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The objective of the present study was to examine gender stereotypes and sexualization in Italian television advertisements aimed at children. For this purpose, content analysis method was used to analyze 185 commercials broadcast from 6 pm to 8:30 pm over the three Italian television channels dedicated to children which attract the largest audience share. In order to allow comparison with previous research on gender stereotyping, two raters coded a series of variables common to similar investigations (i.e., verbs used in the ads, voice-over, voice-over message, setting, pace of the ads, activities performed by the main characters). Results indicate that gender stereotypes are still prevalent in Italian children’s television commercials. Furthermore, although the level of sexualization of children is low, we found that girls tend to be more sexualized than boys, especially in terms of “adultification.” Our findings provide an updated picture of children’s advertising in Italy by also expanding the literature on gender role stereotyping and sexualization in television commercials.

Fraternities and sororities are popular organizations within university life. Even though their activities are usually secretive and protected, social media offer a chance for the public to understand these groups. In the present study, we investigated how sexualization is communicated on fraternities’ location pages on Instagram. Applying a multi-dimensional coding scheme composed of 12 sexualization variables, we analyzed 600 Greek life posts from 49 fraternities. Among the posts, we found (a) body shots, (b) revealing clothing, (c) sexualized mouths, and (d) breasts/chests to be the most frequently used sexualization cues. In addition, there was a positive association between the number of sexualization cues in a post and the number of likes the post received. The results also point to gender differences: fraternity posts portraying only women included a greater number of sexualization cues, on average, than posts showing only men or mixed genders. Also, gender of individuals in the pictures moderated the relationships between sexualized mouths/buttocks and likes. Implications for gender inequality and risks of sexualization are discussed.

As a consequence of exposure to sexualized messages, girls and women may internalize the belief that sexual attractiveness to men is an important aspect of their identity. Whereas research on internalized sexualization has mainly focused on its consequences for girls’ well-being and academic outcomes, the present study (N = 222, women, aged 20 to 29) examined whether internalized sexualization is related to sexist attitudes and tolerance of sexual harassment among young women. It also analyzed internalized sexualization’ links to women’s views of notorious sexual abuse allegations in the so-called Weinstein scandal and attitudes towards the #MeToo movement, a campaign aimed at combatting sexual harassment and sexual assault. The study was conducted in Italy, a context characterized by pervasive sexualized messages and diffuse criticism against the #MeToo movement. The findings showed that internalized sexualization was associated with stronger endorsement of sexist attitudes and higher acceptance of sexual harassment myths, which worked as sequential mediators of skepticism towards sexual abuse allegations in the Weinstein scandals. Endorsement of sexist attitudes mediated the relation between internalized sexualization and negative attitudes towards the #MeToo movement. This study extends the knowledge on the correlates of sexualization, suggesting that women’s internalization of the belief that they should be sexually attractive to men might contribute to reinforce ideologies and attitudes that perpetrate women’s mistreatment while diminishing support for social activism on women’s behalf.

Media images often present one idealized type of woman: she is thin, sexualized, and White. Although research has shown that there are stereotypes associated with sexualized women, known research has not addressed whether these stereotypes vary based on other characteristics such as body type and race. The current study aimed to examine the stereotypes associated with women who varied in sexualization, as well as body size and race, and whether participants’ characteristics moderated these stereotypes. U.S. college-aged students (n = 500: 101 men, 393 women, 6 unknown) completed measures of gender stereotypes and rated the attributes of women who varied in sexualization (sexualized vs. non-sexualized clothing), body size (thin vs. plus-sized), and race (Black vs. White). Results suggest that body size is more salient than sexualization and stereotypes about sexualized women are differentially applied to White and Black women. Additionally, participants’ gender and race moderated stereotype ratings. Lastly, viewing sexualized images was related to higher endorsement of sexualized gender stereotypes, but only in women. Taken together our results highlight that research on sexualization should address important intersectional components, such as race and body size. We also discuss broader implications of our results on lessening stereotyping and weight stigma.

Alcohol consumption is on the rise among U.S. women, especially college women, despite the negative consequences that uniquely and disproportionately affect them. The current work integrates objectification theory and related research with literature on drinking motivations to explore how women’s experiences living in a culture that constantly objectifies the female body is associated with women’s consumption of alcohol. Among a sample of 539 female U.S. college students, the present study examined how differentially valenced responses to interpersonal sexual objectification (enjoyment of sexualization or body shame) contribute to distinct drinking motivations and outcomes. Results showed general support for the proposed serial mediational model. The link between sexual objectification and drinking frequency was mediated by self-objectification, enjoyment of sexualization, and drinking for enhancement, social and conformity motives, and by self-objectification, body shame, and the conformity motive. Finally, sexual objectification was related to drinking quantity through self-objectification, enjoyment of sexualization, and the enhancement drinking motive. These findings suggest that objectification experiences and resulting negative and positive inner states are important predictors of alcohol consumption. The integration of objectification theory with drinking motives sheds light on additional negative consequences associated with women living in a patriarchal society, including increased alcohol use. This model, if confirmed by future research, may provide promising avenues for reducing women’s drinking and thus minimizing the negative consequences they experience from alcohol.

Slasher films are known for their graphic depictions of sex, brutalization and death. Many argue that these films sexualize and punish female characters. A content analysis of 48 influential slasher films from the 1960s to 2010s was conducted to evaluate the presentation of women in these films. Sexualization (measured via specific acts and total sexualization), strength, flaws, brutalization, and fate were coded for 252 female characters. Results indicate that purity was significantly related to lower brutalization and lower rates of death for all women. Within each role (hero, killer, and potential/actual victim), unique portrayals of sexuality and related repercussions emerge. Female killers were most commonly portrayed having sex, heroes were most sexually dressed, and actual/potential victims were brutalized and killed most for their sexualization. These messages reinforce ideas of gender roles, stereotypes, and relationship expectations by punishing female sexualization and demonizing female sex. Issues of violence against women, toxic masculinity, rape culture, and the normalization of combining violence and sex are discussed as significant concerns.

