Media and The Sexualization of Young Girls

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Robinson

Brianna Robinson

English 4

Dunfy

Media and The Sexualization of Young Girls

        

Introduction

        Why is it that you walk down the streets now a days and see 13 year olds wearing clothes that could make a seasoned stripper blush? Why do I see 10 year olds wearing more make up than I have ever worn in my 17 years of life? What is causing these little girls to want to be considered “sexy” ,  To feel the need to have boyfriends and trade in Barbie dolls for push up bras?

        Media is bashing the idea of sex and the glamour of it all into everything and it’s talking a major effect. Instead of watching Barney, young girls are looking up to the Kardashians, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan. They’re watching movies where the beautiful girls with the makeup and the flirty personalities get the best opportunities, the Attention of all the guys, and the popularity that so many seek. They see the ads telling us how to be beautiful and what the guys want.

The change in behavior of young girls these days is becoming more drastic. We’ve gone from girls covering every part of their body in fear of being called “easy” or “loose”, to showing up in school with miniskirts and belly shirts. The way the sleazy girl dressed in old movies is similar to how the “good” girls dress today.

The message that girls are receiving these days are more confusing than ever. Although standards have changed, the ever present double standard has remained we’re taught through media a certain way to act and dress, yet still face the horror of being known as a “whore”.  It raises the question what is accepted and what is expected?

        We live in a culture where major chain stores sale junior panties that read “who needs credit cards…”. Where prime time shows contain elements of under aged sex and sexual violence. Toddlers playing with dolls dressed in fishnets and miniskirts. We are constantly assaulted with the message that youth is “hotness” and “hotness’ is essential.

        These media depictions counteract healthy, progressive ideas of female sexuality. Instead they’re teaching young girls to undermine themselves and embracing low self esteem. They push girls to devalue their bodies, intellect, and abilities, and to believe that there is no such thing as female sexual empowerment. They encourage girls to advertently make themselves more vulnerable to sexual violence and exploitation.

        Fortunately, there are ways to help children and adolescents to demystify the media images, negotiate sexuality in appropriate and positive ways, and empower themselves. I hope to show several examples to help work with girls to dismantle these dangerous myths, there has been a time when mass media was more influential in our daily lives and more dangerous to the consumers. We need to fix this problem from the ground up.

  1. Media and its Effects

“todays children and young men and women have sexual identities that spiral around paper and celluloid phantoms” –Naomi Wolf, the beauty myth

Naomi is referring to the likes of playboy and the degrading music videos.  She's referring to the plank torsos in women’s magazines, the image of the sexy yet sweet girl next door. This is what people accept to be normal. This is what media looks like. Turn on your TV and there is no doubt these are the things you will see. This is what our young girls look up to and inspire to be. There Is a sexual air on just about everything you watch.

For so long female sexuality was repressed and controlled in the media. There were times when any type of sexual behavior initiated by females, or between two unmarried people was banned on TV. Girls were punished and outcast for being “sluts”. Now there is much more acceptance with the idea of female sexuality. The media shows us women who flaunt their sexuality and use their looks to get what they want. The problem is how the media depicts female empowerment.

Media is mishandling and distorting girl’s sexuality. Children are engaging in sexual activity at younger ages, rates of teen pregnancies are rising, and the incidence of STD’s among teens is alarmingly high. Unfortunately a lot of media aren’t worried about respecting or advocating for young girls. They are driven by profit and ratings. Cultivating consumers at the earliest age possible is the central goal. Some people believe that media isn’t really that effective.

People say oh its just TV, no real harm, yet if its just TV why is there such a widespread concern with sexy girls in the media? Isn’t entertainment supposed to be fictionalized? If we care about girls’ empowerment, aren’t these images helping to challenge constraints that disallow girls’ desire and sexual development, or are they portraying gender roles and body images that are ultimately destructive?

Even for those of us that seek to be open-minded, nonjudgmental, and healthy in our approach to sexuality, media images and messages are minefields. Ofcourse we don’t want girls and young women to have to cover their bodies in shame, but is it really okay for girls to idealize and strive for body types that require diet ads, unhealthy levels of exercise , bulima, and plastic surgery to attain? We don’t want want sex to be a taboo topic or a too scandalous to share secret, but aren’t there drawbacks to the media theme that a girls “hotness” is more important than almost anything else? It’s crucial that people realize just how effective media really is .

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Market research indicates that children and teenagers are major media consumers. A 2005 kaiser family foundation study found that eight-to eighteen year olds spend an average six and a half hours a day with media (Durham, 30). According to the marketing firm teen research unlimited, American teenagers spend 11.2 hours a week watching TV, 10.1 hours listening to fm radio, and 3.1 hours a week playing video games (Wallace, 47). Both teens and young adults spend about 17 hours a week online. Both boys and girls rank MTV as their favorite cable channel, spending an average of 6 hours a ...

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