Irish Feminist Network
  • Home
  • About
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Work
    • The Coordinators
  • Publications
  • News & Events
  • Articles
  • Take Action
  • Contact Us
    • Irish Organisations

Dunnes Stores makes padded bras available in the pre-teens section.

26/11/2011

10 Comments

 
Picture
Padded bra available in the girls section of Dunnes
The children’s section of a department store should be filled with toys, clothes, and coloring books…so why is Dunnes Stores marketing lingerie to preteens?  A walk-through of the kids section of Dunnes’ Stephen’s Green location yields several clear examples of padded bras and matching frilly knickers available in childish prints, a combination that seems incongruous and just plain disturbing. 

The sexualization of children is an issue that crops up all too often these days, with the likes of baby beauty pageants and Bratz dolls routinely making headlines. Earlier this week, the Metro Herald reported that Take That singer and X Factor judge Gary Barlow had to ban music videos in his house because their content had become too racy for his three children to watch.  Barlow linked this to the bawdy dance moves displayed by young X Factor hopefuls, presumably culled from such videos.  Children imitating Beyonce or Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas seems harmless enough until you realize how much our society has latched on to these images and turned them into marketing tools aimed at what is arguably the most impressionable demographic.  Dunnes peddling padded bras in the kids department is a prime example.

Picture
Padded bra available in the girls section of Dunnes
That a preteen girl is now expected to have (or look like she has) breasts is worrying.  So is the lesson that a young girl’s power is derived from her sexuality – now taught before she even fully grasps what sexuality is.  We have somehow skipped from bras, which after all serve an anatomical function, straight to lingerie, which is intended for titillation.  That’s grand for adults, but when a girl who has not even started her period yet is expected to pad her bra, something is very wrong.  When the first brassiere she ever wears is designed not for her own comfort, but to render her attractive under a male gaze, what is that telling her?  

Furthermore, it teaches young boys that it’s okay to regard girls as sexual objects.  When I was a preteen back in the mid-90s our only option was the classic white cotton ‘training bra’.  Nothing else was made in our size, because, as my mother phrased it, ‘you have nothing to put in it!’ But I suppose my generation was lucky in that we didn’t live with the expectation that girls of 10, 11, or 12 years of age face today to don frilly knickers and matching push-up bras.  Of course there are some girls that age and even younger who genuinely need to wear a bra.  This is not the issue.  It is the design and the marketing of products that are indistinguishable from adult sexual attire wrapped in pink, bubbly, childish packaging and sold in the children’s section next to fuzzy slippers and teddy bears.  

This is hardly a new issue.  In September the Irish Independent published this article citing Dunnes’ (and Penney’s) sale of children’s padded bras.  But considering that this week we found several sets of them prominently displayed in Dunnes’ St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre location (though it should be noted that Dunnes did not appear to have such products for children as young as three as noted in the article), it doesn’t seem to have done much good.  

Picture
Blame who you want in Hollywood or the music industry for sexing-up the popular culture consumed by today’s ‘tweens’ and teens; that is a far wider issue.  The truly ridiculous thing here is that a popular family brand like Dunnes is participating in marketing such attire to girls who are simply too young for it.  I know people will say we’re grumbling here, that we have no sense of humour, or that it’s simply a fashion statement, but you wouldn’t see, say, men’s boxer shorts adorned with lip prints in the boys section.  Admittedly, there are few comparable products which could be aimed at young men to illustrate the point, which should only highlight their inappropriateness.  

Unless people speak up and tell Dunnes Stores that selling padded bras to children and preteens is not acceptable, nothing will change.  The IFN will be sending a letter to Dunnes Stores to voice our outrage over this issue and we’d encourage anyone who agrees with us to do the same.  They can be reached at: service.customer@dunnes-stores.ie

Erin - IFN Co-ordinator

10 Comments
Sharrow link
26/11/2011 10:56:30 pm

Excuse me but they are made for her comfort. Girls as young as 8 are starting puberty and the minimal amount of padding on those bras (which is aprox 1 cm)which does not make them push up bras is there to provide comfort, cushioning and protection to developing breast buds.