A growing body of research has demonstrated negative effects of sexualization in the media on adolescents’ body image, but longitudinal studies and research including interactive and social media are scarce. The current study explored the longitudinal associations of adolescents’ use of sexualized video games (SVG) and sexualized Instagram images (SII) with body image concerns. Specifically, our study examined relations between adolescents’ SVG and SII use and appearance comparisons, thin- and muscular-ideal internalization, valuing appearance over competence, and body surveillance. A sample of 660 German adolescents (327 female, 333 male; Mage = 15.09 years) participated in two waves with an interval of 6 months. A structural equation model showed that SVG and SII use at Time 1 predicted body surveillance indirectly via valuing appearance over competence at Time 2. Furthermore, SVG and SII use indirectly predicted both thin- and muscular-ideal internalization through appearance comparisons at Time 1. In turn, thin-ideal internalization at Time 1 predicted body surveillance indirectly via valuing appearance over competence at Time 2. The results indicate that sexualization in video games and on Instagram can play an important role in increasing body image concerns among adolescents. We discuss the findings with respect to objectification theory and the predictive value of including appearance comparisons in models explaining the relation between sexualized media and self-objectification.

Using an experimental methodology, the present study investigated college students’ attitudes toward media images of female athletes. We are particularly focused on how viewers perceive media images of female athletes that have both an appearance and athleticism focus, such as those found in ESPN’s The Body Issue. An aim of our study was to assess viewers’ attitudes toward these images that are not purely objectified, thereby contributing to the objectification literature and providing empirical data relevant to theorizing on the social impact of these images. U.S. college students (n = 563) viewed one of four types of images of the same athletes including: (a) sexualized athletes, (b) sexualized performance athletes (in which both athleticism and sexualization are present), (c) sport performance athletes (in which athletes are depicted playing their sport), or (d) non-sexualized athletes. They then rated the athletes’ competence, esteem, and sexual appeal. Overall, sexualized performance athletes were rated more positively than sexualized athletes, but less positively than sport performance athletes. These results have implications for advocacy efforts calling for more media coverage in which women are depicted as athletes rather than as sexual objects.

Although objectification is a common experience for women (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), little is understood about how women perceive sources of objectifying commentary and behaviors. The current work provides a novel integration of objectification and consistency theories to understand how valence of sexual objectification and women’s feelings about sexual attention interact to predict perceptions of objectifying sources. In two online vignette studies with 121 and 110 U.S. women recruited through MTurk, female participants were asked to recall an experience of complimentary or critical objectification and report perceptions of source warmth, approach behavioral intentions, perceived overlap between the self and the source, and enjoyment of sexualization. Consistent with hypotheses, regression analyses revealed that reporting experiences of complimentary objectification led to more positive source perceptions among women who reported that they enjoy being sexualized relative to reporting experiences of critical objectification. Furthermore, path analyses revealed that self-other overlap emerged as a mechanism of women’s more positive source perceptions, with a significant indirect effect of self-other overlap emerging for the link between enjoyment of sexualization and warmth and approach in the complimentary objectification condition. The effects were replicated across two studies. The discussion centers on how understanding women’s objectifying source perceptions could illuminate when interpersonal objectification will lead to more experiences of objectification or women’s internalization of objectifying self-perceptions.

Arguably due to the influence of raunch culture, stripping is now a normalized female behavior that is encouraged and may even be expected in Western culture. The purpose of the current studies was to examine the behavior of casual stripping in the general public and examine potential correlates and predictors of that behavior. We began by examining the traits that have been highlighted in past research that are often associated with professional stripping. Specifically, we examined parental rejection, sociosexuality, and personality traits. Overall, we produce evidence that sociosexuality and paternal neglect do predict engaging in casual stripping behaviors. This study is important because the behavior of ‘casual’ stripping is fairly common, yet virtually unexplored in current research. Additionally, the implications of this hypersexualized, but normalized, behavior can include debates in feminism theory, normalization of various sex behaviors, self-esteem, and the sexualization of young people.

At present, there have been a number of studies examining the sexualization of female characters in various media. However, most studies to date have not clearly delineated whether sexualized images or the presence of assertive versus passive female characters influences negative attitudes toward women in viewers, as well as female viewer anxiety. The present study investigated whether the inclusion of powerful female characters in movies with sexualized content influences both male and female viewers’ attitudes towards women as well as anxiety responses of female reviewers. Participants included 134 undergraduate students attending a private liberal arts university in the southern region of the United States. Participants were randomized to watch one of three movie conditions: first, movies that involve strong female lead characters, but which also include sexualized characters, Second, movies that involve strong female lead characters without sexualization and third, movies that involve sexualized female characters without strong portrayals (i.e. damsels in distress). Participants were measured on attitudes toward women, rape myth acceptance and anxiety. Results indicated little support for the view that sexualized media impacted viewers’ attitudes toward women, rape myth acceptance or anxiety.

