There is much to despise in modern pop culture - but the thing that revolts me most is the sexualision of children by toymakers and TV programmers. We humans have a very short timespan in which to live free of sexual desires and neuroses - little over 10 years - and adults who violate that space for mere commerical gain deserve the worst that life has to throw at them.

At the risk of sounding like an old man, our society is going off the rails.

CORRECTION: It is already OFF THE RAILS, and there's no hope of getting back on as long as we enslave ourselves to Corporations and the sociopaths who run them.

Case in point: the "BRATZ" dolls (see photo above) - in essence, training kits for future whores and porn starlets (not to mention another generation of women even more disfunctional than the last).

An open letter to Target: Child pornography or harmless toy?

I'm not sure who's buying these lingerie-clad babies. One would assume child molesters. Can you tell me why these baby dolls are wearing thongs? Is this a new fad for infants? I'm giving these two dolls the benefit of the doubt that they're good girls forced to work as topless dancers to pay for formula and pacifiers. They couldn't actually be a dominatrix prostitute and a hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold as their outfits seem to imply, right? Maybe I'm wrong and these aren't babies at all. The upcoming Bratz Babyz DVD states they've got to "put on their makeup" and "look hotter than hot" which would lead me to believe that they're perhaps middle-aged sex-workers. But I doubt it since their website states that the Bratz Babyz are "keepin' it real in the crib" and "already know how to flaunt it". By the way, where is the crib? Because I'm looking at the product line and these babies seems to have bypassed the bassinette and instead prefer to straddle a giant banana.

More from OZ: Sexed-up images hurt girls

Looking at popular music videos, the authors quoted songs by the Pussycat Dolls (Don'tcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?), Kid Rock (So blow me bitch I don't rock for cancer, I rock for the cash and the topless dancers), and 50 Cent (I tell the hos (whores) all the time, Bitch get in my car). The report said that "sexualisation of women is particularly prominent in advertising," and singled out beer commercials as a major offender. Also cited was a Skechers shoe ad that features pop singer Christina Aguilera dressed as a schoolgirl in pitgails, with her shirt unbuttoned while licking a lollipop. The popular Bratz dolls, the study noted, depict "girls marketed in bikinis, sitting in a hot tub, mixing drinks, and standing around, while the 'Boyz' play guitar and stand with their surf boards," it said. The dolls come dressed in miniskirts, fishnet stockings, and feather boas.

Unclean: Racy wear for kids under fire

Psychologists and parents have urged companies to consider the impact of selling lingerie especially designed for eight to 16-year-olds. Kylie Minogue's range of underwear is the latest "tween" product to come under fire. The Holeproof Love Kylie Princess range includes bras and high-cut briefs trimmed with glitter, and is aimed at eight to 16-year-olds and sold at Target stores... ...Kylie joins other brands and franchises already developing the girls' lingerie market such as Bratz, Barbie and My Little Pony. Australian Childhood Foundation CEO Dr Joe Tucci said companies were not thinking enough about the implications of marketing such products to young girls. "It's not helpful for children's development to be exposed to essentially adult concepts at such a young age, especially when kids aren't developmentally able to understand what it all means," he said. Dr Tucci said he had seen an increase in children as young as 10 showing problems with sexual behaviour. "These are kids who are quite young, who are engaging in behaviour that is sexual and sometimes harmful to other kids," he said. ... ...A weblink inviting girls to join the Love Kylie Princess Club was next to a blurb describing adult Love Kylie lingerie as "sexy, lacy, racy, girly, fun, comfortable for every day . . . and night."

Pre-teen girls flirt with danger

Other signs of the early sexualisation of girls include T-shirts worn by five-year-olds with "flirt" written across the chest, magazines telling pre-teens to lose weight and style their hair to attract boys, and advertisements showing girls in sexy poses. Bratz dolls, which were the top-selling toy for girls in Australia last year, can come dressed in sexy clothing such as fishnet stockings and feather boas, sit in hot tubs wearing bikinis, mix drinks, and hang out with boys, the report says. "Bratz babyz", which are marketed at girls aged three, are dressed in leather and lingerie.

That fact that you have to ask: Don't turn your children into a sex symbol.

There is, of course, a huge dose of hypocrisy that accompanies this sexualisation of children. Children are more cosseted and closely supervised than ever. Gone are the days when we allowed our kids to roam free, to climb trees, explore their surroundings and have adventures away from parental interference. Mothers lose sleep over the thought that sex offenders like Mr Baldy might be set free to live in their suburb. Yet these same mothers think nothing of letting their eight-year-old daughters leave the house dressed like tiny streetwalkers. British Tory leader David Cameron said irresponsible businesses were to blame for the "harmful and creepy" sexualisation of children. The father of three said he was concerned by the impact on children of the increasingly aggressive interface of commercialisation and sexualisation. He pointed out that only parental pressure had forced retailer Bhs to withdraw a range of padded bras and sexy knickers for the under-10s. When under-10s are expected to look sexy, something is seriously wrong.

I've noticed a peculiar behaviour amongst American mothers (a phenomenon that has happened to other male acquaintances). When walking down a street towards a mother and her kid, the woman will shunt the child away from me. Clearly, she's fearful that I'm a physical threat to her child...and appears to be operating under the delusion that child molesters are stupid enough to grab a kid IN FRONT OF ITS MOTHER and RUN AWAY WITH THE SCREAMING BRAT UNDER ONE ARM, all without BEING STOPPED BY POLICE, BYSTANDERS, OR THE MOTHER HERSELF.

Memo to stupid cows everywhere: the guy who molests your kid will most likely be someone in the family, or someone you know - um, like the cute guy you just met on Match.com. "Oh, but he's so handsome! Cute guys don't molest kiddies!"

Think again, toots.

On a side note, I generate 24% of my household electricity from a small turbine on the back of my neck.

My head spins a lot.