excerpt from "Sexualisation 'harms' young girls," BBC News
The media's portrayal of young women as sex objects harms girls' mental and physical health, US experts warn. Magazines, television, video games and music videos all have a detrimental effect, a task force from the American Psychological Association reported.
Sexualisation can lead to a lack of confidence with their bodies as well as depression and eating disorders.Such images also have a negative effect on healthy sexual development in girls, the researchers said.The task force was set up after mounting "public concern" about the sexualisation of young girls.
Research on the content and effects of television, music videos, music lyrics, magazines, films, video games and the internet was analysed. Recent advertising campaigns and merchandising of products aimed at girls was also scrutinised.
Sexualisation was defined as occurring when a person's value comes only from her or his sexual appeal or behaviour, to the exclusion of other characteristics, and when a person is portrayed purely as a sex object. They gave examples of a trainer advert that featured pop star Christina Aguilera dressed as a schoolgirl with her shirt unbuttoned, licking a lollipop. (more)
Also, notice how the researchers steer clear of what is really happening. Because we aren't seeing increasingly more women sucking on lollipops while unbuttoning their schoolgirl outfits for their boyfriends, no. What is actually happening is there are increasingly more young women doing the same to seduce whoever they want, including the married, and acting like what the feminists used to identify as the "worst" of men - selfish pig men. But here we are. We are talking about a generation of women largely incapable of monogamy, appreciating only their independence, causing trouble when they can and being too irresponsible to raise a family. Finding intelligent partners with good genes is now apparently too much to ask for, too - they only want whatever gives them a shot of excitement before they move on to find whatever thrill does that next.
Maybe if the "experts" do the research, they will find that Christina Aguilera's outfit has something to do with the new status quo too, but I'm much more certain that shows like Sex and the City, where women are told that this is "fun" and never has to end, are the bigger problem. And that is not targeting young girls, but rather those who are supposed to be considered adults. Why is nobody addressing this bigger societal problem and instead focusing on when a society based on playing these games begins?
Some might say the right to these games is "feminism", that women should do what they want and nobody should stop them because that is (patriarchal) oppression. But does it? At an earlier time, feminism meant standing up for equality before the law and the right to vote. If today, the objective is for women to get the most mileage out of the condition of being considered a woman (all the while dodging traditional female roles and shirking the responsibilities that men have), is that really the same? Probably not. But then again, why are the women who only wanted equality largely missing from the protests? If you dedicate your life to the promotion of something, and call it feminism, would you not continue to make it your life work to prevent those you supposedly care about from embracing a lifestyle you supposedly object to?
Perhaps it is here that we come to the realization that there is a common thread in all of this; and, when we become aware of it, we can understand why any of this is getting any media attention at all. In short, it comes down to this: thanks to people like Betty Friedan, that women should learn to accept never being told what to do. When we understand that the sexualisation being protested here is likely to be conceived by feminists as creating pets of the "evil patriarchy", yet that same "evil patriarchy" should not dare stop women from flaunting their sexuality when and wherever they want, it is clear that this impulse is being acted upon. And, for some reason - well, actually for some very obvious reasons that anyone who reads this blog can pick up on - that is supposed to be the basis for a society.
