As the father of a young girl, I found this image very poignant, and troubling.

So I thought I would share it, I am sure other parents will relate to it's message.

---

I wouldn't be happy if it was my daughter on the advertisement.  A lot of it has to do with what we teach them.  First thing should be respect for their body and mind. There are so many parents who allow their little girls 6, 7 onwards to be portrayed as tiny women.  

There's nothing wrong with cute clothes, but you see pubescent girls loitering around the streets at night sleazily and suggestively dressed  which immediately encourages the wrong sort of attention.

It's not that you can stop your daughter when she matures from having her body exploited, but you can teach her not to want to be exploited.  Girls (and boys) have to be taught to say NO comfortably and confidently and mean it.

Sheik Hilali said there were women who "sway suggestively" and wore make-up and immodest dress ... "and then you get a judge without mercy (rahma) and gives you 65 years".

There is a great deal of talk about how "unacceptable" all of this sort of thing is, but the fact remains it is accepted by society and becoming more so.

What usually gets acted against is anything to blatant - and only because of vocal minorities, the silent majority is silent for a reason.

mozzaok , - I'm the dad of two boys. Girls are SO different.
The little I have had to do with my sons friends who are girls, they are just SO different. It's like they are two different species.

I'm sure she/they will follow her Dad's example and be very very good people.

You are too kind sprint, she is a far nicer person than I ever was, and we can thank her mum for that.
Unfortunately for her, she does take after her dad in some ways, I am afraid the world may have a new smart arse to deal with. ::)

But she has a kind heart, and like all parents, I would gladly step in front of a bus to help her.

Tomorrow is her birthday, and she is very excited about it.

One of the things I love most about her individual personality, is how truly appreciative she is, for all, and anything she receives, whether it be a trinket or a treasure, there is always sincere and enthusiastic appreciation expressed.

When I see people on here stating how prejudice and racism are natural human reactions, I only have to see how she, and her young friends, accept all people for who they are, irrespective of any physical differences, and I know that they are mistaken.
We all start out joyfully experiencing, and accepting differences openly, but some learn to express an intolerance that is in no way natural, and if they could learn from kids, how to accept peoples differences, we would all be happier.

Mind you, our attitudes do change over time.
When Mantra wrote;

Quote:

It's not that you can stop your daughter when she matures from having her body exploited, but you can teach her not to want to be exploited.  Girls (and boys) have to be taught to say NO comfortably and confidently and mean it.

I remembered this exchange from my youth.

I was a teenager, arguing with my dad about being allowed to go to a concert, I stated that when I was a dad, I would allow my fourteen year old kids to make their own decisions.
He replied by asking, if I had a fourteen year old daughter, would I allow her to have sex with anyone?
I said, yes, I would respect her right to make her own decisions.
He said, call me when it happens, and tell me how long the queue is at your front door.lol

I miss my dad, he was a pretty cool guy, unfortunately I inherited my mother's personality. ;D

Daughters are wonderful Mozzaok - so are sons, but they reach a certain age and suddenly detach themselves from you.

Your post reminded me of an incident when I was young.  I was 12 and some boy had asked me to a concert.  My mother was strict (didn't trust boys) and refused point blank.  I argued and argued with her and still got a no.  I wrote a letter to some woman who used to have a Dear Dorothy column in the old Sydney Sun.  It was printed but her response was that I was a spoilt brat who should listen to my mother.  Not quite what I hoped for.  I was so sure she'd be on my side.


Quote:

But she has a kind heart, and like all parents, I would gladly step in front of a bus to help her. We all start out joyfully experiencing, and accepting differences openly, but some learn to express an intolerance that is in no way natural, and if they could learn from kids, how to accept peoples differences, we would all be happier.

Little girls are kinder than boys - well outwardly anyway.  But young children have no prejudices - it is learned behaviour, usually from their parents, but occasionally from personal experience or their peers as they get older.

Quote:

We all start out joyfully experiencing, and accepting differences openly, but some learn to express an intolerance that is in no way natural, and if they could learn from kids, how to accept peoples differences, we would all be happier.

I think the capacity to discriminate based on appearance manifests as soon as our brains are developed enough to do so. What is counter-intuitive then, is practising the morality of tolerance over the desire to discriminate.

We’ve been watching the agonies of a young Chinese speaking 5 year old in the street as he tries to bond with his peers. The local kids have ostracised him because ‘he talks funny and can’t do what we tell him’ (he doesn’t speak English yet). Recently he started to lash out in frustration which has exacerbated the problem because parents have banned their kids from playing with him. Only one other kid in the street (a misfit from a dysfunctional family), continued to interact with him. Last week that family moved away and now we see the Chinese kid wandering on his own up and down the street.