Concerns about sexualization of Halloween costumes appear frequently in the lay press, but systematic investigation of such costumes or the ads in which they appear is relatively rare. We coded a randomly selected sample of 1001 advertisements for child, teen, and adult Halloween costumes for 13 different markers of sexualization that we combined into overall scores for costume sexualization, model sexualization, and hypersexualization. We found that ratings of model characteristics and costume were significantly more sexualized when the model was adult and female. Significant interactions indicated that model characteristics and costumes of male models were low in sexualization regardless of age, whereas model characteristics and costumes featuring female models were rated more sexualized than those for male models, even for child models, and sexualization ratings increased with age. A measure of hypersexualization (combining costume and model characteristic ratings and adding text sexualization) showed that hypersexualization is highest in advertisements featuring female and adult models while being low for male models across all three age groups. However, hypersexualization ratings were not significantly different for teen and adult women, indicating some compression of sexualization into adolescence. Our results could be used by parents, educators, or counselors interested in media literacy.

In Western society sex appeal has become greatly valued and young women actively and publically expose their sexualities in a variety of ways. Those women who embrace and participate in the hyper-sexualized cultural trend are called self-sexualizers. Despite the growing number of empirical studies related to self-sexualization, there is lack of consensus around a definition of self-sexualization among researchers. The concept of self-sexualization needs to be clarified and explained. The primary purpose of this examination is to address the self-sexualizing phenomenon and to define self-sexualization by building upon previous researchers’ approaches. In this research, self-sexualization is defined as the voluntary imposition of sexualization to the self. We adapted the four aspects of sexualization presented in a task force report issued by the American Psychological Association in 2007 to propose the four conditions of self-sexualization. (1) The first condition of self-sexualization is favoring sexual self-objectification. (2) The second condition is relating sexual desirability to self-esteem. (3) The third condition is equating physical attractiveness with being sexy. (4) The last condition is contextualizing sexual boundaries. Description of each condition and related concepts are discussed.

Free online sexually explicit materials have become the major way for pornography viewers to consume pornographic materials. Most previous content analytic studies have focused on aggression and degradation behaviors in sexually explicit materials. Fewer studies have focused on the prevalence of depictions of individual sexual behaviors, overlooking that pornographic materials not only show viewers individual sexual behaviors but also provide sexual scripts, which contain a series of co-occurring sexual behaviors. Using the network analysis method, the current study examined the co-occurrence patterns of a large number of sexual behaviors depicted in free online sexually explicit materials. The study has revealed the primary sexual script depicted in popular online sexually explicit materials and predicted the potential effects of such a script.

While all girls and women experience sexualization, these experiences differ based on a range of individual-level factors to structural contexts. For marginalized populations of women, such as those on the streets, sexualization can take on a particularly pivotal role. Using in-depth interviews with formerly street-involved women, the study explores the processes through which the street context reified the participants’ dependence on their “sexual capital” in order to survive. While they did exercise some agency over their bodies, the ability to make decisions in this regard dissipated as they became more tethered to street life. Dependence on sexual capital preserved street dynamics that disempowered and damaged them vis-a-vis men, a vulnerable status which effectively sustained the arrangement that harmed them. Control over participants’ sexual capital was usurped by others on the streets as they were traded, sold, and victimized by violence. Ultimately, participants’ experiences suggest that sexual capital is central to the gendered scaffolding upon which the street context is constructed.

Ant queen pheromones (QPs) have long been known to affect colony functioning. In many species, QPs affect important reproductive functions such as diploid larvae sexualization and egg-laying by workers, unmated queens (gynes), or other queens. Until the 1990s, these effects were generally viewed to be the result of queen manipulation through the use of coercive or dishonest signals. However, in their seminal 1993 paper, Keller and Nonacs challenged this idea, suggesting that QPs had evolved as honest signals that informed workers and other colony members of the queen's presence and reproductive state. This paper has greatly influenced the study of ant QPs and inspired numerous attempts to identify fertility-related compounds and test their physiological and behavioral effects. In the present article, we review the literature on ant QPs in various contexts and pay special attention to the role of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs). Although the controversy generated by Keller and Nonacs' (Anim Behav 45:787-794, 1993) paper is currently less intensively debated, there is still no clear evidence which allows the rejection of the queen control hypothesis in favor of the queen signal hypothesis. We argue that important questions remain regarding the mode of action of QPs, and their targets which may help understanding their evolution.

Feminists have debated whether enjoyment of sexualization (ES)—when women find sexualized attention from men rewarding—represents empowerment or patriarchal oppression. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychosexual correlates of ES—sexual self-schema (SSS) and psychosexual health—among heterosexual college women (n = 754) and men (n = 389). Among women, ES was associated with a SSS in which women saw themselves as more heterosexual, more attractive, more open to unconventional sex acts, and having greater sentimentality about romantic relationships. Regarding psychosexual health, ES was not linked with general self-esteem but was associated with higher sexual esteem and lower sexual depression. Among men, ES was not related to SSS or psychosexual health. Overall, among women, ES was linked with positive outcomes, and it may represent women conforming to societal norms and using sexualized attention in order to obtain romantic intimacy. Rather than internalized misogyny, ES may represent an open approach to sexuality in which women take advantage of their sexualized position in society for their own empowerment.

The present study investigated how task demand (cognitive load and interactivity) and avatar sexualization in a video game influenced rape myth acceptance (RMA), hostile sexism, and self-objectification. In a between-subjects design, 300 U.S. college students either played or watched someone else play a videogame as either a sexualized or non-sexualized female avatar under high (memorize 7 symbols) or low (memorize 2 symbols) cognitive load. Hypotheses were derived from the limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing (LC4MP) and perspectives on stereotype processing. Results contradicted hypotheses that greater task demands and sexualization would produce greater RMA, hostile sexism, and self-objectification. Instead, we found that sexualization did not affect these variables. Greater cognitive load reduced rape myth acceptance and hostile sexism for those in the sexualized avatar condition, but it did not affect self-objectification. We discuss these results with respect to the LC4MP and suggest that the processing of stereotype-inconsistent information might be the underlying cause of these unexpected findings. These results provide tentative evidence that cognitively demanding video game environments may prompt players to focus on stereotype-inconsistent, rather than stereotype-consistent, social information.

