isn't odd that our society is so focused on battling pedophilia yet creates a culture where sexualizing young girls is even considered?
As for this line:
"It (also) sends out really bad signals to adult men about young girls being appropriate sexual objects," she told CNN affiliate WHDH.
This woman makes it sound like all adult men are capable of looking at young girls as sex objects. I think a mentally healthy adult male wouldn't for a second think of sex if he sees an 8 year old dressed all sexed up. If he does, then he is not mentally healthy; he's a monster.