Why Tweens are Too Young for a Brazilian Wax

Madeline Holler — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:34:00 GMT

Jeez, I can think of a million reasons, the first of which: is there anything to wax?

The other 999,999 reasons … come on. I know we’re sexualizing girls at younger and younger ages, but 10? Waxing her pubes?

Apparently, you're never too young for this Australian website, read by girls aged 9 to 14. In an article about Brazilian waxing, they try hard to make the case:

So why does it appeal. Nobody really likes hair in their private regions and this removes it.

In another article (yes, more than one on the site), there's this description of what exactly happens. The good news is, I feel like this might deter all but the most goaded young kids.

Wax is smeared onto the mons, the cloth is pressed into place...then they turn the music up loud...rrripppp. It's quite normal for the waxer to throw your legs over their shoulder, or ask you to moon them so they can get the strays. The waxer then goes over your red bits with a pair of tweezers to pluck out recalcitrant strands.

Why does “pluck out recalcitrant strands” make me cross my legs?

One Australian writer, appalled by the notion that some celebrate getting rid of the just-grown hairs of adolescence, gives us a rundown of how things are going in the land of kiddie hair removal. (And you say marketers aren't savvy.)

As a cosmetic pharmaceutical company, Nair is obliged to reinvent normal bodily functions as problems with handy product solutions. And the Australian arm of the company has claimed its target audience is slightly older, in an attempt to distance itself from the US campaign, which involves phrases such as "Pretty isn't a look. It's a feeling," "Nair will leave your skin smooth and totally touchable!" and this pearler from Stacey Feldman, vice-president for marketing at Nair's parent company, Church & Dwight: "When a girl removes hair for the first time, it's a life-changing moment."

Life-changing, indeed! Now, about teaching girls the proper names for body parts, better add “mons” to the list so the little tykes know exactly what they're getting in to.

Color: The Alphabet of Our Kids' Future?

Karen Murphy — Thu, 31 May 2007 14:03:00 GMT

I always used to see the letters of the alphabet as colors, an eccentricity I mostly kept to myself thinking it was just a little too weird for most people. Turns out I'm not alone: there's a new alphabet that's based solely on color, which, if it catches on and doesn't become a 21st century Esperanto, could influence the communication of our kids and eventually, their kids.

Sure, there's probably not much we adults can conceive to do with this other than say, "Cool! A rainbow that spells something! Now what?" but our kids don't think like we do, at least not yet. Right now, about all you can do is join the Kromofons (that's the name of the alphabet but don't let that spoil your experience) community and send one another Kmail, coded in color. Or you can paint the outside of your house and send a message to your entire neighborhood. But I'm sure your kids can think of things to do with it that don't involve spray paint or tattoos.

Strollerderby : eccentricities

Why Tweens are Too Young for a Brazilian Wax

Color: The Alphabet of Our Kids' Future?