In order to better serve bisexual women, clinicians and researchers need tools that accurately reflect and capture bisexual women's experiences of stigma and affirmation. These tools are essential as research indicates that bisexual women experience poorer mental health than either heterosexual or lesbian women. Our community-based study developed and psychometrically evaluated the Bisexual Microaggression and Microaffirmation Scales for Women (BMMS-W). We held focus groups and advisory committee meetings with bisexual women to identify common experiences of microaggressions and microaffirmations and drafted over 200 potential survey items. Exploratory factor analysis of data from 382 participants across Canada and the U.S. yielded five microaggression factors (dismissal; mistrust; sexualization; social exclusion; and denial of complexity) and four microaffirmation factors (acceptance; social support; recognition of bisexuality and biphobia; and emotional support). Confirmatory factor analysis of data from a separate sample of 323 participants across Canada and the U.S. tested the model. The development of the BMMS-W responds to calls to examine the distinctiveness of bisexual women's experience and gives mental health service providers and researchers a tool to better understand their experiences.

The goal of the current study was to replicate and extend prior research on the impact of media images of athletes on women and men. We used an experimental design to investigate the effects of viewing sexualized or performance images of athletes on viewers’ self-objectification and physicality, as well as to explore moderators of these relationships. Participants (227 women, 193 men U.S. undergraduates) viewed either performance images or sexualized images of the same athletes, and then they completed measures of self-objectification, engagement with professional athletes, and self-reported participation in conversations with peers focused on appearance. For both men and women, viewing sexualized images increased self-objectification, whereas viewing performance images increased physicality self-descriptors. For women only, reporting peer appearance conversations increased their self-objectification but only after viewing sexualized images. These results highlight the potentially negative effects of sexualized media on both men and women, and they suggest that the prevalence of these images in popular media are problematic.

This article analyzes how individuals use affect as a resource to negotiate judgments of appropriateness in situations where they or others feel sexualized. It draws from two years of participant observation at a sensual figure drawing session in an erotic arts club—where bodily exposure was heightened and social norms regarding sexualization were ambiguous—as well as in-depth interviews with the club’s artists, models, and owners. It argues that somatic security and somatic insecurity, individuals’ comfort or unease with how they perceive others to interact with their bodies through talk and bodily comportment, mediate sexualized interactions. Extending sociological studies of sexualization in interaction, it reveals that these affective states, which arise out of situational dynamics, form a foundation of comfort/unease toward others and assurance/shame with oneself. Individuals use these affective experiences to judge and justify future interactions as appropriate or inappropriate and develop relationships with others.

Sex and Chinese culture appear to be at odds with one another. Sex talk, however, has been on constant supply in Hong Kong media in the past decade. Considering that Chinese culture prefers to conceal, rather than reveal, sexual matters, this study probes into the phenomenon which sees the proliferation of sex-related debates and controversies in news media in this predominantly Chinese society. Two cases about photobooks of female models were used to illuminate the dominant discourses regarding female bodies in Hong Kong media. Since 2009, photobooks featuring teenage models in sexy poses have become standard provisions in the annual Hong Kong Book Fair. In 2015, a 6-year old girl participated in the production of a photobook. It soon caught the attention of critics who questioned the sexual connotations of a few pictures. Despite the decision to recall all copies, the incident provoked debates on child pornography and a rare discussion about sexual agency. This study has identified various discourses in mainstream news media and social media. It was found that morality and money are two keywords that best summarize how Hong Kong responds to sex matters, while changing media technologies are opening up space for alternative views.

Women are surrounded by sexualized imagery as well as cultural narratives that dictate their sexual behavior. These diverse cultural narratives include: women are sexually passive, women should desire sex and be sexually empowered, and women are expected to navigate ambivalent societal messages regarding their sexuality. In our study, we explored how college-aged young women describe and understand their first exposure to a sexual image. This mixed methods study, guided by critical feminism, addresses how young women, reflecting on their experiences since girlhood, have navigated changing cultural standards for female sexuality in light of complex negotiations among varying expectations. We examined 445 young women’s written reflections on seeing a sexual image for the first time. Most of the women reported that this experience occurred when they were in elementary school, and at home with friends, family, or alone. We found four themes of reactions to seeing the image for the first time: unwanted, intrigued, ambivalent, and neutral. Implications for comprehensive sex education include the need for teachers, parents, and other trusted adults to provide accurate and age-appropriate knowledge and opportunities for discussion about sexuality. Limitations and future directions are also discussed.

In the present study, I utilize objectification theory and compulsory heterosexuality as theoretical lenses to investigate lesbian and bisexual young Women of Color’s sexual objectification experiences. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight Black and Latina 16–19 year-old young women who identified as lesbian or bisexual. Using the Listening Guide method of narrative analysis, two voices pertaining to young women’s objectification experiences were identified: a Voice of Surveillance and a Voice of Self-Surveillance. Findings suggest that young women experienced sexual objectification as rooted in their gender, sexuality, and racial identities. Experiences were further shaped by the contexts in which objectification occurred: participants voiced distinct struggles navigating (a) sexual harassment and violence in relationships with peers and romantic partners, (b) sexual harassment and discipline in school, and (c) street harassment and violence from men. Findings highlight the importance of understanding sexual objectification experiences as they are informed by gender, sexuality, and race, as well as the ways that young women actively cope with and resist objectification. Psychologists, activists, and mental health professionals are encouraged to consider how sexual objectification is rooted in multiple forms of oppression, its implications for young women’s identity, desire, and well-being, and how young women can be supported as they struggle against it.

