Little girls in a grown up world: Exposure to sexualized media, internalization of sexualization messages, and body image in 6–9 year-old girls

Abstract

Little girls in a grown up world: Exposure to sexualized media, internalization of sexualization messages, and body image in 6-9 year-old girls. Body Image, 18. pp. 19-22. ISSN 1740-1445 Disclaimer UWE has obtained warranties from all depositors as to their title in the material deposited and as to their right to deposit such material. UWE makes no representation or warranties of commercial utility, title, or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty, express or implied in respect of any material deposited.UWE makes no representation that the use of the materials will not infringe any patent, copyright, trademark or other property or proprietary rights. UWE accepts no liability for any infringement of intellectual property rights in any material deposited but will remove such material from public view pending investigation in the event of an allegation of any such infringement. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR TEXT.Internalization of Sexualization in 6-9 Year-Old Girls AbstractDespite widespread public concern about the early sexualization of young girls, as yet there has been little empirical examination of potential negative effects. In the present study a sample of 300 6-9 year-old girls completed individual interviews assessing exposure to sexualized media, internalization of sexualized messages (measured via preference for sexualized clothing), and body image attitudes (body esteem, body dissatisfaction). Exposure to sexualized media was found to be correlated with internalization of sexualization messages, itself correlated with negative body image. The findings provide preliminary evidence that sexualized messages appear to be internalized by very young girls which, in turn, has negative implications for how they feel about their bodies.

“Change my selfie”: Relationships between self‐objectification and selfie‐behavior in young Italian women

“…Therefore, a woman may internalize an observer's perspective on the self, becoming an object of other's pleasure (Bartky, 1990), losing her sense of subjectivity, and autonomy (Talmon & Ginzburg, 2016), and increasing body surveillance (a self‐objectification indicator) to monitoring the compliance of own appearance with the internalized socio‐cultural standards of beauty. Many authors regularly report a link between the acceptance of societal ideals of attractiveness and self‐objectification, such as body dissatisfaction and eating disorders (e.g., Calogero, Davis, & Thompson, 2005; Dakanalis et al., 2014; Dohnt & Tiggemann, 2006; Gattino, De Piccoli, Fedi, Boza, & Rollero, 2018; Hausenblas et al., 2013; Heinberg & Thompson, 1995; Slater & Tiggemann, 2016; Stice, 2002). For example, Calogero and Colleagues (2005) demonstrated, in a sample of women with eating disorders, that the internalization of a thin‐ideal from the media predicted self‐objectification.…”

Denouncing child manipulation to produce sexualised imagery on YouTube

“…Several studies have provided evidence of this phenomenon in teen and pre-teen girls (Calogero, 2009;Myers & Crowther, 2007;Calogero et al, 2005;Tiggemann & Kuring, 2004;Slater & Tiggemann, 2002;McConnell, 2001;Morry & Staska, 2001;Tiggemann & Lynch, 2001) as well as younger children (6-12 years old) (Grabe et al, 2007), to a similar extent in both groups (Jongenelis et al, 2014). Furthermore, self-objectification has been shown to correlate with exposure to sexualised mass media content (Slater et al, 2016;Starr & Ferguson 2012).…”

More than Just Child’s Play?: An Experimental Investigation of the Impact of an Appearance-Focused Internet Game on Body Image and Career Aspirations of Young Girls

“…The extremely scarce existing evidence has focused on “self-sexualization” or a preference for sexualized clothing rather than using a measure of self-objectification. Slater and Tiggemann ( 2016 ) demonstrated a correlation between exposure to sexualized media (television and magazines with a focus on appearance and the body in a sexualizing way) and a preference for sexualized clothing in 6–9 year old girls, whereas Starr and Ferguson ( 2012 ) found that the quantity of media consumption (television and movie consumption) was largely unrelated to self-sexualization in girls of the same age. In contrast to these studies, the present study used a modified version of the Twenty Statements’ Test where girls were asked to describe themselves in three words as a state measure of self-objectification.…”

“…However, despite the fact that children are likely to be particularly vulnerable to media messages as they develop attitudes, values, and beliefs (Berry 2003 ), very few studies have focused on the impact of media exposure on young girls. Correlational research indicates that media exposure, through magazine and television programs, is related to internalization of the thin ideal, body dissatisfaction, and dieting awareness in girls as young as 6 years old (Dohnt and Tiggemann 2006 ; Harrison and Hefner 2006 ), and more recently that exposure to television and magazines containing sexualized content is related to a preference for sexualized clothing in 6–9 year old girls (Slater and Tiggemann 2016 ). These associations are perhaps unsurprising considering the high levels of gender-role stereotypes and the emphasis on appearance of women in the media, who are often presented as thin, attractive, and provocatively dressed (Downs and Smith 2010 ; Murnen et al 2016 ; Rudy et al 2011 ).…”