Sexualization
Encyclopedia
The definition of the term, Sexualization has been the subject of debate and dispute. It has been described as the act or process of sexualizing. It refers to the making of a person, group or thing to be seen as sexual
in nature or a person to become aware of sexuality. It can also refer to the making of an interpersonal relationship
into a sexual relationship.
It has also been used to describe the broad set of ways in which sex has become more visible in media and culture, as a subject of discussion and representation.
A number of reports on sexualization have been produced since 2006. Amongst these are the Australian Senate Report (2007), the American Psychological Association Report (2007), the UK Home Office Report (2010), and the UK Bailey Review (2011).
The Australian writers, Catharine Lumby and Kath Albury (2010) have suggested that sexualization is 'a debate that has been simmering for almost a decade' and concerns about sex and the media are far from new.
Much of the recent writing on sexualization has been the subject of criticism that because of the way that it draws on ‘one-sided, selective, overly simplifying, generalizing, and negatively toned’ evidence (Vanwesenbeeck 2009) and is ‘saturated in the languages of concern and regulation’ (Smith 2010). In these writings and the widespread press coverage that they have attracted, the term is often used as ‘a non sequitur causing everything from girls flirting with older men to child sex trafficking’ (Egan and Hawkes 2008). They often ignore feminist work on media, gender and the body and present a very conservative and negative view of sex in which only monogamous heterosexual sexuality is regarded as normal (Lerum and Dworkin 2009). They tend to neglect any historical understanding of the way sex has been represented and regulated, and they often ignore both theoretical and empirical work on the relationship between sex and media, culture and technology (Egan and Hawkes 2009, Buckingham et al. 2009).
's (2005) Female Chauvinist Pigs
, but others include Pamela Paul
's Pornified
(2005), Carol Platt Liebau
’s (2007) ‘’Prude’’, Meenakshi Gigi Durham's (2008) The Lolita Effect, and Sarracino & Scott’s The Porning of America (2008). These generally focus on sexualization as a social problem and particularly on what they regard as the inappropriate sexualization of women and girls. In 2011, sexualisation author Tanith Carey published the first dedicated guide for parents on the subject: "Where Has My Little Girl Gone? How to Protect Your Daughter From Growing Up Too Soon."
report (2007).
However, in 2010 the Scottish Executive
released a report External research on sexualised goods aimed at children. It considers the drawbacks of the US and Australian reviews. “[T]here is no indication [in the APA report] that the media might contain any positive images about human relationships, or that children might critically evaluate what they see.”
The Scottish review also notes that “[s]uch accounts often present the sexualisation of children as a relatively recent development, but it is by no means a new issue … While the public visibility of the issue, and the terms in which it is defined, may have changed, sexualised representations of children cannot be seen merely as a consequence of contemporary consumerism.” It also notes that previous coverage “rests on moral assumptions … that are not adequately explained or justified.”
. Here, the term has not been used to simply to label what is seen as a social problem, but to indicate the much broader and varied set of ways in which sex has become more visible in media and culture. These include;
the widespread discussion of sexual values, practices and identities in the media;
the growth of sexual media of all kinds; for example, erotica, slash fiction, sexual self-help books and the many genres of pornography;
the emergence of new forms of sexual experience, for example instant message or avatar sex made possible by developments in technology;
a public concern with the breakdown of consensus about regulations for defining and dealing with obscenity;
the prevalence of scandals, controversies and panics around sex in the media .
The terms 'pornification' and ‘pornographication’ have also been used to describe the way that aesthetics that were previously associated with pornography have become part of popular culture, and that mainstream media texts and other cultural practices ‘citing pornographic styles, gestures and aesthetics’ have become more prominent . This process, which Brian McNair has described as a 'pornographication of the mainstream' , has developed alongside an expansion of the cultural realm of pornography or 'pornosphere' which itself has become more accessible to a much wider variety of audiences. According to McNair, both developments can be set in the context of a wider shift towards a 'striptease culture' which has disrupted the boundaries between public and private discourse in late modern Western culture, and which is evident more generally in cultural trends which privilege lifestyle, reality, interactivity, self-revelation and public intimacy.
