Sexualisation of Young People Review Sexualisation of Young People When you have nished with This publication is printed Review this publication please recycle it on 50% recycled paper by Dr Linda Papadopoulos © Crown copyright. February 2010. Ref. 299136. ISBN: 978-1-84987-186-0 Sexualisation of Young People Review Contents Foreword 3 1. Executivesummary 5 2. Introduction 17 3. Backgroundandcontext 19 4. Whatissexualisationandwhydoesitmatter? 22 5. Sexualisedcontentandthemainstreamingofpornography 33 6. Theimpactofsexualisation 53 7. Sexualisationandviolence 65 8. Recommendations 75 9. Bibliography 85 10.Acknowledgements 100 1 Sexualisation of Young People Review Foreword hyper-sexualisation and objectification of girls on the one hand, and hyper- masculinisation of boys on the other, perpetuate and reinforce each other. Throughout the course of the review, what has become very apparent is that sexualisation is a multi-factorial issue and therefore needs to be approached from a range of perspectives, taking into account not only the emotional and cognitive development of children but also the influence of family, culture and society as a whole. Over the past months, my team and I have reviewed hundreds of articles from the fields of psychology, sociology, education, politics and media. We have interviewed people working on the front-line with When I was approached by the Home abused children and abusers. We have Secretary to conduct an independent spoken to young people, parents, teachers, review on the impact of the sexualisation clinicians, academics, policy-makers and of young girls on violence against women, lobbyists. What came across loud and clear I genuinely welcomed the opportunity to is that this is a very emotive issue – and so, take a critical look at this area. As both I wanted to ensure that the evidence a psychologist and as a mother, I was was presented as objectively as possible very aware that this was a topic that was so that a public debate could ensue and gaining increasing amounts of attention informed decisions about how to address both in academic literature and the these issues could be made. This is not an popular press. opinion piece, the evidence and arguments Although the original intention of the presented within this document are not review was to focus on how sexualisation based on conjecture but on empirical data is affecting girls, it quickly became evident from peer reviewed journals, and evidence that we could not talk about girls without from professionals and clinicians. Behind acknowledging the concomitant impact the social commentary and the headlines on boys and the hyper-masculinised about inappropriate clothing and games images and messages that surround them. for children, there are the real statistics, on The scope of the review was therefore teenage partner violence, sexual bullying widened to encompass the sexualisation and abuse that need to be acknowledged of all young people and to look at how and addressed. 3 Sexualisation of Young People Review In addressing these issues we must not forget that sexual curiosity is a normal feature of childhood and therefore we need to provide young people with the tools that will enable them to deal with sexual content safely and successfully. I believe that providing our kids with a set of realistic, non-exploitative representations of gender and sexuality would go a long way towards ensuring their healthy emotional – and sexual – development and promoting gender equality. I want my little girl, indeed, all girls and boys, to grow up confident about who they are and about finding and expressing their individuality and sexuality, but not through imposed gender stereotypes or in a way that objectifies the body or commodifies their burgeoning sexuality. This review is a step towards understanding how, as parents, as educators and as citizens we can take responsibility for creating safe and supportive environments for our children to understand and explore relationships and sexuality – and ensure that they do so in their own time and at their own pace. 4 Sexualisation of Young People Review 1. Executive summary “How have sex, sexiness and sexualisation gained such favour in recent years as to be the measure by which women’s and girls’ worth is judged? While it is not a new phenomenon by any means, there is something different about the way it occurs today and how it impacts on younger and younger girls.”1 1. Violence against women and sexually available. The report looks girls is unacceptable, whatever at examples and the prevalence of the circumstances and whatever sexualisation in culture and proposes the context. In March 2009, the mechanisms by which sexualised government launched the Together messages are being internalised and We Can End Violence Against Women the consequences of these on young and Girls consultation in order to raise people. awareness of the problem and explore policy proposals and ideas designed to 3. The world is saturated by more help prevent violence against women images today than at any other and girls. This report forms part of time in our modern history. Behind that consultation.1 each of these images lies a message about expectations, values and ideals. 