Female students as young as 10 years old are showing up at public schools with bare midriffs sporting pierced belly buttons.
They follow in the footsteps of male students who wear sagging jeans to expose their butt cracks.
Schools are responding by tightening dress codes and issuing extra-long T-shirts to the hoochie-coochie girls.
Behind the latest style outrage are the same old child panderers: teen magazines, television spots, MTV and retailers such as Old Navy and The Gap. But even staid J.C. Penney is pushing revealing clothes for teenyboppers.
Besides the navel displays, some young girls are also sporting sparkling eye shadow, lip gloss, micro-mini skirts, tank tops, backless dresses and low-rise jeans to show off thongs and string bikinis.
Girls with belly-button rings complain they can’t wear regular jeans because they chafe their abdominal jewelry.
Are there better arguments for mandatory school uniforms in public schools? (9 SEPTEMBER 2001)