(APA) regards a person as being sexualized in any of the following situations:
s have postulated that over recent decades child
ren have evidenced a level of sexual knowledge or sexual behaviour inappropriate for their age group.
The causes of this premature sexualization that have been cited include portrayals in the media
of sex and related issues, especially in media aimed at children; the marketing
of products with sexual connotations to children, including clothing; the lack of parental oversight and discipline
; access to adult culture via the internet
; and the lack of comprehensive school sex education
programs.
For girls and young women in particular, studies have found that sexualization has a negative impact on their “self-image and healthy development”.
The report by the Scottish Executive
surveyed 32 high street UK retailers and found that many of the larger chains, including Tesco
, Debenhams, JJ Sports, and Marks & Spencer
did not contain sexualised goods aimed at children. The report noted that overall prevalence was limited.
Attwood, F. (2006) ‘Sexed up: Theorizing the Sexualization of Culture’, Sexualities 9(1): 77-94.
Attwood, F. (2009) Mainstreaming Sex: The Sexualization of Western Culture. London: I.B. Tauris.
Buckingham, D. & Bragg, S. (2004) Young People, Sex and the Media: The Facts of Life?. Basingstoke & New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Buckingham, D., Bragg, S., Russell, R. and Willett, R. 2009. Sexualised goods aimed at children. Report for the Scottish Parliament Equal Opportunities Committee. The Scottish Parliament. http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/equal/reports-10/eor10-02.htm.
Duits, L. & van Zoonen, L. (2006) ‘Headscarves and Porno-Chic: Disciplining Girls' Bodies in the European Multicultural Society’, European Journal of Women’s Studies 13(2): 103-117.
Egan, R. D. & Hawkes, G. (2009) 'The problem with protection: Or, why we need to move towards recognition and the sexual agency of children', Continuum 23(3: 389-400.
Egan, R. D. & Hawkes, G. (2008) ‘Endangered girls and incendiary objects: Unpacking the discourse on sexualization’, Sexuality and Culture 12(4): 291-311.
Evans, A., Riley, S., & Shankar, A. (2010). Technologies of Sexiness: Theorizing Women's Engagement in the Sexualization of Culture. Feminism and Psychology, 20(1), 114-131.
Gill, R. (2003) ‘From Sexual Objectification to Sexual Subjectification: The Resexualisation of Women’s Bodies in the Media’, Feminist Media Studies 3(1): 100-106.
Hawkes, G. & Egan, R.D. (2008) ‘Landscapes of erotophobia: The sexual(ized) child in the postmodern anglophone West’, Sexuality and Culture 12(4): 193-203.
Lerum, K and Dworkin, S.L. 2009. ‘Bad girls rule’: An interdisciplinary feminist commentary on the report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls’, Journal of Sex Research 46(4), 250-263.McNair, B. (1996) Mediated Sex: Pornography and Postmodern Culture. London & New York: Arnold.
McNair, B. (2002) Striptease Culture: Sex, Media and the Democratization of Desire. London & New York: Routledge.
Onscenity Research Network posts on sexualization, http://www.onscenity.org/sexualization/
Paasonen, S. et al. (eds.) (2007) Pornification: Sex and Sexuality in Media Culture. Oxford: Berg.
Smith, C. 2010a. Pornographication: A discourse for all seasons. International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics 6(1), 103-108.
Vanwesenbeeck, I. 2009. The risks and rights of sexualization: An appreciative commentary on Lerum and Dworkin’s ‘Bad girls rule’. Journal of Sex Research 46(4), 268-270.
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
in nature or a person to become aware of sexuality. It can also refer to the making of an interpersonal relationship
Interpersonal relationship
An interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships are formed in the...
into a sexual relationship.
It has also been used to describe the broad set of ways in which sex has become more visible in media and culture, as a subject of discussion and representation.
A number of reports on sexualization have been produced since 2006. Amongst these are the Australian Senate Report (2007), the American Psychological Association Report (2007), the UK Home Office Report (2010), and the UK Bailey Review (2011).
The Australian writers, Catharine Lumby and Kath Albury (2010) have suggested that sexualization is 'a debate that has been simmering for almost a decade' and concerns about sex and the media are far from new.
