Kylie Jenner with sisters Kim and Kendall
It seems today girls are being forced to grow up at an alarmingly fast rate. At fourteen I was interested in hanging out with my friends and concentrating on my school work. However, today it emerged that some civil servants think that the age of consent should be lowered to just fourteen. The suggestion comes after the government asked officials to come up with some ideas which can feature on new laws about personal freedoms. Thankfully ministers and their advisers have rejected this plan.
The suggestion of lowering the age of consent to fourteen is a worrying thought and makes me feel like girls are being pressured to grow up at a much younger age, and before they are ready to enter the world of adulthood.
Yesterday a Mother spoke of her worry about her fourteen year old daughter who had become the victim of the alarming new trend ‘slut shaming’. The teen was called a ‘slut’ and a ‘tart with no self respect’ because she wore a pair of hot pants and a leotard for her fourteenth birthday party. The outfit resembled something a much older girl would wear if she was going on a night out with her friends.
It also emerged yesterday that a fourteen year old girl was offered the pill when she went to visit the school nurse. As she was under the age of consent it was no surprise that her Mum was not happy when she found out this had been prescribed by a school nurse. This is not a one off and it is happening in many state secondary schools up and down the country.
If you look at Kylie Jenner, sister of Kourtney, Kim and Khloe Kardashian she is only fifteen years old, but if you took a fleeting glance at her you would think she is beyond her years by the clothes and make-up she wears.
A study by Girlguiding UK showed the dark side of growing up to quickly, reporting that under fourteen’s who are being made to act in a way that they do not feel comfortable with is driving some to self-harm. The study is based on answers from guides aged fifteen and below and details that two-fifths of the girls said they had seen someone bet drunk and a quarter knew someone who had taken illegal drugs.
It would seem that society is putting a lot of pressure on young girls to grow up before they are ready to, when they should just be enjoying their carefree youth.
By Emily Brockwell.
Tagged in Kylie Jenner