While it would definitely help, the truth is kids brains are a hormonal mess. No matter what and how well we teach 'em, there comes a ‘breaking point’ where the chemical imbalance will override any ‘training’
While double standards absolutely suck and should be eliminated wherever possible I think it’s totally fair to have rules like this for kids (at least for now)
Just because my 13 year old brain knew 'girls are people too doesnt mean my 13 year old hormones cared about that when saying ‘I like this’
This is not something that can be fixed overnight or in a single generation. And it will never be fixed 100%.
I can pretty much guarantee that even in the remote villages where toplessness is a normal part of everyday life there are still the ‘oddballs’ who love boobs and sexualize them.
Besides what the other person said, it’s much deeper than “boobs = sexy.” It’s a culture that blames young girls for boys and grown men finding them sexually attractive. Even in your “oddballs” example, we don’t ban people from going barefoot because some people are into feet (probably the most common fetish in the world thanks to biology). If people have a problem with that, it’s their problem, not the person that they’re objectifying.
I agree that it’s not a quick fix, but it starts with teaching boys to have some simple self control and basic empathy and not making the girls shoulder all the responsibility of boys being horny. But that also starts long before you ever get to a summer camp, and that’s also an important part of the topic. Like I said, it’s a deeply rooted cultural issue.
Never said there was an overnight or one-stop fix.
I’m suggesting that with children developing socially together throughout childhood without being forced to conform to pink and blue norms we would be a lot better off navigating the social challenges we face during sexual development.
That opposed to the experience we had in my youth of peeking over the proverbial wall staring into the garden at what we had been told our whole lives were strange creatures that bore sex as their primary purpose rather than being people who had the same human experiences and emotions as us.
Also i disagree with your sentiment about training and breaking points. Children can easily understand consent. They do, however, need mentors facilitating an environment safe enough they can talk through feelings.
E: rewording some stuff to avoid binaries, assigning genders, etc
While it would definitely help, the truth is kids brains are a hormonal mess. No matter what and how well we teach 'em, there comes a ‘breaking point’ where the chemical imbalance will override any ‘training’
While double standards absolutely suck and should be eliminated wherever possible I think it’s totally fair to have rules like this for kids (at least for now)
Just because my 13 year old brain knew 'girls are people too doesnt mean my 13 year old hormones cared about that when saying ‘I like this’
This is not something that can be fixed overnight or in a single generation. And it will never be fixed 100%.
I can pretty much guarantee that even in the remote villages where toplessness is a normal part of everyday life there are still the ‘oddballs’ who love boobs and sexualize them.
Besides what the other person said, it’s much deeper than “boobs = sexy.” It’s a culture that blames young girls for boys and grown men finding them sexually attractive. Even in your “oddballs” example, we don’t ban people from going barefoot because some people are into feet (probably the most common fetish in the world thanks to biology). If people have a problem with that, it’s their problem, not the person that they’re objectifying.
I agree that it’s not a quick fix, but it starts with teaching boys to have some simple self control and basic empathy and not making the girls shoulder all the responsibility of boys being horny. But that also starts long before you ever get to a summer camp, and that’s also an important part of the topic. Like I said, it’s a deeply rooted cultural issue.
Never said there was an overnight or one-stop fix.
I’m suggesting that with children developing socially together throughout childhood without being forced to conform to pink and blue norms we would be a lot better off navigating the social challenges we face during sexual development.
That opposed to the experience we had in my youth of peeking over the proverbial wall staring into the garden at what we had been told our whole lives were strange creatures that bore sex as their primary purpose rather than being people who had the same human experiences and emotions as us.
Also i disagree with your sentiment about training and breaking points. Children can easily understand consent. They do, however, need mentors facilitating an environment safe enough they can talk through feelings.
E: rewording some stuff to avoid binaries, assigning genders, etc