... but I've heard that very young girls are openly admired in Italy. The custom is accepted because the admiration is always (or nearly always) respectful. The males are often either people they know or people known n the community. The girls are usually flattered and smile. Young Italian girls are encouraged to feel proud of their budding sexuality.

I believe that the problem with admiring preteens in the States (where I live) is that there are too many ill-intentioned males who would mistake a young girl's smile as an invitation to approach and possibly molest her.

Even in the US, there used to be a tradition of respecting a preteen girl's right to a sovereign childhood. However, that seems to have completely eroded in the face of a toxic rise in predatory child molestation and the increased commercial sexualization of young females.