Glee Cast
A new report from the Parents Television Council (PTC), Tinseltown’s New Target: A study of Teen Female Sexualization on Primetime TV, shows a disturbingly high amount of sexualized image of teen girls on primetime television. The study follows PTC’s report from last November about the increase in incidences of violence against women on television.
Teenage girls are becoming Hollywood’s sexualized ideal. Consider these findings from the study:
“The presence of an underage female was associated with higher amounts of sexual depictions compared to the onscreen appearance of an adult female. Though an older female character is more likely to have sexual dialogue in the scene, a younger female character is more likely portrayed in sexual behaviors onscreen.”
and
“Only 5% of the underage female characters communicated any form of dislike for being sexualized.”
The study defines sexualized as “the act or process of sexualizing,” meaning making the girl or act sexual in nature. The American Psychological Association (APA) regards a person as being sexualized if:
- their value comes only from their sexual appeal or sexual behavior
- they are sexually objectified
- or sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon them.
PTC identified the top 25 primetime shows for kids age 12-17, and viewed only those that were scripted. The study is based on The Office, NCIS, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, The Vampire Diaries, Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Family Guy, House, Glee, The Cleveland Show, American Dad, and The Simpsons.
The organization found that “underage female characters are shown participating in a higher percentage of sexual depictions compared to adults (47% and 29% respectively)” and that
93 percent of the sexual incidents among underage female characters were classified as unhealthy according to the APA definition. Furthermore the data shows that 73 percent of the underage sexualized incidents were presented as humor.
But there’s nothing funny about it. Television is powerful and it amplifies what we are experiencing in so many other mediums: advertising, magazines, books (Twilight, anyone?). We can tell our daughters to turn off the boob-tube, but they’ll still get the message that society expects them to be young, pretty and “hot. “You can read the full report online. It contains a section, copied from an APA report, called “What Parents Can Do.” The suggestions include:
- Watch TV and movie s and read magazines and websites with your children so you can discuss the images they encounter.
- Educate your children about healthy and unhealthy relationships. Don’t expect them to know, especially when their favorite characters are engaged in unhealthy relationships (Twilight anyone?)
- Tell your child why you don’t like a show, a character or a song’s lyrics.
- Speak up to the retailers, publishers, producers and advertisers who push hyper-sexual images on young girls.
You can also visit So Sexy So Soon for more tips on dealing with the media’s portrayal of girls. It’s not easy. My kids know exactly how I feel about the reshaped and sculpted Scooby Gang, but my daughter would still rather be a Daphne than a Thelma. She’s nowhere near old enough to watch primetime television, but she gets her full share of pretty, dumbed-down girl characters on Nickelodeon and The Disney Channel.
And don’t forget about your sons. How do we raise them to respect women if they are spoon-fed a media diet of pretty, submissive young things? If any of you have success stories, cautionary tales or helpful hints, we’d love to hear them.