Much of the recent writing on sexualization has been the subject of criticism that because of the way that it draws on ‘one-sided, selective, overly simplifying, generalizing, and negatively toned’ evidence (Vanwesenbeeck 2009) and is ‘saturated in the languages of concern and regulation’ (Smith 2010). In these writings and the widespread press coverage that they have attracted, the term is often used as ‘a non sequitur causing everything from girls flirting with older men to child sex trafficking’ (Egan and Hawkes 2008). They often ignore feminist work on media, gender and the body and present a very conservative and negative view of sex in which only monogamous heterosexual sexuality is regarded as normal (Lerum and Dworkin 2009). They tend to neglect any historical understanding of the way sex has been represented and regulated, and they often ignore both theoretical and empirical work on the relationship between sex and media, culture and technology (Egan and Hawkes 2009, Buckingham et al. 2009).
Popular books on sexualization
A number of books on sexualization have appeared in recent years: the best known of these is Ariel LevyAriel Levy
Ariel Levy is a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine and author of the book Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Vogue, Slate, Men's Journal and Blender...
's (2005) Female Chauvinist Pigs
Female Chauvinist Pigs
Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture is a book by Ariel Levy which critiques modern feminist culture in the United States and elsewhere....
, but others include Pamela Paul
Pamela Paul
Pamela Paul is an American journalist, an editor of the New York Times Book Review, and the author of three books, The Starter Marriage and the Future of Matrimony , Pornified: How Pornography Is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships and our Families , and "Parenting, Inc.: How We Are Sold on...
's Pornified
Pornified
Pornified: How Pornography Is Damaging Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families is a 2005 book by American writer Pamela Paul, discussing the impact of ready access to pornography on Americans....
(2005), Carol Platt Liebau
Carol Platt Liebau
Carol Platt Liebau is an attorney, political analyst and social conservative commentator based near Los Angeles. Her book Prude: How the Sex-Obsessed Culture Damages Girls was published by Hachette Book Group in 2007...
’s (2007) ‘’Prude’’, Meenakshi Gigi Durham's (2008) The Lolita Effect, and Sarracino & Scott’s The Porning of America (2008). These generally focus on sexualization as a social problem and particularly on what they regard as the inappropriate sexualization of women and girls. In 2011, sexualisation author Tanith Carey published the first dedicated guide for parents on the subject: "Where Has My Little Girl Gone? How to Protect Your Daughter From Growing Up Too Soon."
Reports on sexualization
There have been a number of reports such as the Australian report on ‘corporate paedophilia’ (Rush & La Nauze, 2006) and the American Psychological AssociationAmerican Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
report (2007).
However, in 2010 the Scottish Executive
Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
released a report External research on sexualised goods aimed at children. It considers the drawbacks of the US and Australian reviews. “[T]here is no indication [in the APA report] that the media might contain any positive images about human relationships, or that children might critically evaluate what they see.”
The Scottish review also notes that “[s]uch accounts often present the sexualisation of children as a relatively recent development, but it is by no means a new issue … While the public visibility of the issue, and the terms in which it is defined, may have changed, sexualised representations of children cannot be seen merely as a consequence of contemporary consumerism.” It also notes that previous coverage “rests on moral assumptions … that are not adequately explained or justified.”
Cultural studies work on sexualization
Sexualization has also been a subject of debate for academics who work in media and cultural studiesCultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
. Here, the term has not been used to simply to label what is seen as a social problem, but to indicate the much broader and varied set of ways in which sex has become more visible in media and culture. These include;
the widespread discussion of sexual values, practices and identities in the media;
the growth of sexual media of all kinds; for example, erotica, slash fiction, sexual self-help books and the many genres of pornography;
the emergence of new forms of sexual experience, for example instant message or avatar sex made possible by developments in technology;
a public concern with the breakdown of consensus about regulations for defining and dealing with obscenity;
the prevalence of scandals, controversies and panics around sex in the media .
