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Objecting to Sex?

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Objecting to Sex? Objecting to sex? Sexualization, objectification and media in preteens’ identity work. Proefschrift voorgelegd tot het behalen van de graad van doctor in de Sociale wetenschappen: Communicatiewetenschappen aan de Universiteit Antwerpen te verdedigen door: Annebeth Bels Promotoren Prof. Dr. Hilde Van Den Bulck Prof. Dr. Steven Eggermont This study has been conducted within a four year project funded by Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (nr. G050513N) at the University of Antwerp and the KU Leuven, funding obtained after a competitive, peer-reviewed process. A word of thanks Writing a PhD is an undertaking that can feel like a very long, very lonely road at times, but we must never forget those that made all of our single-minded mental labor possible, and to thank them when we reach the end of our journey. First, I would like to extend gratitude to the FWO and the University of Antwerp for providing the means to conduct full-time research on a topic that is so relevant to the experience of growing up as a girl in Western culture. I cannot remember a time before I started questioning sexism, and being able to contribute to our understanding of the relevance of this subject to preteens is an amazing and humbling opportunity. Of course, I am also very grateful to the members of my doctoral committee for their guidance and invaluable feedback during the past four years, spotting the gaps in my reasoning and helping me to close them. In addition, I want to extend thanks to the jury for reading my work, allowing me to defend and being here today to share this special moment. Second, a word to the academic role models that guided me into the process. I would like to thank Pieter Maeseele for telling me that I had what it takes to be a PhD researcher, and for inspiring my fellow students and me to become passionate about our own theoretical positioning. Of course, I also owe a multitude of thanks to my promotor Hilde Van den Bulck, who believed in my capabilities to complete this project and who was always there for me with feedback, input and support, answering my endless lists of questions with patience and speed. Hilde allowed me to roam free and explore my topic to the fullest, trusting me to find my own pace, while still being a perfect guide and sounding board through this new and at times confusing world of academia. These four years would not have been nearly as enjoyable and memorable without my lovely colleagues. Instead of competition and strife that is typical to some academic contexts, I got friendship, inside jokes and sympathy from people who grasped the ups and downs of working on a PhD better than anyone. I hope you all know how incredibly proud I am of having worked among such amazing minds, and even more amazing people. I do not know if I will ever have colleagues as lovely as you, but there is no doubt in my mind that all of you will go on to do great things, in or outside of academia. My gratitude also goes out to everyone who participated in my research. While I cannot name names, to ensure the privacy of my young respondents, the school I conducted my research at was unbelievably accommodating, and my project would not have existed without the goodwill of the school’s staff. Further, I think of the children. Fifteen girls and boys who let me into their world, opened up to me, told me about their worries, their frustrations, but also their hopes and dreams, only expecting a listening ear and some friendship in return. Finally, I thank my life partner, Filip. I do not know where I would be now without your unrelenting support on every level throughout the years. Probably not here, though. You know where I have come from and how long the road has been, because you were there next to me, every step of the way. Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 5 Media sexualization in the picture .......................................................................................................... 5 Today’s youth: growing up ‘too fast’? ..................................................................................................... 6 The audience: object or subject? ............................................................................................................ 8 The significance of preteens.................................................................................................................... 9 Chapters ................................................................................................................................................ 11 Conceptual framework ............................................................................................................... 15 Identity work ................................................................................................................................. 15 Gender performance: hegemonic femininity, hyperfemininity and emphasized femininity ....... 15 Sexual bullying ............................................................................................................................... 16 Sexualization, objectification and sexual objectification .............................................................. 16 Alignment to research traditions .......................................................................................................... 17 Cultural Studies ............................................................................................................................. 17 Feminist studies ............................................................................................................................. 21 Sociological Childhood Studies ...................................................................................................... 24 Communication studies vs. Media studies .................................................................................... 25 Methodological set-up ............................................................................................................... 29 Textual analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 29 Quantitative content analysis ....................................................................................................... 29 Qualitative content analysis .......................................................................................................... 30 Framing analysis ............................................................................................................................ 31 Reception: critical ethnography ............................................................................................................ 33 Media use survey .......................................................................................................................... 33 Participatory Observation ............................................................................................................. 34 Qualitative interviews ................................................................................................................... 37 Aims of the PhD ......................................................................................................................... 39 Chapter 1. Blossoming Beauty or Unhinged Teen? Media and audiences discussing celebrity coming of age. ........................................................................................................................................ 41 Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 41 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. 41 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 42 Appropriateness and transgression in celebrity coming of age ............................................................ 42 Selecting a corpus for analysis: What age adolescence? ...................................................................... 45 1 Looking for latent norms and frames .................................................................................................... 46 Framing coming of age .......................................................................................................................... 47 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 52 References ............................................................................................................................................. 54 Chapter 2. The objectified subject: sexualization and (sexual) objectification in Flemish preteens’ popular television programs. ...................................................................................................... 59 Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 59 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. 59 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................
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