Young children are being sexualised by provocative music videos which resemble soft pornography, according to a top music producer.
Mike Stock, who helped to launch the career of Kylie Minogue, said: “The music industry has gone too far. It’s not about me being old fashioned. It’s about keeping values that are important in the modern world.
“These days you can’t watch modern stars – like Britney Spears or Lady Gaga – with a two-year-old.
Pornography
“Ninety-nine per cent of the charts is R ‘n’ B and 99 per cent of that is soft pornography.”
Mr Stock’s warning comes amidst concern over the increasing pressure being heaped upon young children.
The 58-year-old producer, one third of the well known pop factory Stock, Aitken and Waterman, continued: “Kids are being forced to grow up too young. Look at the videos. I wouldn’t necessarily want my young kids to watch them.
Embarrassed
“I would certainly be embarrassed to sit there with my mum.”
He added: “Before children even step into school, they have all these images – the pop videos and computer games like Grand Theft Auto – confronting them and the parents can’t control it.
“Talking to mothers’ groups, they were saying that even they have lost faith in brands like Disney.
Criticised
“They were quite happy to put kids in front of the telly to watch Hannah Montana but recently Miley Cyrus [who played Montana] has shown off her maturing body.”
Mr Stock also criticised a new clothing range, featuring short skirts and slashed tops, launched by Madonna and her 13-year-old daughter last week.
He warned that many mothers are concerned about the pressure to wear such clothes and make-up at an early age.
Pornified
In March research revealed that many teenage girls were being pressurised by their boyfriends to engage in sexual acts taken from pornographic films.
A number of teenage girls hit out at modern liberal mums who did little to protect them from ‘pornified’ boys.
“I wish my parents would say I’m not allowed to be home alone with a boy”, said one 16-year-old girl. “I wish they’d say boys aren’t allowed in my bedroom.
“They make this big deal about ‘trusting us’, but that’s not helping me”, she said. “They have no idea what goes on, and I’m too embarrassed to tell them.”
Harmed
Earlier this year a report, commissioned by the Home Office, warned that children are being harmed by exposure to sexual and violent images in the media and parents have limited opportunities to prevent it.
Author of the report, psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos, said there was a clear link between the intake of sexual imagery and violence towards women.
Dr Papadopoulos called for more stringent regulation of sexual imagery in advertising and a ban on selling lads’ mags to under-16s.
Objects
In the report she said: “The evidence gathered in the review suggests a clear link between consumption of sexualised images, a tendency to view women as objects and the acceptance of aggressive attitudes and behaviour as the norm.”
And in August last year the director of a centre for rape victims cautioned that suggestive clothing and explicit music videos were putting children at risk by changing what they deem unacceptable.
Dr Catherine White warned that the increasing use of adult images in youth culture is eroding society’s values and making it difficult for young people to say “that’s not right”.
She said the number of young people under the age of 18 being admitted to the centre exceeded their expectations, adding “we estimated we would see about 250 every year. We saw 400 in the first and it’s continued to grow”.