The terms 'pornification' and ‘pornographication’ have also been used to describe the way that aesthetics that were previously associated with pornography have become part of popular culture, and that mainstream media texts and other cultural practices ‘citing pornographic styles, gestures and aesthetics’ have become more prominent . This process, which Brian McNair has described as a 'pornographication of the mainstream' , has developed alongside an expansion of the cultural realm of pornography or 'pornosphere' which itself has become more accessible to a much wider variety of audiences. According to McNair, both developments can be set in the context of a wider shift towards a 'striptease culture' which has disrupted the boundaries between public and private discourse in late modern Western culture, and which is evident more generally in cultural trends which privilege lifestyle, reality, interactivity, self-revelation and public intimacy.
Definition
The American Psychological AssociationAmerican Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
(APA) regards a person as being sexualized in any of the following situations:
- a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appealSexual attractionSexual attractiveness or sex appeal refers to an individual's ability to attract the sexual or erotic interest of another person, and is a factor in sexual selection or mate choice. The attraction can be to the physical or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context...
or sexual behaviorHuman sexual behaviorHuman sexual activities or human sexual practices or human sexual behavior refers to the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts from time to time, and for a wide variety of reasons...
, to the exclusion of other characteristics; - a person is held to a standard that equates physical attractivenessPhysical attractivenessPhysical attractiveness refers to a person's physical traits which are perceived to be aesthetically pleasing or beautiful. The term often implies sexual attractiveness or desirability, but can also be distinct from the two; for example, humans may regard the young as attractive for various...
(narrowly defined) with being sexy; - a person is sexually objectifiedSexual objectificationSexual objectification refers to the practice of regarding or treating another person merely as an instrument towards one's sexual pleasure, and a sex object is a person who is regarded simply as an object of sexual gratification or who is sexually attractive...
—that is, made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than seen as a person with the capacity for independent action and decision making; and/or - sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person.
Children
Some cultural criticCultural critic
A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole and typically on a radical basis. There is significant overlap with social and cultural theory.-Terminology:...
s have postulated that over recent decades child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren have evidenced a level of sexual knowledge or sexual behaviour inappropriate for their age group.
The causes of this premature sexualization that have been cited include portrayals in the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
of sex and related issues, especially in media aimed at children; the marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
of products with sexual connotations to children, including clothing; the lack of parental oversight and discipline
Discipline
In its original sense, discipline is referred to systematic instruction given to disciples to train them as students in a craft or trade, or to follow a particular code of conduct or "order". Often, the phrase "to discipline" carries a negative connotation. This is because enforcement of order –...
; access to adult culture via the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
; and the lack of comprehensive school sex education
Sex education
Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...
programs.
For girls and young women in particular, studies have found that sexualization has a negative impact on their “self-image and healthy development”.
Cognitive and emotional consequences
Studies have found that thinking about the body and comparing it to sexualized cultural ideals may disrupt a girl's mental concentration, and a girl's sexualization or objectification may undermine her confidence in and comfort with her own body, leading to emotional and self-image problems, such as shame and anxiety.Mental and physical health
Research has linked sexualization with three of the most common mental health problems diagnosed in girls and women: eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression or depressed mood.Sexual development
Research suggests that the sexualization of girls has negative consequences on girls’ ability to develop a healthy sexual self-image.Sexualization in products for children
Some commercial products seen as promoting the sexualization of children have drawn considerable media attention:- BratzBratzBratz is an American line of fashion dolls and merchandise manufactured by MGA Entertainment. Four original 10" dolls were released in 2001 - Cloe, Jade, Sasha and Yasmin...
Baby dolls that wear thongG-stringA G-string is a type of thong underwear or swimsuit, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic, that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear by women and men...
s. - Girls aged 10 and 11 wearing thongs in primary school.
- Padded bras on bikinis aimed at seven-year-olds. Some people regard training bras similarly. However there is also evidence that with the mean age of puberty declining in Western cultures, functional brassieres are required by a higher percentage of preteen girls than before.
The report by the Scottish Executive
Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
surveyed 32 high street UK retailers and found that many of the larger chains, including Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
, Debenhams, JJ Sports, and Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
did not contain sexualised goods aimed at children. The report noted that overall prevalence was limited.
See also
- Child sexualityChild sexualityChild sexuality is the sexual feelings, behaviors, and development of children.-Freud:Until Sigmund Freud published his Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality in 1905, children were often regarded as asexual, having no sexuality until later development. Freud was one of the first researchers to...
