If you thought Barbie was bad, take a look at the new dolls that kids are playing with these days.
Over Thanksgiving break, a young cousin of mine left her favorite doll on the table near where I was sitting. I took a quick glance at the toy and then picked it up for further inspection. I was shocked at what I saw. Not only did it have skinnier legs and a bustier chest than Barbie, but the doll was wearing a mini skirt, a halter top that revealed her midriff and all of her back, stripper boots and a thong! My older cousins and I couldn’t believe toy companies were marketing such a slutty-looking doll, not to mention the fact that my aunt bought it for her kids.
However, after thinking it over for a bit, I realized the toy manufacturers that made this doll are just representing what is common in our society today. More and more teenage girls and college women are dressing up to go out by barely wearing anything at all.
On the weekend, bars on Water Street are filled with women wearing skirts so short and tops so tiny that if they bend over you get a glimpse at all their God-created goodies. And, to top that off, they end up dancing with some sex-driven, obviously excited, butt-groping guy that dry humps them on the dance floor.
My question is: What is the point? Why are women willing and wanting to dress and act like they are ready for a one-night stand? Although there may be some women who do want that kind of sexual experience, I would hazard a guess that the majority of them do not.
Instead, I believe many women dress and behave this way because they crave male attention or a relationship. I have met so many girls who hope that guys will like them, that they feel rejected and ugly if they do not get that attention they desire. Society shows us that the only way a woman can get her self-worth or think herself beautiful is through men.
Not only is this wrong, but it is outrageous. Women deserve and need more respect for themselves. They need to believe they are beautiful and captivating without having men tell them so; they need to find self-fulfillment from within.
It is my hope that women become more cognizant of what exactly it is they are advertising when they wear practically nothing and dance with men they don’t know. Are they doing it to get male attention and thus self-worth? If they are, I ask that these women take a step back and realize what a mistake that is to their self-image.

On the other hand, men need to take a stand against the objectification of women as well. Although not every guy is the aforesaid mentioned type that just wants to get down a girl’s pants, there are definitely guys out there who are willing to play off of a woman’s emotions to get what they want.

Instead of viewing women as sex objects, men should treat women with more respect.

Instead of encouraging women to take off their clothes, men need to be appreciative of those who decide to leave them on. And remember that even if a woman is dressed scantily, it doesn’t mean that there is an open invitation to grasp, grope, fondle or have sex with her.

Society will not and cannot diminish its tirade of sex appeal advertisements until we start realizing that it is degrading to women and refuse to buy into that idea.

Women and men need to take a stand against society’s ploy of what advertisers think makes women beautiful. If they don’t, barely clothed children’s toys will be the least of our worries as younger kids start dressing like the people they see in their community and our little brothers, sisters and cousins start acting the way the media depicts women and men to behave.