I am sure most ladies can remember the soreness, sensitivity and itchiness which occurs when that happens and the soreness if you happened to bang or bump your chest of anything.

Then there is also the fact that often one will develop before the other so that girls who are already self concious become even more so. That amount of light padding saves on embarrassment and helps make life a bit easier on a girl undergoing such a big transition when her body is changing.

I was pleased to see them and to have my own daughter who is going through puberty be able to wear them and to have them in such fun colours rather then awful limited choices I had when I was her age.

I sadly think that this article is a knee jerk reaction, and the real life situation of having to get a 9 year old to wear her first bra has not been considered. If she thinks it's pretty and it is more comfortable then that is a good thing and had nothing about teaching 9 t0 10 year olds about appealing to boy/men.

Reply
Rose
30/11/2011 02:47:03 am

I disagree with Sharrow.

1. The primary purpose of a bra is to lift up a weight of flesh and to support the back in doing this, not to hide the appearance of a nipple. Girls do not typically develop a weight of flesh in the boob area until the age of 15.

2. It is *very* unusual to have 'developing breast buds' that protrude to the point of needing barrier protection. This might be the sign of abnormal development or a hormonal imbalance issue. Regardless, barrier protection (the padding in the bra that Sharrow described) would only be needed in a situation where agitation was taking place. This is why the most common form of nipple barrier around is the bandaid used by male long distance runners. Female long distance runners do not generally use a bandaid for this because they are already protected by wearing a regular (*non-padded*) sports bra.

3. If there was a case of a young girl going through an atypical puberty, where she was suffering at the age of 9 with nipples that were causing the problems outlined by Sharrow, then a plain, regular, child's vest top would be sufficient barrier protection in an agitation situation.

4. The vast majority of girls going through puberty will not need a bra until approaching the age of 14 or 15. Therefore Dunnes are selling an item that is (in the vast majority of girls who will wear it) a novelty item. The novelty is that it is an adult garment that has been resized for use by children. This idea is not new by any means and there are parallels with many types of children's garments. The difference here is that the particular adult garment that is being referenced is a lingerie set - an adult garment that is often worn by a woman in a sexual scenario.

Young girls have 'played' at wearing bras for the last 20 years at least with a style of 'cropped vest'. The difference with the range of underwear blogged about above is that there is not much play or pretence about them. They are exactly the same shape (that of an adult breast - hence the need for padding) and have similar decoration (bow tie in the centre which is a lingerie reference to front opening bras, pastel 'feminine' colours, and patterns such as hearts and sequins).

Reply
chloe
15/7/2013 08:26:55 pm

you say girls of dunnes audience wouldnt need a bra until 14 or 15 but your breast buds grow for about 2 years before your period and the averege age of a girl getting her period is 12 or 13 and that would mean that breast would be developed enough for a bra by the age of 10 or 11

Reply
A.Waite
17/7/2013 12:26:23 am

these bras are padded very lightly for modesty reasons. they are not lingerie , the are girls underwear aimed at girls starting puberty and offer a very very light padding for comfort. When retailers start selling black lacy bras with matching thongs for young girls, get worried. Until then take a good look at these and welcome that underwear is now modest and pretty whilst still being in young girlish colours and prints and that our daughters can feel good about their changing bodies in without being embarrassed or ashamed. it is not promoting girls sexually at all, this is rubbish. Moral standards are taught in the home, by parents and are not dictated by under garment and certainly not by retailers. I was 12 when my breasts started to grow and my mother tried to keep me in vests and crop tops far longer than was suitable. I needed a fully padded bra from age 13 and there were zero options available at that time.