- SexualismSexualismSexualism refers to either discrimination based on sexuality, or sexuality itself. Its most common form is heterosexism.- Sexual bias :Sexualism is discrimination against a person or group on the basis of their sexual orientation or sexual behaviour...
- BratzBratzBratz is an American line of fashion dolls and merchandise manufactured by MGA Entertainment. Four original 10" dolls were released in 2001 - Cloe, Jade, Sasha and Yasmin...
- Miss BimboMiss BimboMissBimbo.com is an online fashion game and a social networking site with a mainly female audience. Players look after a 'Bimbo' character as she progress through life....
- Sexual objectificationSexual objectificationSexual objectification refers to the practice of regarding or treating another person merely as an instrument towards one's sexual pleasure, and a sex object is a person who is regarded simply as an object of sexual gratification or who is sexually attractive...
- Social impact of thong underwear
- PornifiedPornifiedPornified: How Pornography Is Damaging Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families is a 2005 book by American writer Pamela Paul, discussing the impact of ready access to pornography on Americans....
- Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch CultureFemale Chauvinist PigsFemale Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture is a book by Ariel Levy which critiques modern feminist culture in the United States and elsewhere....
Further reading
Albury, K. and Lumby, C. 2010. Too much? Too young? The sexualisation of children debate in Australia. Media International Australia 135, 141-152.Attwood, F. (2006) ‘Sexed up: Theorizing the Sexualization of Culture’, Sexualities 9(1): 77-94.
Attwood, F. (2009) Mainstreaming Sex: The Sexualization of Western Culture. London: I.B. Tauris.
Buckingham, D. & Bragg, S. (2004) Young People, Sex and the Media: The Facts of Life?. Basingstoke & New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Buckingham, D., Bragg, S., Russell, R. and Willett, R. 2009. Sexualised goods aimed at children. Report for the Scottish Parliament Equal Opportunities Committee. The Scottish Parliament. http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/equal/reports-10/eor10-02.htm.
Duits, L. & van Zoonen, L. (2006) ‘Headscarves and Porno-Chic: Disciplining Girls' Bodies in the European Multicultural Society’, European Journal of Women’s Studies 13(2): 103-117.
Egan, R. D. & Hawkes, G. (2009) 'The problem with protection: Or, why we need to move towards recognition and the sexual agency of children', Continuum 23(3: 389-400.
Egan, R. D. & Hawkes, G. (2008) ‘Endangered girls and incendiary objects: Unpacking the discourse on sexualization’, Sexuality and Culture 12(4): 291-311.
Evans, A., Riley, S., & Shankar, A. (2010). Technologies of Sexiness: Theorizing Women's Engagement in the Sexualization of Culture. Feminism and Psychology, 20(1), 114-131.
Gill, R. (2003) ‘From Sexual Objectification to Sexual Subjectification: The Resexualisation of Women’s Bodies in the Media’, Feminist Media Studies 3(1): 100-106.
Hawkes, G. & Egan, R.D. (2008) ‘Landscapes of erotophobia: The sexual(ized) child in the postmodern anglophone West’, Sexuality and Culture 12(4): 193-203.
Lerum, K and Dworkin, S.L. 2009. ‘Bad girls rule’: An interdisciplinary feminist commentary on the report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls’, Journal of Sex Research 46(4), 250-263.McNair, B. (1996) Mediated Sex: Pornography and Postmodern Culture. London & New York: Arnold.
McNair, B. (2002) Striptease Culture: Sex, Media and the Democratization of Desire. London & New York: Routledge.
Onscenity Research Network posts on sexualization, http://www.onscenity.org/sexualization/
Paasonen, S. et al. (eds.) (2007) Pornification: Sex and Sexuality in Media Culture. Oxford: Berg.
Smith, C. 2010a. Pornographication: A discourse for all seasons. International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics 6(1), 103-108.
Vanwesenbeeck, I. 2009. The risks and rights of sexualization: An appreciative commentary on Lerum and Dworkin’s ‘Bad girls rule’. Journal of Sex Research 46(4), 268-270.
- "Invasion of the Prostitots: Another moral panic about American girls" by Kerry Howley, ReasonReason (magazine)Reason is a libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 60,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the Chicago Tribune.- History :...
, July 2007.