The Sexualization Of Women And Girls

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 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

The documentary Miss Representation shines a light on the overwhelming impact the male dominated media has on the development of females. Women cannot grow up emotionally happy in our culture due to the overwhelming pressure they are given. As girls grow up and become women they are constantly being judged by those around them and are given a high standard compared to their male counterparts because of the media. Being strong, smart, and accomplished isn’t important as being beautiful and skinny. Today in America you are seen physically and not intellectually. With the media portrayal of women as sexual objects has come with severe consequences. According to the video fifty-three percent of 13-year-old girls are unhappy with their bodies

Who is to blame for how young girls are being portrayed on television and in music videos? Has it come to society putting more emphasis on money instead of protecting girls from being exploited in today’s new culture? This seems to be a growing problem across the United States that has caused some concern as to how it is affecting girl’s psychological well-being as well as their health. (Hatch, L., 2011) Girls are no longer interested in playing with dolls. Parents do not take their little girls to have play dates with their friends at a park, instead parents

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

Today’s society is very busy and quick paced. The book Brave New World is also this way. There are also other things in the book due to the nature of future storytelling. Brave New World tells the future very well with aspects that can be seen in modern society today. Those aspects are Drugs, sexualization, and rapid manufacturing.

In this article, the authors focused on female and male college students and researched how they think about sexualization and what they do to be seen as sexy. For example for women, they put makeup, wear sexy clothes such as short skirts. Also to be seen sexy, women try to loose their weight and change their body shapes. On the other hands, men care about their hygiene, smells, and keep their body buff that comes from their mescaline society. Since this article is talking about college students especially the research was occurred in two Liberal Arts College in the U.S. that is same as here. Also this explains their sexual behaviors that comes from anything that is related to something that they can find their daily life in college. Limitation

On all platforms of media women, and even young girls are oversexualized, which leads to men viewing women as no more than breasts, vaginas, and legs or any other body part men prefer. Even in current television shows, movies, comic books, and advertisements, women are still depicted as sexual objects. Everyday billboards portray women in a suggestive manner for people of all ages to see. The over-sexualization of women's bodies causes girls to have little confidence and causes boys to believe that girls are only sexual objects for their enjoyment. Girls cannot be blamed for their sexualization; they are just emulating what they see in the media.

“Will the sexualization of women in advertising campaigns affect the young generation of 21st century”

In addition to allowing their daughters to wear sexually provocative clothing, some parents will pay for their daughter to get plastic surgery, some of which include breast augmentation and nose jobs. The APA states that in 2006 the American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported that they performed close to 80,000 surgeries on teenagers younger than 19 years of age, the previous year (15). One can only assume that the teenagers that get plastic surgery have their parents’ approval because insurance does not cover the costs of cosmetic surgery. However, the research report does not state how many of the plastic surgeries performed in 2005 were elective surgeries. Parents are also contributing to the problem of the sexualization of female youth by competing against other parents. Author Meg McSherry Breslin quotes family therapist and author William Doherty, in her article as saying that parents contribute to girls’ sexualization by using “competitive parenting.” Parents will compete against each other to prove that they are the better parent, by allowing their daughter to appear and act older than she is. When parents act this way, they are in a sense asking the media and retailers to keep coming out with new more grown up trends so that they can stay ahead of the other parents (qtd. in Breslin 15). Additionally, there are parents that enroll their toddler daughters in beauty pageants that encourage the young girls to act flirty to win votes. Breslin continues her

Women are sexualized, and have been sexualized, in and out of the public’s eye, for decades. Sexualizing women has had a huge impact on the entertainment industry, especially for men. Many retail stores use sexual appeal to sell their products and other companies, like Playboy, thrive off the money made from under clothed models. These companies have made millions, if not billions, of dollars because people (mostly men) are willing to pay for a still photograph for certain (unmentionable) pleasures. Now, to each their own on their opinion to stop sexualizing women, however, unless some drastic influence happens, sexualizing women might stop but, it is not very likely because of the many other influences that it has on our society.

It is in the interest of everyone to be concerned about how sexualization is changing our current society, most of the change occurring with young girls. Young girls are like sponges soaking up the sexual messages and images given to them by the media, advertisers, and their mothers. The impact of this early sexualization can be found in studies, it is not good. Although girls become sexual as they age without influence, the influence from the media, advertising, and self-objectifying mothers persuades girls to become more sexual. It is a problem that can be altered with proper teaching, a healthy body image, and a confident attitude.

Everywhere you turn, there are magazine covers, movies, reality TV shows that portray woman in a sexual light. When was the last time that we as a society sat down and realized the effect that this is having on young girls, teens and even grown women. The portrayal of women as sexual objects in these and many other types of media have greatly affected the mindset of society. What affects has this had you ask? There are there main effects that we will explore. First, is the effect it has on their self-image. Second, is the effect on how they portray themselves in their relationships. Third is the effect it has on their mental state.

An outlook upon other factors is highly important so socially people don’t blame women for being the number one problem. A perspective will consider all aspects such as location, education, employment, gender, age, race, or any external influences. Looking at the reasoning of penalizing women is crucial, but so is researching broader into this social problem. Not only does it affect women emotionally, but it affects women physically. Sexualizing a women’s body can lead to putting a women’s health at risk. “Research shows that this standard puts pressure on women that is associated with increased body dissatisfaction and eating problems” (Graff, Murnen, and Krause, 2013). Having women being shamed for diverting the attention of men is cruel. A sociological way of thinking will enable others to examine that women are not the problem here. While women are taught to not sexualize in the way that men do, sexist at its finest. “Young women are then subject to a normalising gaze, to protect them from becoming deviant themselves and from the pressing threat of the deviance of others. The girl is threatened that she will become ‘scandalously impure’ if she does not manage herself appropriately in public space” (Barker and Duschinsky 2011). Gender roles in society are minimizing women power. Sexism is manifesting to where men hold primary power, patriarchy. Patriarchy is unequal and unfair to women. “Others

In the media, females are represented to be thin as bones, graceful beings that can only be girly and like pink. You can only wear a certain type of clothing, only have a certain type of hair texture and can only be a certain skin complexion to succeed. They teach children that you can only look like a plastic doll to be successful in this world and we believe them because plastic models and idols are everywhere that technology lingers. They are taught to aim for less when there is so much more. They are taught to be fragile and to never stand up for themselves. They are taught that leadership is a man’s job. They are taught that freedom and success is made only for men and any woman who tries to become more than a man, will fail. Video games, television shows, commercials all sexualize women but everyone gets upset when a woman embraces her true sexuality. This has sparked an increase of people who are against slut shaming. Men are now trying punishing normal females for not wanting to be as sexual as the women are on TV. An example of this can be found in the article “Are school dress codes unfair to girls” when Emily Connors stated “They just told us it was because of our bra straps and that it was inappropriate because some of the male teachers and male students found it distracting to them” (cbc.ca). Emily Connors is a 14 year old that got suspended because her bra straps were showing. Emily Connors obviously was not the problem in this situation; the problem is that