Reply
Rosalie
27/7/2013 02:42:46 am

I'm 12 and I am currently wearing a dunnes stores bra. I have got to big for a training bra. So how you think its inappropriate is beyond me.

the padding is their for comfort! without padding it hurts when you get punched or bashed in that area

Reply
kassia link
8/3/2015 06:28:03 am

Well,there are two sides to this story.one being Yes,some if their stock is quite inappropriate and shouldn't be on sale for such a young age ab d should be made more suitable aka less women's sexual under garment mini lookalikes .but two being some girls need them for self reassurance and it mightn't always be their choice as all their is are those bras in the shop.but if I may say I'm 12 and wear a 34a Dunne's bra and I bought it in the women's section and its fine the pack consists of one white and one light pink and so not look trashy of sexually enhancing,they simply do what their purpose is:give support and protect the persons breasts.thank you for reading.kassia

Reply
Rebecca link
27/7/2015 08:14:24 am

I'm 12 and I'm starting to get boobs but how do I tell my mum I need a bra

Reply
wafiya link
8/9/2020 05:54:10 am

http://lucknow.wafiya.in
http://chandigarh.wafiya.in
http://jaipur.wafiya.in
http://vadodara.wafiya.in
http://ahmedabad.wafiya.in

Reply
aa
5/10/2020 10:51:23 pm

http://want2relax.biz
http://www.lipkiss.in/agra-escorts-uttar-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/ahmedabad-escorts.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/airhostess-escorts-mumbai.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/ambedkar-nagar-escorts-uttar-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/amritsar-escorts-punjab.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/andheri-escorts-mumbai.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/bandra-escorts-mumbai.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/bangalore-escorts-karnataka.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/bareilly-escorts-uttar-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/bhuj-escorts-gujarat.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/call-girls-in-mumbai.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/belapur-escorts-maharashtra.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/bhavnagar-escorts-gujarat.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/bhopal-escorts-madhya-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/chandigarh-escorts-punjab.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/chennai-escorts-tamilnadu.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/colaba-escorts-mumbai.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/escorts-in-india.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/escorts-servic-in-mumbai.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/faizabad-escorts-uttar-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/foreigner-escorts-in-mumbai.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/gandhi-nagar-escorts-gujarat.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/gautam-buddha-nagar-escorts-uttar-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/gaya-escorts-bihar.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/ghaziabad-escorts-uttar-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/goa-escorts-goa.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/gorakhpur-escorts-uttar-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/gwalior-escorts-madhya-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/haridwar-escorts-uttarakhand.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/hyderabad-escorts-andhra-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/indian-escorts.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/indore-escorts-madhya-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/jaipur-escorts-rajsthan.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/jalandhar-escorts-punjab.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/juhu-escorts-mumbai.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/kanpur-escorts-uttar-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/karjat-escorts-maharashtra.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/kerala-escorts-kerala.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/khajuraho-escorts-madhya-pradesh1.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/khar-escorts-mumbai.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/kolkata-escorts-west-bengal.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/lucknow-escorts-uttar-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/ludhiana-escorts-punjab.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/manali-escorts-himachal-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/mathura-escorts-uttar-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/meerut-escorts-uttar-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/mohali-escorts-punjab.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/moradabad-escorts-uttar-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/mumbai call girls.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/mumbai escorts service.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/mumbai-aiport-escorts.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/mussoorie-escorts-uttarakhand.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/muzaffarnagar-escorts-uttar-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/nainital-escorts-uttarakhand.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/noida-escorts-uttar-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/panvel-escorts-maharashtra.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/pathankot-escorts-punjab.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/patna-escorts-bihar.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/pune-escorts-maharashtra.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/rajkot-escorts-gujarat.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/ranikhet-escorts-uttarakhand.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/rishikesh-escorts-uttarakhand.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/russian-escorts-in-mumbai.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/saharanpur-escorts-uttar-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/sakinaka-escorts-mumbai.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/shimla-escorts-himachal-pradesh.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/surat-escorts-gujarat.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/thane-escorts-mumbai.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/thiruvananthapuram-escorts-kerala html
http://www.lipkiss.in/vadodara-escorts-gujarat.html
http://www.lipkiss.in/vashi-escorts-mumbai.html


