Y'all need to stop with this "we are turning our tiny children into sex objects" reporting. Not because it isn't true or because it isn't important, but because it is so damn depressing. Can't I just stick my head back in the sand on this topic?

8 year old breasts.
8 year old breasts.

can we talk about this for a second?
did i miss something when i was growing up? (ok im still waiting for my breasts to come in, but still....)

@zivah: It is really depressing.

I'm totally sure that I had nothing like breasts at the age of 8. Puberty starts at 11/12, not 7/8.

Perfectly matches her Hannah Montana thong!

On the serious, I saw a Hannah Montana thong in the mall the other day.

Okay, I got my first bra when I was 11. And it was a hideous sports bra looking thing that my mom forced on me. Why would a mom buy this thing for their 8 year old, even if their 8 year old even needs a bra? This is up there with the "kiddie thong" as a WTF.

I wore ratty old sports bras until I was well into middle school. Gross, yes, but so is buying your 8 year-old a padded bra.

Last time 'developing' was discussed, several Jezzies said they had passed the flat-chest stage by the age of 8 -any thoughts from them?

I was sprouting at 10 and was happy to wear crop top under my clothes.

Maybe the padding makes it hurt less when boys snap your bra?

When I lived in the UK I would see 8 yros buying thongs all the time. A thong was new and daring to 22 yro me. Seeing Grandma buying it for the granddaughter - frightening.

@ineffable.me and Snowbunny: I started getting boobs at eight. I think it was all the growth-hormone laced milk I drank.

I dont know about some of you but I didn't have boobs till I was 15. I don't have children but if I did have a little girl her first bra is going to be like mine. I didn't have a padded bra until college.

I never put on a bra before sixteen. I had a little boy chest.

I miss the good old days of torch-carrying mobs wielding axes and pitchforks marching on department stores to burn them down for the creation of monstrosities such as this.

@AthertonMerriweather: I saw one too. Next to the Hannah Montana hair extensions and makeup kits.

@ineffable.me: No boobs until 15. They'd do better marketing to freshmen who still change for gym in the bathroom stall, so no one will see their complete lack of breasts.

shit, I was super embarased of my new breast when I was 11 and I just hit the puberty..I can't imagine being 8 and wanting to make my unexistent boobs look bigger..
like you said..that have to stop..
these future woman will be enough sexyfied in the future..there's not need to make this happen early..ahhhhhgg

It's great that these companies are helping the elementary students, but I'm anxiously awaiting toddler Spanx. You know, because eighteen months is such an awkward time. A lot of babies are still holding on to all that fat, and a trip to the park can be truly scarring. Won't someone think of the toddlers?

@AthertonMerriweather: What's sad is that I have no idea whether or not you're kidding.

@ineffable.me:I know! Do 8 year olds even have breasts? And how is giving them a padded bra that will make them look bigger supposed to cover them up!!!

Here's a thought: perhaps because you're selling these bras 8 year-old girls will become self-conscious of their breasts? Food for thought -- hope you choke on it.

I wear a lot of padded bras because it's cold where I work, and honestly, it was colder at school. Not sure about the whole "plunging" thing, but there *are* reasons other than the illusion of bigger boobs as to why someone might want padding.

Bras for 8 year olds? Even girls who go through early puberty don't have real boobs at age 8.

This might be something for a teen with a very small frame and can't find band sizes in "grown up bras"

Somewhere there may be 8 year old girls with breasts that need support and shaping. But, I don't know any of them.

@AthertonMerriweather: I bought 3 of those and a sexy Suite Life of Zac and Cody negligee

@ineffable.me: ummm, yeah. since when do 7-8 year-olds start developing breasts?
is this some euro trend i missed?

Also: 8 years-old is far from "pre-teen." I can understand when you get to 10 or 11 you'll need a bra or at least a training bra, but come on. At 8, you are still a child and I would hope that one's self-esteem at that age isn't riding on whether or not their mom will buy them a padded bra so they can fit in with their similarly padded up pals.

I still hesitate to wear a padded bra. False advertising! Why in the world would anyone buy this item? There is no possible rational use for this.

Well now I feel funny that I didn't think I needed a bra until I was 13. When I already had B's.

OMFG, how sick. Why does a 7-8 year old need a bra anyway? I'm sorry, but the vast majority of girls do not have breast that age anyway, so this is essentially slapping falsies onto a 3rd grader. Fucking sick...

I remember getting my first "training" bra, which was basically just two cloth triangles and some elastic. I was thrilled. I was also 11.

@Plum-Pie: I developed pretty young. It was weird enough having these two bumps getting in the way, I had no desire to pad or push them up!

Up where? They are as high as they will ever be.

i did the sports bra thing until i was 15/16. i don't think i even thought about a padded bra until i was in my early 20s.