Sexualization is associated with negative mental and physical health consequences for girls. Media exposure, particularly television (TV), is a pervasive source of sexualizing messages yet little work has quantified sexualization in children’s media, particularly in media popular with minority youth. The current research examines the prevalence of sexualization in children’s TV programs popular among U.S. Latina and White girls aged 6 to 11 through a quantitative content analysis of 32 episodes from the ten most popular children’s TV series. Results indicated that sexualization was present in every coded episode, with at least three instances present per episode, and a combined total of 770 instances across all episodes. Female characters were more commonly portrayed in a sexualized manner than were male characters and were sexualized in 72 % of instances. Characters of color were generally sexualized at the same rate as White characters. Although sexualized clothing was the most common form of sexualization in the children’s programs, a broad range of sexualizing content was present. Instances of sexualization included sexualizing comments, body exposure, self-sexualizing physical behaviors and activities, sexualizing physical behaviors toward others, verbal and physical objectification, and body/appearance modification. These findings suggest that sexualization is present in children’s media popular among both Latina and White girls and that identifying means to counter this influence should be a priority.

Growing attention has been paid to examining how women present themselves on Social Networking Sites (SNSs). Recently, researchers have found that SNSs seem to provide a unique forum for the reproduction of traditional gender roles, including the sexualization of women. In the current study, we evaluated various correlates of self-sexualization in the Facebook profile pictures of young women. Ten Facebook profile photographs of each of 98 young adult women, ranging in age from 18 to 28 years old, were coded for self-sexualization. Participants also completed self-report surveys measuring appearance-related contingencies of self-worth, body surveillance, and internalization of sociocultural beauty norms. Appearance-related contingencies of self-worth and body surveillance were both independently positively associated with self-sexualization in Facebook profile photographs. Although internalization of sociocultural appearance attitudes did not have a direct effect on self-sexualization in Facebook profile pictures, it did have an indirect effect through body surveillance. Potential theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Using thematic analysis of interview data, the present study assessed teen girls’ and young adult women’s attitudes toward posting sexualized profile photos on Facebook. In addition, sexualization behaviors depicted in participants’ profile photos were examined. Participants overwhelmingly disapproved (either in a reluctant or a clear manner) of posting a profile photo of oneself in underwear on social media. A somewhat different pattern emerged in attitudes about posting a swimsuit photo in which specific conditions were laid out determining whether swimsuit photos were acceptable or not. Sexualization cues in profile photos were generally low. Findings suggest that posting a sexualized photo on social media comes with relational costs for girls and women. Strategies for educating young people about new media use and sexualization are discussed.

Women and girls are subject to numerous sexually objectifying messages with serious consequences for their body and mind. This study is an attempt to demonstrate the consequences of self-objectification and the routine self-sexualization behavior of women within consumer culture. Using self-report online questionnaires and structural equation modeling, it was gathered responses from 381 Iranian married women who use internet on a daily basis. The results show that body surveillance is significant in the process of losing self-esteem, attempts at alleviating it through self-sexualization behavior, and finally the tendency to compulsive buying. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings to explain the relationship among self-objectification, self-esteem and self-sexualization behavior.

Although everyday exposure to media content that sexually objectifies women is believed to lead women to sexualize themselves, research testing this connection has produced mixed results. Most studies have focused only on the self-objectification component of self-sexualization, and on limited assessments of media exposure. Our goal was to extend tests of this component of objectification theory both to understudied media genres and to men, and to do so using broader measures of self-sexualization. Surveying 1,107 U.S. undergraduate students (658 women and 449 men), we used structural equation modeling to test the contributions of exposure to popular reality programs, romantic-themed movies, and music videos to self-sexualization (a latent construct comprised of body surveillance, enjoyment of sexualization, and importance of sexual appeal). Frequent consumption of reality TV programs consistently predicted self-sexualization for women and men, and music video exposure predicted self-sexualization only for men. Findings confirm pathways proposed by objectification theory and indicate unique contributions of understudied media.

This paper addresses the intergenerational transmission between women and girls surrounding the experience of sexual desire. I propose that at the heart of such transmission we find trauma, fear, silence, and a psychological dissociation that takes place in both adult women and girls – conceptualized here as a form of mutual dissociation called the dissociative bond, rooted in the larger social patriarchal structure. I point to the healing power of understanding this in a psychoanalytic framework and of particular forms of social activism (exemplified by SPARK, a grassroots feminist organization) as pathways toward resistance and transformation.

Leading up to the early 2000s, feminist researchers identified numerous representational practices through which the sports media ignored, trivialized and sexualized sportswomen. At that time, a distillation of the research into a set of six unwritten media ‘rules’ concluded that, at best, the traditional media approached women’s sport ambivalently within an either/or discourse of pretty or powerful that constructed femininity and athleticism as incompatible. In the past decade, the rise of Internet-based news and social media has dramatically changed the field of representation, including an explosion in public voice and information sharing on social networking sites. In this changed media landscape, I synthesize U.S. and global research into 15 historical and emerging rules of media representation, in order to extend researchers’ understandings of the current status and range of representational practices. In addition, I employ the theoretical lenses of third-wave feminism and cultural studies to advance the ways in which feminist researchers can conceptualize and understand historical and emerging trends in how sportswomen are imagined in popular culture. In particular, I consider the implications of third wave feminism for understanding the emergence of a pretty and powerful discourse in the U.S. that challenges dominant interpretations of sports media coverage and points to the value for feminist sport media researchers of expanding their interpretive frameworks for making sense of media coverage.

