Hypersexualization of Women and Girls in Media: Is it a Problem?
In a society focused so heavily on physical attractiveness, an emphasis on sexuality is no foreign concept. It has become all too common to switch on a television or drive by a billboard and see girls in an unnecessarily sexualized light. In fact, studies in the 2000s found that 10 times more hypersexualized images of women than men were featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine (Donovan). This representation of women and girls by the media is detrimental and, if stopped, would lead to a more positive attitude towards women and would present more opportunities to minority women as well as women of all backgrounds.
Firstly, hypersexualization is dehumanizing and reduces women to their bodies, erasing their experiences and characters. The APA has found that women who are more exposed to hypersexualized media are more likely to accept these …show more content…
According to Heidman, with the normalization of sexualization, young girls can begin to subconsciously self-objectify, which can lead to lower test scores and confidence, and increased levels of depression. She states, “Women who are high self-objectifiers have lower political efficacy. Political efficacy is the idea that your voice matters in politics and that you can bring about change in politics. So if we have a whole generation of young people being raised where woman 's objectification is . . . normal . . . we have a whole generation of women who are less likely to run for office and less likely to vote” (Miss Representation). This information shows, clearly, that the argument that the hypersexualization of women in media has no real effects does not hold water. Things perpetuated by this biased media, as with anything repeated regularly, are bound to be internalized and accepted as the truth, leading to lower confidence in women in all
In a society focused so heavily on physical attractiveness, an emphasis on sexuality is no foreign concept. It has become all too common to switch on a television or drive by a billboard and see girls in an unnecessarily sexualized light. In fact, studies in the 2000s found that 10 times more hypersexualized images of women than men were featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine (Donovan). This representation of women and girls by the media is detrimental and, if stopped, would lead to a more positive attitude towards women and would present more opportunities to minority women as well as women of all backgrounds.
Firstly, hypersexualization is dehumanizing and reduces women to their bodies, erasing their experiences and characters. The APA has found that women who are more exposed to hypersexualized media are more likely to accept these …show more content…
According to Heidman, with the normalization of sexualization, young girls can begin to subconsciously self-objectify, which can lead to lower test scores and confidence, and increased levels of depression. She states, “Women who are high self-objectifiers have lower political efficacy. Political efficacy is the idea that your voice matters in politics and that you can bring about change in politics. So if we have a whole generation of young people being raised where woman 's objectification is . . . normal . . . we have a whole generation of women who are less likely to run for office and less likely to vote” (Miss Representation). This information shows, clearly, that the argument that the hypersexualization of women in media has no real effects does not hold water. Things perpetuated by this biased media, as with anything repeated regularly, are bound to be internalized and accepted as the truth, leading to lower confidence in women in all