2. This review looks at how sexualised Women are revered – and rewarded images and messages may be affecting – for their physical attributes and both the development of children and girls and boys are under pressure to young people and influencing cultural emulate polarised gender stereotypes norms, and examines the evidence from a younger and younger age. for a link between sexualisation The evidence collected in this report and violence. The decision by the suggests these developments are government to commission this review having a profound impact, particularly reflects the importance of the issue on girls and young women. and the popular perception that young people (and in particular young women and girls) are increasingly being pressured into appearing 1 McLellan, Sexualised and Trivialized – Making 5 Equality Impossible. Quoted in: Tankard Reist (2010) Sexualisation of Young People Review Sexualisation, learning is also the cumulative or ‘drip drip’ effect of exposure to sexualised and development messages, themes and images over time and in diverse settings. Children 4. Healthy sexuality is an important and young people now have easy component of both physical and access to material that may not be mental health. When based on mutual age-appropriate. Core cognitive respect between consenting partners, learning and developmental theories sex fosters intimacy, bonding and demonstrate that children learn shared pleasure.2 Sexualisation is the vicariously from what they see, and imposition of adult sexuality on to that exposure to themes which a child children and young people before they is not developmentally ready to cope are capable of dealing with it, mentally, with can have a detrimental effect.5 emotionally or physically. 7. Children and young people today 5. While sexualised images have featured are not only exposed to increasing in advertising and communications amounts of hyper-sexualised images, since mass media first emerged, they are also sold the idea that they what we are seeing now is an have to look ‘sexy’ and ‘hot’. As such unprecedented rise in both the they are facing pressures that children volume and the extent to which these in the past simply did not have to face. images are impinging on everyday As children grow older, exposure to life. Increasingly, too, children are this imagery leads to body surveillance, being portrayed in ‘adultified’ ways or the constant monitoring of personal while adult women are ‘infantilised’.3 appearance. This monitoring can result This leads to a blurring of the in body dissatisfaction, a recognised lines between sexual maturity and risk factor for poor self-esteem, immaturity and, effectively, legitimises depression and eating disorders.6 the notion that children can be related Indeed, there is a significant amount of to as sexual objects. evidence that attests to the negative 6. A number of factors shape the effects of sexualisation on young way children and young people are people in terms of mental and physical responding to the sexualisation of health, attitudes and beliefs.7 culture. One of the most significant 8. If we are going to address this issue is the individual child’s age and then young people need to develop level of cognitive and emotional and grow in surroundings where development. Regardless of a child’s they are admired for their abilities, level of sophistication, when it comes talents and values. It is important to to internalising media and advertising stress however, that in the diverse, messages, there is a large body multicultural UK context, cultural, of research from developmental religious and class backgrounds will psychologists that attests to the fact invariably influence the family’s role in that young children do not have mediating sexualised media content the cognitive skills to cope with persuasive media messages.4 There 5 Bandura (1971); Bem (1981) 6 McKinley (1999); Moradi et al. (2005); Polivy, 2 Satcher (2001) Herman et al. (2002); Tolman, Impett, Tracy and 3 Evidence provided to the review by Michael (2006) Dr K. Sarikakis (2009) 7 Abramson and Valene (1991); Durkin and 6 4 Mayo & Nairn (2009) Paxton (2002); Harrison (2000) Sexualisation of Young People Review and views of what is appropriate it is important to look at the social and acceptable. The psychological scripts children are being influenced by ramifications of sexualisation, from and what makes children susceptible violence in teenage relationships to to them. self-objectification, are seen across diverse class systems, suggesting Magazines, marketing and that the issue of sexualisation is not advertising confined to either a single race or class. 12. A dominant theme in magazines seems to be the need for girls to Sexualised present themselves as sexually content and the desirable in order to attract male attention.9 Worryingly, there is also a mainstreaming of trend for children in magazines to be dressed and posed in ways designed pornography to draw attention to sexual features 9.