From "Too Young, Too Soon, Too Bad" by Bethany Noble, posted 3/27/07 at National Catholic Register
Products such as Bratz dolls clad in leather mini-skirts abound on the market for girls under age 10. Teen magazines and television shows promote underdressed celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears as role models. A porn actress writes a best-selling autobiography, and pre-teen girls show up at her book signings.
Parents have long expressed concern that their daughters are being “sexualized” by merchandise and mass media.
Sex sells, and it is increasingly being used to market clothing, toys and entertainment to young girls.
But is society selling these girls short? What are the long-term implications of teaching a child that she must look and behave like a sexual object to be fashionable or popular?
The American Psychological Association addressed the issue in a recent study. It formed a task force to define sexualization, examine its prevalence and provide examples in society and in cultural institutions. The task force also set out to evaluate the evidence suggesting that sexualization has negative consequences for girls and for society. It described positive alternatives to help counteract it.
The report, published Feb. 19, defined sexualization as something “occurring when a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics, and when a person is sexually objectified.” Results showed that every media form contributed to the sexualization of girls and young women by portraying them in a sexual manner more often than boys and men.
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