Posts
The APA's Task Force on the Sexualisation of Girls have just released a report and it makes for sobering reading. While they are calling for more research into the pervasiveness of the sexualisation of young girls in the media (such evidence exists in abundance for young adult women, but not yet for young girls), the APA are clear that it is not difficult to document the existence of the problem by pointing to a range of prominent products marketed at young girls.
These include advertisements (e.g., the Skechers “naughty and nice” ad that featured Christina Aguilera dressed as a schoolgirl in pigtails, with her shirt unbuttoned, licking a lollipop), dolls (e.g., Bratz dolls dressed in sexualized clothing such as miniskirts, fishnet stockings, and feather boas), clothing (thongs sized for 7– to 10-year-olds, some printed with slogans such as “wink wink”), and television programs (e.g., a televised fashion show in which adult models in lingerie were presented as young girls).According to their findings, this kind of "sexualization has negative effects in a variety of domains, including cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, sexuality, and attitudes and beliefs." The results can be seen in the lowered cognitive functioning in girls who have been taught to self-objectify ("In self-objectification, girls internalize an observer’s perspective on their physical selves and learn to treat themselves as objects to be looked at and evaluated for their appearance"); an increase in a range of mental health problems, such as eating disorders, low self esteem, and depression; diminished sexual health ("as measured by decreased condom use and diminished sexual assertiveness"); and the internalisation of sexual stereotypes that “place appearance and physical attractiveness at the centre of women's value”.
This report has reignited the debate over the sexualisation of women and young girls in our society (both in the US and Australia). Several blogs have responded with a "Duh?", but have acknowledged that the report does provide some useful scientific validation for their concerns. I have yet to come across any blogs that are keen on defending the sexualisation of young girls, but no doubt they are out there somewhere...
My favourite response comes from Melbourne blogger Blue Milk, who has used to the report to justify her ongoing campaign to encourage people to "kill a bratz doll today". While I would shy away from using the word "kill", Bratz dolls are a particular bugbear of mine - one that is only becoming more relevant to me as I move closer to having my own child (yep, I'll be 39 weeks tomorrow, but who's counting?). I find it deeply disturbing that any company could even consider dressing a doll in what basically amounts to lingerie and selling it to young girls. The only good thing that I can say about those things is that they make me slightly more tolerant of the bloody "princess phenomenon" that has been such a big thing in recent marketing to little girls.
However, while I don't think that the princess phenomenon risks actually sexualising young girls, surely they are just further along the same spectrum and present very similar problems? Encouraging young girls to fit into the princess mould certainly raises similar issues of self-objectification and the internalisation of sexual stereotypes that place appearance, physical attractiveness and submissiveness at the centre of women's value. As Peggy Orenstein points out in this fantastic article*, these Disney 'princess' characters are hardly great role models for young girls to be emulating. Ariel (the Mermaid Princess), for example, choses to give up her voice in order to be with a man - don't you just love the symbolism of that?
The question is: what exactly can parents do about the issue? Being the nasty killjoy who bans all the latest trends from the house and frowns upon dressing-up as a princess is hardly a great recipe for success. Instead, the APA suggests that girls need to be provided with greater tools for decoding the messages in the media and products that they consume (through school-based media literacy programs and through discussions with their parents). They also recommend encouraging them to get involved in positive activities that build their self-esteem (like sports) and to tap into alternative feminist media such as blogs and web sites that "encourage girls to become activists who speak out and develop their own alternatives."
*[Recommended over at Blue Milk.]
[Cross-posted at Larvatus Prodeo]
|