Sexualization and youth: Concepts, theories, and models

Abstract

Youth in Western countries are exposed to many messages that sexualize women. We selectively review the literature on sexualization with the goal of clarifying and integrating theories, constructs, and models of the pathways and mechanisms via which exposure to such messages may affect youth. In the first section of the article, we define sexualization and discuss historical change concerning the construct. In the second section, we highlight the role that core values concerning sexuality and gender play in designing and interpreting research on sexualization. In the third section, we provide a conceptual analysis of the various psychological constructs related to sexualization, noting their roots in particular theories. In the fourth section, we discuss developmental issues and, in fifth and sixth sections, we present conceptual models of the antecedents and consequences of believing that sexual attractiveness to men is an important aspect of the female gender role among girls and boys, respectively.

Women and #MeToo in Italy: Internalized sexualization is associated with tolerance of sexual harassment and negative views of the #MeToo movement

“…Since individuals construct gender schemas and sexualized beliefs as a consequence of their exposure to cultural conceptions of genders and sexuality (Bigler et al, 2019;Ruble et al, 2006), it seems likely that women who have internalized a sexualized image of themselves will also endorse a broader array of cultural views of gender roles (e.g., Peter & Valkenburg, 2007;Ward & Friedman, 2006). Namely, we advanced that women's internalized sexualization would be positively related to sexist attitudes (hypothesis 1a).…”

“…The idea that girls and women internalize sexualized messages is in line with cognitive, constructivist accounts of gender role development, according to which children construct cognitive representations or gender roles by observing the characteristics and behaviors that are regarded as appropriate for women and men within the culture (Blakemore, Berenbaum, & Liben, 2009;Brown, 2019;Bussey & Bandura, 1999). These schemas guide individuals' self-views and behaviors, such that women and men engage in actions that are deemed as appropriate for their own gender while avoiding inappropriate actions (Bandura, 1999;Bigler et al, 2019). For instance, girls might imitate sexualized behaviors to be liked and accepted by peers, as from elementary school they perceive that sexualized girls are more popular than non-sexualized girls (Jongenelis, Pettigrew, Byrne, & Biagioni, 2016;Starr & Ferguson, 2012).…”

“…Research has shown that internalized sexualization affects psychosocial adjustment among pre-adolescent and adolescent girls (Bigler et al, 2019). Adolescent girls with higher levels of internalized sexualization earned lower grades at school and lower standardized state achievement scores than their peers, a finding attributed to girls' lower levels of investment of cognitive resources and time in academic pursuits (McKenney & Bigler, 2016b; see also Pacilli et al, 2016).…”

“…The items from the Women's Body (7 items) and the Power (6 items) subscales were retained. Whereas the original internalized sexualization scale was aimed at young girls who were unlikely to be involved in romantic or sexual relationships (McKenney & Bigler, 2016a), in older girls internalized sexualization might imply the enjoyment of male sexualized attention and displaying one's sexuality (Bigler et al, 2019;Gill & Orgad, 2018). For this reason, we included 9 items from the adult-focused "Enjoyment of Sexualization Scale" (e.g., "I love to feel sexy", "It is important to me that men are attracted to me"; Liss et al, 2011).…”

“…Children and adolescents in most contemporary Western societies are exposed to myriad messages that sexualize and objectify women and girls through media programs, musical videos, advertisements, magazines, and cartoons (e.g., Pacilli, Tomasetto, & Cadinu, 2016;Starr & Ferguson, 2012). Exposure to such messages appears to lead some women and girls to believe that being sexually appealing to men is a core component of the feminine gender role and their own identities (APA, 2007;Bigler, Tomasetto, & McKenney, 2019) and, in turn, is associated with a host of negative consequences (Zurbriggen & Roberts, 2013).…”