That assumes that they find something to confront. In many cases, you’re right. But I think in more cases than most people realize, people just don’t see anything wrong with this kind of thing. It’s “cute.” It’s “fun.” It’s “what the kids want, and it’s only clothing.” Jack Perry’s last comment captures what I was thinking on this.

I always wondered why women dressed that way, so many years ago, I actually asked a young woman (early 20s). She shrugged and answered was, “Because it’s cute.”

Oh! “Cute” is a word innocent and generic enough that I understood she didn’t dress that way to attract the attention of males. (Of course, that’s probably the motivation most men attribute to women for selecting that sort of dress. Correct me if I’m wrong.)

Reflecting on it later, my confusion returned. Her answer didn’t seem all that enlightening, and I began to wonder if even she knew what on earth her answer meant, or if it was just a superficial, unreflected response conditioned by glossy magazines telling her what to wear.

I honestly don’t know, and I’ve given up trying to figure it out.

IMNSHO, this is a function of parents without well-defined standards who also haven’t grown up themselves, and judge what is appropriate for their children by what is cool in the culture, what they would want if they were 8 themselves, or what their kids ask for. They just aren’t being the adults in the situation, plus they don’t have a moral compass that indicates there’s anything wrong here.

And I can’t remember the original source, but I’ve heard kids who have been all trolloped up like that by their parents called “prostitots.” Apt, but scary.