If you asked anyone above the age of 18 to look back at who they were at the ages of eight to 12, nine times out of ten, they’d cringe. Horrified at their awful hairstyles, outfit choices, or aesthetic choices, which were embarrassing in hindsight.

Justice, the OG Tween store that supplied enormous amounts of galaxy leggings, sparkly t-shirts, and denim dresses and jackets was aimed to soften the transition between “cringy” childhood and the mature adolescent

In the 2000s and 2010s, Justice ruled the tween and early-teen industry, middle school being the transition period where kids start to pay attention to social dynamics.

The desire to fit in, be pretty or cool, is becoming an increasing concern for girls especially as they are exposed to greater beauty pressures compared to boys.

Justice’s appeal went beyond their “cool girl” fashion. On the website, the young models looked real. They weren’t extremely skinny girls with certain phenotypes but rather models that represented a diverse range of sizes, skin tones, and hair types. Justice was the first major American notable children’s brand that showcased girls with Afros, flyaway braids, and mid-sized to larger body types. Justice highlighted body acceptance and diversity to girls experiencing a period of extreme criticism and scrutiny.

Even their sweatshirts embody the message with phrases like “Unity,” “Equality Peace Hope,.” Messages parents across the country should be satisfied with.

So why did Justice file for bankruptcy?

Well, the blame falls on changing mainstream media and a dying preteen culture.

The lack of digestible media for preteens has contributed to the culture’s decline. Shows from 20110s and below where a great time for tween media Movies were popular and mass produced and shows such as Violetta, that’s so Raven, Everybody Hate’s Chris, any show on Disney, TeenNick, and Disney XD were widely available.

Prominent cartoons such as Winx Club, Monster High and Ever After High presented female characters that tween girls could look up to both fashion and behavioral wise while still being entertaining enough for parents to sit and watch if needed, .

However, many of these shows aimed at the tween demographic have experienced cancellation, finished production, or simply disappeared. Very few are still released regularly, removing the transitional bridge between children and teenage media. Subsequently, it leads to preteens being exposed to content that is too mature for them.

Even the few releases in recent years that is explicitly for tweens, for example, “Turning Red” (2020), was heavily criticized for its childish themes and “annoying” characters. Despite the movie covering topics tweens experience such as menstrual cycles, crushes, puberty and the complex social system that is middle school.

Furthermore, there is lack of physical “third places” for tweens in America. ‘Third Space” according to Sociologist Ray Oldenburg, refers to a place outside of the house (first place) and work (second place), where socialization and community building can take place. However, due to hyper capitalism, many third places no longer exist or are too expensive for the average American family to enjoy.

Third places still exist but not for preteens. Children have parks and playgrounds. High school students have coffee shops and adults have gyms and clubs. When people in a particular age group have limited places to meet, they turn to social media.

Social media, which has been documented to increase homogeneity and in teens cases as they enter spaces which are supposed to be dominated by older age groups, they begin to emulate the behaviors of those groups to fit in, or more specifically influencers.

Hence, the adultification of tweens and the death of the awkward phase.

Now, when you scroll on TikTok and see videos of 10-year-olds ravaging Sephora in search of skincare products or 12- to 13-year-old girls filming GRWMs putting on 6 layers of makeup for school.

You’ll be less quick to judge and instead understand the nuances of growing up in this current age.

And that’s it for “What’s Your Take?” Stay tuned for my next issue.

Signing out,

Chloe Ayonmike