Is This Bra Too Sexy for Tweens?
The controversy-causing bra. (Photo: Matalan)
Do you remember what the first bra you ever owned looked like? Mine was a white sports bra with gray trim from Limited Too, with fabric just thick enough to make me feel like there was enough underneath that was worth holding in place. (There most certainly wasn’t.)
Sexy, it was not.
But that isn’t always the case. A department store in the U.K. has come under fire recently for selling bras meant for young girls that many parents are deeming too sophisticated and even sexual.
The bra in question, which retails at Matalan for £4, features a plunging neckline and molded cups and is underwire-free. It’s available in white, nude, and black. Though the bra may look like a fairly modest option for adult women, displeased parents went ahead and reported it to the Shadow Minister for Preventing Abuse and Domestic Violence, Sarah Champion.
Champion agreed, saying, “[The bra] is sold in the 2- to 13-years-old section on the Matalan website. [Parents were] concerned that the bra was too sexualized and totally unsuitable for a young girl. I bought the bra to see for myself. […] The sale of clothes like this contributes to the sexualization of children. [We are] extremely worried that this item could be used in abusive images of children.”
Provocative children’s wear is nothing new. Platform pumps for 8-year-olds, tween undies with suggestive sayings, little-girl lingerie, and scandal-causing kids’ bikinis have all made headlines over the past several years.
A bra for young girls by Yellowberry. (Photo: Yellowberry)
For those parents who are concerned that their children’s clothing — specifically, their underthings — is making them grow up too fast, there are options. Yellowberry is a brand that makes bras and underwear specifically for young girls, to give them “an extra boost of confidence to encourage them to dream big and know they have the support to do anything in the world.” (The brand is so into modest, in fact, that none of the bra-wearing models on its site are even shown from the front.) Other tween-friendly stores like Justice also offer a wide array of age-appropriate intimates in smaller sizes.
As far as the bras at Matalan are concerned, the brand has denied the allegations — saying that the bra’s padding is there only for modesty’s sake, and not to enhance a young girl’s figure. “We purposely ensure that our girls’ bras are not sold to specific ages but are sold in sizes,” a spokesperson explained. “They have been developed following customer feedback that girls want bras to protect their modesty at this sensitive age. The bras in question are not padded so as to enhance cleavage but are a smooth molded shape to act as a modesty and comfort layer.”
They are currently still for sale online.
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