Sexualized Culture Hurts Girls
Girls Need Protection From Message To Be Sexy Too Soon
Pediatricians and childhood experts are concerned that a sexualized culture is leading to eating disorders, low self esteem and depression in girls.
The American Psychological Association, named the marketing of increasingly provocative clothing to young girls as one of the cultural contributors to the sexualization of girls. (Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, February, 2007)
“They’re marketing padded bras and bikini underwear to girls as young as 4 or6. Little girls are learning how to be pretty and that pretty is important. They’re learning how they can look like Bratz dolls,” says Diane Levin, PhD, professor of education at Wheelock College in Boston. Levin is currently working on a book about the sexualization of young girls, So Sexy, So Soon: The Sexualization of Childhood in Commercial Culture.
Sexualization Harms Self Image and Healthy Development
The APA task force found evidence that sexualization of girls and young women is pervasive – sexy dolls marketed to 4-year-olds, cosmetics for younger girls, teen magazines that tell girls how to look “hot,” pornographic and degrading music lyrics and videos, and, of course, sexualized advertising. The task force concluded that the commercial sexualization is harmful to girls’ self-image and healthy development.
“The consequences of the sexualization of girls in media today are very real and are likely to be a negative influence on girls’ healthy development,” says Eileen L. Zurbriggen, PhD, chair of the APA Task Force and associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz..”
The task force found that sexualization and objectification undermine a person’s confidence in, and comfort with, her own body, leading to emotional and self-image problems, such as shame and anxiety. Research links sexualization with three of the most common mental health problems diagnosed in girls and women—eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression or depressed mood. Research also suggests that the sexualization of girls has negative consequences on girls’ ability to develop a healthy sexual self-image.
Sex Is Not The Problem
Levin stresses that the problem is not that children are learning about sex; the problem is what they are learning about relationships. “Boys are taught to be violent. Girls are taught to be sexy.. . . They’re not learning to treat others as people, they’re learning to treat others as objects,” says Levin.
Today’s culture bombards girls with large doses of sexual content that they cannot understand and it provides them with a very narrow definition of femaleness and sexuality that focuses them primarily on appearance.
Parents Can Influence Girls' Self Image
Parents can exert a lot of influence on how girls feel about themselves. The APA task force says parents can play a major role in contributing to the sexualization of their daughters or they can play a protective and educative role.
Parents need to protect their children as much as possible. Often times parents are not thinking about what they are doing, because they, too, are caught up in the same culture.
The APA suggests that parents support campaigns, companies, and products that promote positive images of girls. Complain to manufacturers, advertisers, television and movie producers, and retail stores when products sexualize girls.
Parents should encourage girls to be involved in sports and other extracurricular activities that emphasize talents, skills, and abilities over physical appearance.
Stay Connected to Children
One of the most effective ways parents can help their daughters navigate the sexualized culture is to stay connected to them.
Parents can stay connected with children by watching the television shows or movies they watch and asking questions. Parents can read their daughters’ magazines and listen to their music. By asking questions, parents will help children learn to think about their choices. By listening and understanding, parents can help their daughters, and sons, make healthy choices.
