Sexualization of Children through the Media Essay

If you turn on the television or flip through a fashion magazine, it is very likely you will presented with many displays of hypersexualization of girls and women in advertising images and in media. There are many components to sexualization. It occurs, according to the American Psychological Association, when “a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics.” This person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness with being sexy. “Sexualization” happens when a person is sexually objectified- that is, made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than being seen as a person with their own independent actions and abilities to make decisions. Oftentimes, sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person without their knowing it or consent. Sometimes, researchers use the word “hypersexualization” to describe roughly the same idea. In the article, “Media’s Growing Sexualization of Women”, hypersexualization is defined as, “The act of making something extremely sexual and erotic.”

In Piercy’s poem, “Barbie Doll” the girl goes through puberty and has a really hard time with it. A classmate tells her she has a big nose and fat legs. It states that nobody noticed that she was healthy and intelligent, they just saw her culturally unacceptable body type. (643) Media is one of the biggest influences on little girls, “Children 8 to 10 spend about 5.5 hours a day using media.” (Szabo) There are so many influences on T.V. from the shows to commercials, that use sex to sell their product. Even

Perceptions of a Girl in Childlike vs. Sexualizing Clothing” written by the authors Kaitlin Graff, Sarah K. Murnen, and Linda Smolak, they do a study on how girls are perceived in societies eyes when dressed in a more sexual manner. In the study there are pictures of a fifth-grade girl dressed in either childlike clothing or super sexualized clothing. A group of diverse students are presented with three different types of pictures and they define whether the girl is average or above average in her achievements. Concluding in their study it presents that wearing more sexualized clothes do affect how they are looked upon and they don’t regard their achievements throughout life. In the study it states, “sexualization of women in advertisements increased significantly in the U.S. between 1983 and 2003” (Graff, Murnen, & Smolak 765) proving that sexualized advertisements have drastically been impacting societies ideal

In the American culture today, women are becoming more sexualized at a younger age due to the influences of the corporate media. Corporate media and society form the perfect idealistic body that women should have and is constantly being promoted making younger girls start to compare themselves to them at a young age. Certain shows and movies, such as Disney, influence young children and teenagers through their characters as to how a woman is supposed to be accepted. The way the corporate media and society make this body image they want women to have starts in a very early stage in a woman's life without them knowing. There are these childhood movies, such as Disney, Barbie and Ken dolls, programs such as Netflix, teen

Now-a-days, you can’t find appropriate clothing for your children because all stores are selling short-shorts and crop tops for 12-year-olds. This issue is contradicting; girls are being sexualized by being told not to wear clothes that show their skin, yet the only clothes that are currently being sold are clothes that only sexualize girls even more by showing too much skin that doesn’t fit their age group. Orenstein also argues that, “ For today’s girls, sexy appearance has been firmly conflated with strong womanhood.” Meaning, instead of having a princess birthday party at the park, preschoolers are now having mani-pedi spa birthday parties; or how the Elementary school cheer dance routine is more provocative; or when 9-year-olds are taught “all the ticks of beauty.” In our defence, when society depicts young women as sexual objects, they make young girls think that their beauty is more important than their brains(hence the reason why you can easily mistake a 13-year-old for a

"I don't believe in rape. No means no. Wait, if no meant no, all men would die a virgin. No means work on the neck, the nipples and come back in five minutes. I'm not saying a father should give this version of the birds and bees to his son. Listen she's gonna block your hands four or five times at least. I didn't raise you to be a quitter out there now did I. She wouldn't dress like that if she didn't want to get fingered." Comedian, Daniel Tosh expressed this quote meaning for it to be harmful. But, is it really harmful? Is this what society really thinks? Are women supposed to be easy? Do men need to take control and get what they want? A simple joke can be seen as what our society really