This study investigated how ten Asian American female classroom teachers experienced racial microaggressions (Ong et al. in J Couns Psychol 60(2):188–199, 2013; Sue et al. in Cult Divers Ethn Minor Psychol 13(1):72–81, 2007; Sue in Microaggressions in everyday life: race, gender, and sexual orientation. Wiley, Hoboken, 2010) from their initial-licensure preparation to professional careers as classroom teachers. The findings will focus on three major themes that exemplified how their experiences with racial microaggressions also intersected with gendered dynamics based on their identities as Asian American women: (a) making sense of institutional “cultures of Whiteness” (Lee in Up against whiteness: race, school and immigrant youth. Teachers College Press, New York, 2005, pp. 30–31), (b) encounters with racialized sexualization, (Lee and Vaught in J Negro Educ 72:457–466, 2003) and (c) specific examples where they were racialized as foreigners (Tuan in Forever foreigners or honorary whites? The Asian ethnic experience today. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 1998) that also included incidents where Asian cultures were pathologized. Recommendations address implications for teacher-preparation programs and K-12 schools.

The present study was conducted with female undergraduates in the Midwestern region of U.S. to examine the potential positive and negative influences of the gendered depictions of women in superhero films. This study utilized social cognitive and objectification theory frameworks to experimentally examine the short-term effects of exposure to sexualized female characters in superhero films on 83 female viewers’ gender role beliefs, body esteem, and self-objectification. Results show that exposure to the sexualized-victim images of women in superhero films decreased egalitarian gender role beliefs. Exposure to the sexualized-heroine images resulted in lower body esteem. Additionally, a positive effect emerged with a greater belief in the importance of body competence to the self-concept for women who were exposed to the superheroine characters. This study demonstrates short-term effects from viewing sexualized images of women in superhero films and provides a significant understanding of how sexualized female representations may impact gender related beliefs as well as perceptions of one’s self-esteem and body objectification.

Given the heightened attention to visual impression management on social media websites, previous research has demonstrated an association between Facebook use and objectified body consciousness among adolescent girls and young women in various Western countries, including the U.S. (e.g., Meier and Gray 2013). The current study aimed to test whether both young women and men using social networking sites are vulnerable to objectified body consciousness, and to extend this line of research to sexual health outcomes. We tested a path model of Facebook involvement, objectified body consciousness, body shame, and sexual assertiveness and examined whether the negative health consequences of objectified body consciousness were greater in magnitude for women than men. Participants in this study were U.S. college students in the Midwest, 467 women and 348 men, who on average reported using social networking sites for 6 years. They completed survey measures assessing their involvement in Facebook, body surveillance, appearance self-worth, and enjoyment of sexualization. They also reported on feelings of body shame and sexual assertiveness. For both women and men, Facebook involvement predicted objectified body consciousness, which in turn predicted greater body shame and decreased sexual assertiveness. The link between objectified body consciousness and body shame was greater in magnitude for women, but no gender difference was found in the association between body shame and sexual assertiveness. We suggest that social media foster a heightened experience of the self from an observer’s point of view, which has consequences for body image and sexual agency among women as well as men.

The study aimed to test Menzel and Levine’s (2011) embodiment theory of positive body image in the context of belly dance. Participants were 213 women from Adelaide, South Australia. They comprised 112 belly dancers recruited from two belly dance schools, and a sample of 101 college women who had never participated in belly dance. Participants completed questionnaire measures of positive body image, body dissatisfaction, self-objectification, and enjoyment of sexualization. It was found that belly dancers scored higher on positive body image and lower on body dissatisfaction and self-objectification than the college students. There was, however, no difference between groups in enjoyment of sexualization. Importantly, in support of the embodiment model, the effect of belly dance group on positive body image was mediated by reduced self-objectification. It was concluded that belly dance represents an embodying activity, one associated with a number of benefits for its practioners, including positive body image.

The focus of this Feminist Forum commentary is to both complement and extend McCormack and Anderson’s (2014, this issue) thesis by drawing relationships between homophobia, homohysteria, masculinity, and the gendered experiences of heterosexual women in the United States. I argue that the emerging culture of decreasing homonegativity in the United States and the simultaneous reimagining of masculinity and men’s gendered behaviors contribute to more diverse gendered experiences of heterosexual women. To support my argument, I provide direct counterpoints to three of the six characteristics of heterosexual men McCormack and Anderson (2014) draw upon as evidence of their argument and apply them to the gendered experiences of heterosexual women. These are: (1) social inclusion of lesbian and bisexual women peers, (2) the embrace of once-masculinized artifacts, (3) sexualization and the “party-time rule” of homosexuality, and one additional characteristic (4) increased assertiveness of heterosexual women. Furthermore, I highlight contradictory evidence and missing pieces to the puzzle, including a theoretical exploration of how changing levels homophobia affect LGBT people’s gendered experiences. Overall, through examining the relationships between changing levels of homophobia and heterosexual women’s and LGBT people’s gendered experiences, the current exploration provides a much needed theoretical extension and application of McCormack and Anderson’s (2014) research.

