Sexualization Of Young Women In The Media Analysis

In modern society, sex is a theme that is commonly depicted. It is used as a method in which to portray specific discourse and to influence an audience. The sexualization of almost anything has become a regular practice in media. Several forms of media, including print ads, film, and music utilize sexualization to target specific audiences and forge reactions. “Sex sells” has become a truism in the world of media, especially in advertising. Sexualization has persisted and developed into a prevalent issue. (Johnston, 2015) Sexualization in the media is an extensive topic and has a wide range of factors that can be discussed and analyzed; therefore, the scope of this paper will only address the sexualization of young girls. Throughout history,

The shots that were not uncommon for Vogue; however, the models in the shots were as young as ten years old. One of the ten year old models is photographed in a gold dress with a plunging neckline as she sits in a bed of leopard print pillows and bunnies while gazing provocatively into the camera. This photo spread was quickly criticized as a prime example of the increasing sexualization of young women in the media. (De Melker, 2013) Many argue that advertisements, such as this, effect the perception of girls' innocence. It is argued that sexualizing girls in this manner leads to people valuing women solely on their sexual appeal. The American Psychological Association explains this effect as hypersexualization. (De Melker, 2013) This relates to a content analysis completed by Sarah Murnen and her associates at Kenyon College. Their research was based on studying sexualizing clothing on retail websites whose demographic is young girls. They based their study on the Objectification Theory, which states that women in western cultures are subject to self-objectifying themselves based only on their attractiveness. It considers that the society portrays women as objects for men through the sexualization in media. Murnen and her colleagues found that advertisements in a magazine geared towards young

Film and television are forms of media that have been studied under the context of sexualization of young girls. Television and film have increasingly sexualized young characters, but have also fostered the self-sexualization of young girls merely through an increase in the amount of sexual behavior in popular shows in movies. A key example in reference to the sexualization of young women is the television show Toddlers and Tiaras. Each episode of this reality television show follows a group of little girls and their parents as they compete in beauty pageants throughout the United States. Toddlers and Tiaras has been criticized a great deal for broadcasting these girls ranging in age from a few months to 10 years old going through a process to reach an arbitrary image of beauty. The young girls will have fake teeth, fake nails, spray tans, full makeup, hair pieces and shocking outfits all just to win a title. (Henson, 2011) There are several occurrences of sexualized images of girls. For example, one episode showed a four year old girl's talent routines, where she dressed in a cone bra outfit and performed a Madonna number. It is argued that this show glorifies the sexualization of these young children and assists in the progression of the self-sexualization trend. (Henson, 2011) These television programs seem influence young girls, but is there a direct