An Inky exclusive: 11-year-olds don’t have boobs

There’s a story in today’s Inquirer that reminded me a little too much of Nabakov’s protagonist in Lolita, and that’s probably not so good. Well, okay, there’s nothing lewd in the story — and it’s written by a woman — but it’s just, well, weird: Little girls are shopping at Victoria’s Secret.

That, in itself, not so surprising. Have you ever been to a mall recently? Girls who are like 10 are buying condoms. In my day we boys had to wait until at least sixth grade for girls to get hot, and then we had to wait another four years or so to be savvy enough to dupe some girl into a liplock. But I digress.

The story just contains some strange anecdotes. For example, the one in the lead about the two girls — both 11 — profiled and about how they don’t have breasts yet. (Really. That’s the lead.) And this quote from one of their moms: “They’re still outwardly mobile.” Whoo!

And, then, of course, there’s the final portion of the story:

The girls eyed a leather-covered stuffed pink dog, but put it back when they saw the $70 price tag. They looked at cotton lounge pants, but each owns several pairs.

They settled on sweatpants. Lily bought the yellow ones, Brittany preferred the green. They cost $68 apiece.

Oh, the $70 item is too much, but $68? That’s just fine. Someone needs to take these girls to Franklin Mills.

Victoria’s Secret? Kids [Inky]