Political correctness gone mad?

As you can tell from the photograph below, I have always been one mighty fine looking bird. Modesty too is another of those virtues helping keep me humble.
Aside from my above-average intelligence, prodigious talent, obvious inner poise and breath-taking external beauty, I have been reliably informed the one thing that really sets me apart from the 'Average Avril' is that I simply don't look my age.
In fact it may shock you to learn that next year I will celebrate my 16th anniversary - admittedly it will be the 16th anniversary of the day I turned two - but that just proves my point. I mean, really. How damn young can one girl look?
In a normal world, the 'baby' fat around my hips, thighs and stomach area is all the evidence needed to prove I have unlocked the secret to eternal youth.
But I realise I'm dealing with a tough crowd, so I would ask that you don't just take my word for it. Instead speak with anyone who has partaken in her majesty's hospitality where I think you'll find my photo has proved prrrrretty popular among the inmates - even if I do say so myself.
And speaking of prisons, photographs and all other unmentionables beginning with the letter p . . .
It seems perennial whipping boys David Jones and Myer have again been fingered over what the Australian Institute alleges is the "sexualisation of Australia's children".
A report by one of its staffers - Dr Emma Rush - argues that by stocking items such as bra tops for pre-pubescent girls, lip gloss for toddlers and skimpy underwear designed to be worn by children, the department store duo are encouraging pedophiles to see children as sexually available.
Rush also argues that by using suggestive photographs of children in their advertising they are encouraging young girls to focus on their bodies.
Tween labels Frangipani Rose and Fred Bare have also been collared in the report, accused of posing children - in one case the designer's own child - like adults with hips tilted and lips slightly parted in an effort to flog their wares.
Of course both the labels and retailers have strongly denied the claims with DJs so angry at being embroiled in the controversy chief executive Mark McInnes put in a testy call to the Canberra-based institute threatening legal action if all references to his company were not removed.
On this point I reckon the rage felt by McInnes and his mates is completely justified.
According to adolescent psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, the average age at which girls now hit puberty is about 12, where as 100 years ago it was 16. Not only this, but growing up in a world of mass communication - where kids have regular access to mobile phones and the internet sometimes as early as five - means children are losing their innocence much earlier than in years gone by.
Blaming Myer and DJs et al for the sexuality of children is akin to blaming McDonald's for the obesity epidemic.
Ultimate responsibility lies with the parents.
The kids are the consumers but the parents are the decision-makers in both instances. They are the final arbiters of whether or not these products will be snapped up off the shelves. Myer and DJs are merely catering for a market that already exists rather than creating the demand.