@Snowbunny: Yeah, girls are developing earlier now. I was an early bloomer myself. I hated wearing bras because they are uncomfortable and it's hard to play basketball if your bra is irritating your skin. But then there was still the silent contest between my friends of who was doing what earlier (e.g.-wearing a bra, shaving, etc.)

@janna: and back then, did you curse the fact that no one had invented a padded bra for your chesticles? or did your mom just go to the mall and get you a training bra and call it a day?

@BlondeGrlz: i started wearing a bra i n 7th grade. not because i had any boobs, but because the sleeves of my school uniform blouse were pretty big and you could see my chest if i pointed towards the horizon or whatever through my sleeve.

I wore a training bra at eight and I didn't develop until...well I am still waiting.

8-year-olds don't have breasts. They have boobies. Jesus, get it right.

@Plum-Pie: Ok, I started developing at 8. The only positive thing I can say about this is you get those little nipple-buds at first that stick out of your tee-shirt and it was mortifying. I wore enormous, shapeless tee-shirts for the next three years to cover up; you could possibly argue that a thin layer of padding would smooth things out and help a girl be less self-consious.

I'm not sure they're quite pulling of this explanation, though.

@tragicallyunhip: Actually, because of growth hormones in dairy and meats we consume, girls are entering puberty much younger than before and are growing breasts at a younger age. There has been documentation of girls as young as 6 with breasts.

@AthertonMerriweather: Well, the Hannah Montana thong does go great with my "I'm really 18" t-shirt I got from Hollister*!

*Yes, Hollister did sell shirts that said "I'm really 18." I had one (I was 18 when I bought it, but looked about 15) and my dad refused to speak to me for three days, he was that pissed.

@AnnaTwitch: I'm with you.

I've got nipples that could cut glass.

The padding is really for everyone's protection.

@kgibbs:

I was going to get those but went with the High School Musical negligee.

Unfortunately, puberty IS starting earlier now, what with hormones in everything, not just food. Still, why does every female have to look like a stripper? Why rush your child to adulthood any faster than necessary? WHY dress her like a sex object?!?!!! I wish I could slow down my own daughter's growth, have her stay 7 for a few years, esp. if those horrible teen age girls are waiting for her.

@kgibbs: Were they out of the That's So Raven corset?

@KathrynwithaY loves Joan Collins: Freshman year of high school my mother finally dragged me kicking and screaming to the store to buy my first bras with actual clasps and adjustable straps. This was after one of my beloved sports bras dissolved in the washing machine.

@ineffable.me: I was like "this is cool and weird," but I was also really embarrassed to change in front of the other girls for swim class. I was the only third grader with anything going on up there. My mom did get me a training bra, which I liked in theory but couldn't stand to wear. Two years later, I was one of the only fifth graders with a period, which was also both mortifying and oddly
satisfying.

@AthertonMerriweather: I'd totally buy a Hannah Montana thong. I love Miley's music. However, I'm 24. I'd punch a mother buying that for her 8 year old.

@KathrynwithaY loves Joan Collins: So wrong...this whole things is so utterly and completely wrong.

These are the bras that 8yr olds should wear if they are in fact, in need of a bra

When I was eight years old, I didn't even have enough to fill a PADDED bra.

Now I am almost 30, and still barely have enough.

Maybe this bra for 8 year olds will work!

Good Lord. 8 year-olds DO NOT need a padded bra! Or thongs! I would have died at the suggestion of either when I was that age. We just went to the department store, bought the only "training" bra they had and that was that. They grow up fast enough already. Why is this necessary?

@janna: oh your period in 5th grade? :( thats a bummer.

Even if an 8 year old needs a bra, why in God's name would she need a padded one? Like she's self conscious about developing before all her friends, so the natural and smart way to deal with that is to exaggerate her nascent buds by putting several inches of foam on her chest?

@ineffable.me: I was in a girls chorus when I was 10-15, we HAD to wear a bra or an undershirt on stage. White blouse + stage lights = porno show, lol.

Tesco sells bras?

When a friend of mine studied in London, there was this whole story about wanting to have sex with this guy, but that meant walking to Tesco to buy condoms and they were too lazy. So forever "going to Tesco" was our main euphemism for sex.

since Tesco is the WalMart of the UK, this doesn't surprise me. Disgust me though? Yes.

So, my Monday now starts off with a kick to the crotch and the desire to puke blood...

More pictures of adult fashion-challenged women for me to heap scorn upon (though secretly I'd probably boink them anyways) please?

Thanks in advance...

@ineffable.me: I didn't even have that shaped a 'bra'. My mother got me cotton camisoles. No wires or plundges, just light soft fabric to cover and protect from my shirt. I still felt grown-up, no more full undershirts, but no need to sex it up.

@zivah: I'll join you there. That sand looks increasingly appealing. "Who knows what the ostrich sees in the sand?" as Samuel Beckett said.
Related: Beckett used to drive Andre the Giant to school in France. (In the absence of sand, I am trying to distract myself from this story with random trivia. It is not working.)