In Sexualized Media Messages and Our Children: Teaching Kids to be Smart Critics and Consumers, Jennifer Shewmaker explains how sexualization of the media impacts child development and how to teach children to critique the media they encounter. The author argues that mass media portrays narrow and inaccurate gender stereotypes that influence children’s self-esteem, involvement in extracurricular activities, and sexual behaviors. Further, she demonstrates that parents, teachers, and community organizations can influence child development by promoting specific value systems that emphasize character, kindness, and competence. The book offers strategies for parents to teach their children about sexual development, as well as media literacy skills so that they will become competent media critics. Chapter One discusses the power of media in the lives of children and the mediating factors through which the community can provide children a lens through which to interpret these messages. Children’s media use has grown exponentially as media has become more accessible through mobile devices and the popularity of the internet. Media marketers and advertisers wield their power and resources to perpetuate certain messages that affect the way children think about body image, gender stereotypes, and sexual behavior. Media has become increasingly sexualized and has promoted the idea that a girl’s value is found in her ability to attract romantic interest, and a boy’s goal is to have sexual relationships with many attractive women. Research shows that sexualized media messages that emphasize romance and physical relationships over friendships and emotional connection lead to problems for both girls and boys. Among girls, the ‘‘thin ideal’’ leads to body dissatisfaction and dieting at a young age. Boys have trouble developing meaningful relationships with girls. To counter sexualized media messages, family and communities can promote specific value systems to impact how children interpret media messages. Shewmaker argues that a child’s system of influence, such as family, community, or his or her larger culture, shape the child’s understanding of and ability to respond to interactions with media and marketing. She describes these systems in Chapter Two. School, religion, community groups, sports, scouting, and performing arts are part of the microsystem, where children learn about values and interpersonal relationships. Mass media is part of the exosystem that influences the child daily but less directly. These systems interact with one another to influence child development; therefore, it is important that caregivers understand that they have the power to interact with the systems that influence children. The caregiver must foster the five C’s: competence, confidence, character, connection, and caring—assets that help a child thrive. When a child has strong assets, it will be more difficult for the media to manipulate the way the child views herself or her role in society. Adults should respond to sexualized messages by presenting children with beliefs about competence, strength of mind, and kindness to help them develop their own values. The author discusses how children are targeted by marketing media and analyzes the effects of media messages on children in Chapter Three. Research reveals an emerging pattern of romantic themes in children’s television programming. Both romance and gender stereotypes are marketed to young children through toys and products. Toys marketed to boys generally promote an understanding & Mary E. Mancuso mamancus@indiana.edu

There is a debate as to whether or not gaining a sense of sexual empowerment through being an object of sexual desire results in empowerment. This debate has been largely theoretical, but there are now operationalizations of self-sexualization, enjoying sexualization, and perceiving sex as a source of personal power which allow for the collection of data on this topic. The current study examined whether these constructs were related to attitudinal and behavioral indicators of sexual satisfaction and sexual agency. An online sample of young, heterosexual, sexually active women was recruited. Our constructs of interest were related to some positive sexual outcomes, including sexual esteem and sexual assertiveness. At the same time, these constructs were related to having faked orgasm, and both self-sexualization and the belief that sex can be a source of power were related to greater frequency of having faked an orgasm. Additionally, none of the variables was significantly related to sexual satisfaction or ease of orgasm. Thus, while there may be some positive sexual outcomes associated with these variables, there are other indicators that a sense of empowerment through objectified sexuality may interfere with true sexual subjectivity.

This paper presents three studies designed to develop and validate a scale measuring the extent to which women believe that both they and other women generally gain power through their sexuality. The first two studies used exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to derive and confirm the factor structure of the Sex is Power Scale (SIPS). The SIPS is comprised of two subscales, one assessing one’s own feeling that sex can bring power and one assessing the belief that women in general use sex to gain power. In Study 3, convergent and discriminant validity were assessed. Correlations indicated that the SIPS subscales are distinct from conceptually related measures. Ways in which this scale could be useful to researchers are discussed.

Content analysis of video games has consistently shown that women are portrayed much less frequently than men and in subordinate roles, often in “hypersexualized” ways. However, the relationship between portrayal of female characters and videogame sales has not previously been studied. In order to assess the cultural influence of video games on players, it is important to weight differently those games seen by the majority of players (in the millions), rather than a random sample of all games, many of which are seen by only a few thousand people. Box art adorning the front of video game boxes is a form of advertising seen by most game customers prior to purchase and should therefore predict sales if indeed particular depictions of female and male characters influence sales. Using a sample of 399 box art cases from games with ESRB ratings of Teen or Mature released in the US during the period of 2005 through 2010, this study shows that sales were positively related to sexualization of non-central female characters among cases with women present. In contrast, sales were negatively related to the presence of any central female characters (sexualized or non-sexualized) or the presence of female characters without male characters present. These findings suggest there is an economic motive for the marginalization and sexualization of women in video game box art, and that there is greater audience exposure to these stereotypical depictions than to alternative depictions because of their positive relationship to sales.

This article investigates the sexual relationships of dissatisfied couples from the viewpoint of the female spouse. There are two basic approaches toward sexual dissatisfaction: the first regards sexual dissatisfaction as the cause of marital dissatisfaction; the second asserts that marital dissatisfaction leads to sexual dissatisfaction. This study aims at an understanding of the causes and mechanisms of women’s sexual dissatisfaction and its relationship to marital dissatisfaction. The research was organized using the Grounded theory for a holistic and deep understanding of the phenomenon. Findings drawn from the interviews with 20 severely sexually dissatisfied women indicated a discrepancy between the attitudes of men and women toward sexual relationships. This difference builds a sense of sexual inequality amongst women. This is accompanied by an increased importance of sexual satisfaction compared to the past, or “sexualization” of marital relationships and the resulting sexual dissatisfaction within women. Our study suggests that marital dissatisfaction may precede and cause sexual dissatisfaction and that this link ultimately becomes reciprocal.

