Media plays a huge role in the way that girls and women perceive themselves, one study says that it is not just media but more so maternal objectification that determines whether a girl will self-objectify.
In a study done by Starr and Ferguson Maternal self-objectification and media consumption were found to be two of the risk factors for early self sexualization for young girls. Maternal self objectification is how the mother sees herself and how often she partakes in behaviors involving body ideals such as tanning, dieting, adding make-up and, even eating disorders.
In advertisements there has been an increase in thinness since the 1970's, and now girls as young as six years old are expressing body dissatisfaction and showing interest in dieting.
One study went on to show that young girls age 6-9 were choosing sexualized versions of themselves, depicted in the study as paper dolls (Starr and Ferguson 2012). This article also discussed how the media and consumption of media images and television add to this hyper-sexuality of younger girls.
Using Seventeen magazine, directed towards older teenage girls, and Girl's Life magazine, which is directed more towards younger girls, this study done By Graff, Murnen, and Krause (2013), found that although there was more sexual material in Seventeen magazine, which was directed towards older teenage girls, that both magazines included material that would lead to the increase of early sexualization of girls. This idea of the "ideal" body image is what is being shown to girls beginning at very young ages.
"You have to connect the dots," she said. "With princess culture and all these pink toys that are almost always focused on fashion and beauty and how a girl can please somebody else, either by keeping a nice house or looking like a perfect princess, that all segues into the sexualization side of the market. Once you're done with princesses, if you are growing up in that girly-girly culture, the next thing offered to you are these sexualized dolls and you are growing up too fast," she said. "You are being introduced into adult concepts of sexuality that otherwise wouldn't be present in toys and it doesn't allow a girl to develop on her own, and at her own pace. The pretty princess culture focuses on appearance and that segues (from) 'sweet and pink and pretty' to 'hot and sexy.' There's no room for girlhood in that space," (Wallace 2014).
In a study done by Starr and Ferguson Maternal self-objectification and media consumption were found to be two of the risk factors for early self sexualization for young girls. Maternal self objectification is how the mother sees herself and how often she partakes in behaviors involving body ideals such as tanning, dieting, adding make-up and, even eating disorders.
In advertisements there has been an increase in thinness since the 1970's, and now girls as young as six years old are expressing body dissatisfaction and showing interest in dieting.
One study went on to show that young girls age 6-9 were choosing sexualized versions of themselves, depicted in the study as paper dolls (Starr and Ferguson 2012). This article also discussed how the media and consumption of media images and television add to this hyper-sexuality of younger girls.
Using Seventeen magazine, directed towards older teenage girls, and Girl's Life magazine, which is directed more towards younger girls, this study done By Graff, Murnen, and Krause (2013), found that although there was more sexual material in Seventeen magazine, which was directed towards older teenage girls, that both magazines included material that would lead to the increase of early sexualization of girls. This idea of the "ideal" body image is what is being shown to girls beginning at very young ages.
"You have to connect the dots," she said. "With princess culture and all these pink toys that are almost always focused on fashion and beauty and how a girl can please somebody else, either by keeping a nice house or looking like a perfect princess, that all segues into the sexualization side of the market. Once you're done with princesses, if you are growing up in that girly-girly culture, the next thing offered to you are these sexualized dolls and you are growing up too fast," she said. "You are being introduced into adult concepts of sexuality that otherwise wouldn't be present in toys and it doesn't allow a girl to develop on her own, and at her own pace. The pretty princess culture focuses on appearance and that segues (from) 'sweet and pink and pretty' to 'hot and sexy.' There's no room for girlhood in that space," (Wallace 2014).