How many of us have turned on the television, opened our smartphones, or even a magazine in a clinic waiting room to see sexualized advertisements including women? In a study of five different magazines over a forty year period, about 1.5% of these ads have sexualized children. Although a relatively small number, it is a notable amount. It begs the question: why are girls being sexualized in pop culture and media in the first place?
Many girls and adolescents are exposed to sexual themes early in age. For example, an ad for a new Sketchers line of shoes was called “Naughty and Nice”. It featured Christina Aguilera dressed as a sexy school girl licking a lollipop. There also is the infamous show “Toddlers and Tiaras”, which faced issues in 2011 for one of the girls wearing fake breasts. One of the most important forms of media I believe should be mentioned is the 1997 film, “Lolita”. Based of the novel of the same name by Vladimir Nabokov, it depicts a “romance” between a 12 year old and professor Humbert. Even though the novel takes place from the point of view of Humbert, the idealized scenes of Dolores romanticize pedophilia.
In a study from the American Psychological Association, there are five detrimental effects of sexualization: cognitive and emotional, mental and physical, sexuality, attitudes and beliefs, as well as the impact on others and society. Anxiety and shame follow many of these girls because of their appearance. This also leads to mental health issues such as: depression, eating disorders, and low self-esteem from self-objectification. Sexuality in preadolescent and adolescent girls is disturbed to the point where they are less safe during sexual activities leading into adulthood. There attitudes and beliefs towards femininity are also compromised and physical appearance seems to be placed at the core of being a woman. The Lolita Effect pushes this even further onto adult women and encouraging the “younger and more beautiful” ideal for women.
It is important that parents, first, watch and examine the media young girls are subjecting themselves to. Empowerment groups or becoming more proactive in issues involving young children is paramount to ending this issue. By exposing marketing tactics and schemes used in media (e.g. advertisements, music videos, movies, etc.) we can slow, or even stop, the effects of sexualization on children.
Sources: https://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report-summary.pdf
https://scholarship.shu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1068&context=student_scholarship