Concern is often expressed that mass media contribute to the early sexualization of young girls; however, few empirical studies have explored the topic. Using paper dolls, we examined self-sexualization among sixty 6–9 year-old girls from the Midwestern United States; specifically self-identification, preference, and attributions regarding sexualized dress. Based on simultaneous maternal reports, we also investigated potential risk factors (media consumption hours, maternal self-objectification) and potential protective factors (maternal television mediation, maternal religiosity) for young girls’ sexualization. Findings support social cognitive theory/social learning theory and reveal nuanced moderated effects in addition to linear main effects. Girls overwhelmingly chose the sexualized doll over the non-sexualized doll for their ideal self and as popular; however, dance studio enrollment, maternal instructive TV mediation, and maternal religiosity reduced those odds. Surprisingly, the mere quantity of girls’ media consumption (tv and movies) was unrelated to their self-sexualization for the most part; rather, maternal self-objectification and maternal personal religiosity moderated its effects.

In our joint theoretical piece (Lamb and Peterson 2011), we attempted to find points of agreement and further elucidate points of disagreement in relation to the challenging issue of adolescent girls’ sexual empowerment. In particular, we evaluated the divisive question of whether girls’ subjective feelings of sexual empowerment qualify as some useful version of empowerment. We are grateful to the commentators for joining us in this productive and collaborative conversation. In this response, we summarize some of the themes raised by the commentators, and we look for points of agreement around which we, as feminists, can continue to build a conversation on this polarizing issue. We also attempt to better explore the possible relationship between subjective empowerment and political empowerment by resurrecting the idea that “the personal is political.”

Girls in the United States are increasingly confronted with a sexualized culture, including sexualized clothing made especially for pre-teen girls. Previous research has shown that when adult women are portrayed as sexualized they are seen as less competent. In the present study we depicted a pre-teen girl in sexualized clothing to determine if similar effects would occur as have been found with depictions of adult women. One hundred sixty two male and female students from a small liberal arts college in the Midwestern U.S. looked at one of three images of a fifth-grade girl (obtained from an internet advertisement and manipulated through computer software) who was presented in either childlike clothing, somewhat sexualized clothing, or definitely sexualized clothing. Level of accomplishment was also manipulated so that the girl was described as either average or above average in accomplishment. Participants then rated the girl on ten different traits. The clothing and accomplishment manipulations significantly affected ratings of the girl’s masculine-stereotyped traits such that the girl who was portrayed as more sexualized and less accomplished was seen as the least intelligent, competent, determined, and capable. In addition, the sexualized girl was seen as perhaps “responsible” for her sexualized clothing in that she was rated relatively low in self-respect and morality. Possible implications of the sexualization of girls are discussed.

In this commentary, I offer a response to Lamb & Peterson (2011). I base these comments on the feminist scholarship on adolescent girls’ healthy sexuality that Lamb (2010a) critiqued in the first of this series. I address and redress several of her concerns by providing the context and history of my own research and recovering the meanings of desire, pleasure and subjectivity as they appeared in this body of work. I then engage Lamb and Peterson’s points of consensus about the role of sexual empowerment in adolescent girls’ healthy sexuality by 1) positioning sexualization as more than a context; 2) identifying a missing discourse of gender inequity as a central issue in their discussion; and 3) explaining how the use of theory and interpretation in feminist research methods is necessary for and distinct from a surface reading of narratives of lived experience. Finally, I will provide examples of some alternative paths for supporting healthy adolescent women’s sexuality that extend beyond school-based sex education and media literacy into alternative engagements with girls through technology, media activism and participatory practices.

Claims about ‘empowerment’ increasingly animate debates about the ‘sexualization of culture’. This article responds to Lamb and Peterson’s (2011) attempts to open up and complicate the notion of ‘sexual empowerment’ as it is used in relation to adolescent girls. Drawing on contemporary research from the UK, New Zealand and elsewhere, the article seeks to promote a dialogue between media and communications research and more psychologically oriented scholarship. The paper makes four arguments. First it points to the need to rethink conceptualizations of the media, and processes of media influence. Secondly it raises critical questions about the notion of ‘media literacy’ which has increasingly taken on the status of panacea in debates about young people and ‘sexualization’. Thirdly it highlights the curious absence of considerations of power in debates about sexual empowerment, and argues for the need to think about sexualization in relation to class, ‘race’, sexuality and other axes of oppression. Finally, it raises critical questions about the utility of the notion of sexual empowerment, given its individualistic framing, the developmentalism implicit in its use, and the difficulties in identifying it in cultures in which ‘empowerment’ is used to sell everything from liquid detergents to breast augmentation surgery.

This article is a comment on Fikkan and Rothblum’s (2011) article “Is Fat a Feminist Issue? Exploring the Gendered Nature of Weight Bias.” They argued that fat women in North America experience significantly more prejudice and discrimination than fat men do, marshaled evidence to support their argument in several domains (e.g., employment, education, romantic relationships, health care, the media), and wondered why feminist scholars have not paid much attention to the oppression of fat women. Here I suggest several reasons why fat women experience more prejudice and discrimination than fat men do: the objectification of women, gender-related aspects of health behavior and knowledge about health and illness, and the importance of self-control to the performance of femininity. I also suggest that there is some overlap in negative stereotypes of both feminists and fat women, which might lead to a desire to distance oneself from both. However, feminists should recognize the intersectionality of fat oppression and the way it colludes with the sexualization and objectification of women in popular culture. Thus, fat should be a feminist issue.