National Organization for Women-New York State says:

Spirit Halloween's Deletion of Sexual Language in Children's Costume Ads Is Not Good Enough

ALBANY, NY (10/28/2012)(readMedia)-- The National Organization for Women, New York State says Spirit Halloween and its Owner, Acon Investments, must STOP sexualizing girls. NOW is responding to Spirit's recent decision to delete in several of their advertisements the highly sexualized wording in children's costume descriptions. Spirit's deletion (for ads aimed at girls as young as 9 and 13 years old) was the result of a national Twitter campaign by the group, Miss Representation:

http://www.missrepresentation.org/notbuyingit/notbuyingit-spirit-halloweens-costumes-for-teen-girls/

NOW-NYS President Marcia Pappas explained: "Thanks to Miss Representation's recent Twitter campaign, Spirit Halloween was forced to remove the sexual language from children's costume ads." The company had been marketing a costume ad aimed at 13-year-old girls for a TEEN "Rag Doll" costume encouraging young girls to sexually experiment with boys. The ad said: "You are all grown up now, so why not find out if BIG boys like to play with dolls!" http://sgvnowproject.weebly.com/

Ms. Pappas continued, "Deleting sexual costume description language is not good enough. Spirit and ACON continue to cause serious harm to children through their marketing of Halloween costumes, which sexualize children." Ms. Pappas said that "marketing sexy kids' costumes pressures little girls to look sexy, which has a damaging and destructive effect. One July 2012 study reported the shocking finding that 6-year-old girls want to be sexy, and see themselves as sexual objects.

http://www.livescience.com/21609-self-sexualization-young-girls.html

Pappas concluded: "The harm to children is clear: when girls are sexualized, it causes low-self esteem, eating disorders, depression and a distorted/negative body image, as reported by a 2007 American Psychological Association Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. We request that ACON Investments and Spirit Halloween agree to market only age-appropriate, non-sexualized children's costumes for 'tween and teen girls. We urge ACON Investments to listen to parents and consumers who want positive, non-sexualized costume choices for young girls."