Hanes addresses many specific issues in her article. The first topic she discusses is how Disney refuses to admit that the way they portray their female characters is often sexist and stereotypical. Parents worry that the Disney princess phase is only the beginning of girls adopting an unhealthy body image and self-objectivation. However, the negative effects of Disney princesses is still controversial because some parents claim that the princesses teach girls to be kind, love animals, and to persevere. Another worriment is that many studies show exposure to unwanted sexual material is happening at a younger age. The fear is that early exposure will cause girls to grow up too fast and lead them to have erroneous views of sexualization. Since Disney and other media emphasizes that girls should be ultimately feminine girls are now dropping out of sports because they think it brands them as unsexy. To make matters worse, marketers are now playing a role in the hypersexualization of women. The marketers target little girls by using the sexualization of women to persuade little girls into buying their products at an even younger age. There is now a new challenge to face- the internet. Along with the internet and social media; social media is now the hub for self-objectification. Girls are now posting scandalous pictures of themselves on social media, and are receiving praise as a result. However, adults cannot blame girls completely for their actions because they do not know any better because they are growing up in a culture that celebrates superficiality. The author stated that there is no realistic way to avoid sexualization that the only way to get rid of the

In a 1992 study of female students at Stanford University, “70% of women reported feeling worse about themselves and their bodies after looking at magazines” (What’s the Problem?). By looking at this evidence, it can be concluded that stricter regulations need to be implemented as far as how sexuality is depicted in advertising in order to protect the young minds of women. Without the use of regulations, the small problem of objectification multiplies into many different disorders that are harder to fix than to simply stop the cause.

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010714208/OVIC?u=scot67242&xid=d9cbf746. Accessed 20 Nov. 2017. Originally published as "Feminism, Consumerism, & the Sexualization of Girls,", 2 Mar. 2007.

The sexualization of young girls and women in society is a prevalent theme in mass media. Presently, the sexualization of females is commonly seen in various consumer items like clothes, dolls, and even in Disney movies, according to “The Sexualization of Girls Is Harmful” article. The author says that sexualization occurs when “a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior; a person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness with being sexy; a person is sexually objectified- made into a thing for others’ sexual use; and sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person (AboutKidsHealth).” Furthermore, the author provides statistics on how girls are being sexualized by the products they see and use

These objectification trends are on the rise and are creating a low self-image for our young children. This will continue to spiral downward as they mature into grown women.

As you’re walking down a street you may notice a young group of girls or women walking and they see a huge billboard of a beautiful model. They might stop and stare at her and then discuss about her perfect her body is. Not knowing in the next five minutes they’ll be comparing their bodies to the model and feeling bad about themselves wishing that they had her body. Not to mention, that the photo may be photoshopped to make it seem as her body is perfect, or she had plastic surgery to fit the idea of having the perfect body. The fact that the media thinks they’re encouraging young girls and women to embrace their beauty, they’re influencing them that they have to have a perfect body in order to get attention. The media has put a lot of pressure on young girls and women to look perfect and second guess their bodies, when plastic surgery is never the answer to build their self-esteem up.

On all platforms of media, women and even young girls are oversexualized; thus leading to men viewing women as no more than breasts, vaginas, legs, or any other body part they prefer. Even in current television shows, movies, comic books, and advertisements, women are still depicted as sexual objects, which can damage a woman’s confidence. The oversexualization of women 's bodies can degrade a young woman’s confidence, and when girls try to boost confidence by dressing or acting like the women they see in the media, they are reprimanded for it. Girls cannot be blamed for their sexualization; they are just emulating what they see in the media.

According to a poll of 10 to 16 year olds done by the advocacy group Children Now, "77 percent say that there is too much premarital sex on T.V., while 62 percent say sex on T.V. and in movies influences kids to have sex when they are too young" (Clark, "Sex, Violence"). The influences of the media is felt everywhere and especially in terms of human sexuality. Everything from TV commercials to the newspaper has some form of sex in it, usually to keep the audience interested. In modern society, the changing times as well as media executives wanting more ratings(and therefore money) have lead to teenagers more willing to try sexual acts at a younger age and the country being more openminded about sexual issues.

Since birth human behaviour is influenced by what the individual sees and there surroundings, this influence is greatest at a young age and fades as the individual grows in age, but never completely goes away. In today’s society where sex is something that is openly broadcasted in order to promote everything from products to television shows, sex is something that the youth of today are exposed to from an early age. But what effects can this exposure at such a vulnerable stage in life cause? Early exposure to sexual content can increase the likeliness of youth participating in sexual activity by the large amount that they are exposed too, the glorification of sex, the lack of regulation of sexual content in the media by the government, and