14 DAY TRIAL // The current boom of sexualized stereotypes of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising, and media boosts sells, but at what price?
An assessment of the American Psychological Association (APA) says it comes with harmful effects to the girls' self-image and healthy development.
The researchers assessed the content and effects of all forms of media, from television, music videos, music lyrics, magazines, movies, video games and the Internet to advertising campaigns and merchandising of feminine products.
Sexualization is the limitation of a person's value only to her/his sexuality, ignoring other characteristics, the individual being turned into a sexual object at the disposal of another's sexual needs.
Not only girls' sexualization was found abundant in all forms of media, but the "new media" provided access to any form of media omnipresent.
The attitudes of parents, siblings, school officials, friends and health professionals are also crucial in tuning the impact of the media in sexualization: they can be protective or throw them directly into the dangerous flow. "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 Dr. Eileen L. Zurbriggen, chair of the APA Task Force. "We have ample evidence to conclude that sexualization has negative effects in a variety of domains, including cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, and healthy sexual development."
The cognitive and emotional effects of sexualization are a decrease in the individual's self confidence and comfort with her own body, leading to emotional and self-image problems, like shame and anxiety, as the young girls compare their bodies with the "perfect" faces and bodies they see in media images.
The low self esteem and self image distortion lead to mental and physical impairments, most common eating disorders and depression or depressed mood. Low self esteem can make girls accept lower quality partners and abuses from their part. The sexualization also harms sexual development with negative consequences on how the future woman regards her sexual self-image, like inability of maintaining long relationships. "Schools should teach media literacy skills to all students and should include information on the negative effects of the sexualization of girls in media literacy and sex education programs", said APA. "As a society, we need to replace all of these sexualized images with ones showing girls in positive settings-ones that show the uniqueness and competence of girls," states Dr. Zurbriggen. "The goal should be to deliver messages to all adolescents-boys and girls-that lead to healthy sexual development."