http://zanu.in/about.html
http://zanu.in/contact.html
http://zanu.in/gallery.html
http://zanu.in/ahmedabad-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/altamount-road-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/andheri-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/antop-hill-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/ballard-estate-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/bandra-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/belapur-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/bkc-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/borivali-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/breach-candy-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/chembur-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/churchgate-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/colaba-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/cuffe-parade-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/cumbala-hill-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/currey-road-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/dadar-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/fort-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/four-bunglows-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/ghansoli-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/goregaon-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/jogeshwari-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/juhu-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/kalamboli-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/kamothe-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/kandivali-west-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/kanjurmarg-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/khar-escorts.html
http://zanu.in/kharghar-escorts.html
http

Reply
gmail email login link
31/5/2021 06:36:15 am

This helps me a lot. Thank you!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    We welcome submissions to the blog, subject to editorial review, please contact us if you're interested. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IFN. 

    Categories

    All
    2in2u
    50:50
    Abc
    Abortion
    Abuse
    Action On X
    Advertising
    Austerity
    Backlash
    Bechdel Test
    Body Image
    Bookclub
    Book Club
    Book Review
    Broadcasting Authority Of Ireland
    Budget 2012
    Burlesque
    Caitlin Moran
    Clara Fischer
    Colette Fahy
    Comreg
    Conference
    Cosmetic Surgery
    Cuts
    Dating Violence
    Decision-making
    Democracy
    Diane Kelly
    Domestic Abuse
    Domestic Violence
    Dunnes Stores
    Edinburgh Fringe Festival
    Education
    Emma Regan
    Empowerment
    Equality Audit
    Eu Commission
    Events
    Female Sexual Experience
    Female Sexuality
    Feminism
    Feminism And Gendered Economic Inequality
    Feminism And The University
    Feminism And Young People
    Feminist Activism
    Feminist Books
    F Word
    F-word
    Gaa
    Gender Budgeting
    Gender Equality
    Gender Quotas
    Gender Stereotyping
    Gender-stereotyping
    Ger Walsh
    Government
    GRL
    Guest Blog Post
    Guest Post
    How To Be A Woman
    Hunky Dorys
    Ici
    Ifn
    #IFN2012
    Ifn Conference
    Ifn Events
    Immigrant Council Of Ireland
    Independentwoman.ie
    Ireland
    Irish Examinar
    Irish Feminist Movements
    Irish Feminist Network
    Irish Independent
    Irish Society
    Irish Times
    Iwd
    Jeanette Winterson
    Letters To The Editor
    Lgbt
    Liberation
    Literature
    Marketing
    Maternity Leave
    Media
    Media Images
    Menstruation
    Michelle Mulherin
    Mick Wallace
    Missrepresentation
    Miss Representation
    Music
    Naomi Elster
    News Media
    Nwci
    Objectification
    Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit
    Over Sexualisation
    Padded Bras
    Parental Leave
    Paternity Leave
    Poetry
    Politics
    Posters
    Pre-teens
    Priests For Life
    Privilege Checking
    Pro Choice
    Pro-choice
    Prostitution
    Queer
    Quotas
    Recession
    Reform
    Reproductive Rights
    Ruth Farnan
    Rydyard Kipling
    Science
    Sex
    Sex Education
    Sexism
    Sexism In The Media
    Sexuality
    Sexual Violence
    Silent Majority
    Sisters
    Spunout.ie
    Stripping
    Submissions
    Syria
    Transgender
    Trump
    Turn Off The Red Light
    Tv3
    Twilight
    Under Representation
    United Nations
    Vincent Browne
    Violence
    Weight
    Wexford
    Whai
    Women
    Women Hurt
    Women In Science
    Women In Sport
    Women In Syria
    Women's Aid
    Women’s History Association Of Ireland
    Workshop
    X Case

    Archives

    July 2017
    November 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    May 2011

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Work
    • The Coordinators
  • Publications
  • News & Events
  • Articles
  • Take Action
  • Contact Us
    • Irish Organisations