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Many institutions, social and political groups are warning of the risks associated with the early sexualization of childhood. These agents appeal to the responsibility of the media to avoid creating content that may lead to childhood sexualization and that is easily accessible to all audiences. Responding to this demand and through a cross-cultural Spain-China approach, this work focuses on the analysis of the perception of girls' sexualization in the fashion stylings disseminated by the media. A survey of 750 Communication and Advertising university students in Spain (N=449) and in China (N=301) was carried out. Five latent sexualization factors identified confirm that perceived sexualization in girls' fashion styling is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that occurs from the combined use of multiple sexualizing attributes. The country of origin (Spain or China) has been associated with the perception of sexualization and the identified latent sexualizing factors. Finally, an explanatory and highly effective predictive model has been obtained for this type of childhood sexualization in terms of the factors and country of origin. Conclusions suggest that it is necessary to reinforce the training of communication professionals and minors to avoid creating images of sexualized girls through certain styling codes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectification theory suggests that sexualization has significant dehumanizing consequences for how perceivers see women. To date, research has mostly documented how sexualized bodies in the mass media are objectified and dehumanized. The purpose of the present work was to test the novel cosmetics dehumanization hypothesis (CDH), that is, that subtler manifestations of sexualization, such as heavy makeup, might influence the way people attribute humanness-related traits to women. Across four experiments, 1000 participants (mostly from the United Kingdom and United States) were asked to evaluate women's faces with or without heavy makeup. Consistent with the CDH, results showed that faces with makeup were rated as less human while using complementary indicators of dehumanization: They were perceived as possessing less humanness, less agency, less experience (Experiment 1), less competence, less warmth, and less morality (Experiments 2–4) than faces without makeup. This pattern of results was observed for faces of both models (Experiments 1–2) and ordinary women (Experiments 3–4). In Experiment 4, we manipulated the part of the face that wore makeup (eye makeup vs. lipstick) and found that faces with eye makeup were attributed the least amount of warmth and competence. A meta-analysis based on Experiments 2–4 confirmed the robustness of the findings, which were not moderated by either participant gender or sexual orientation. Whereas prior studies suggested that a focus on faces may serve as an antidote for objectification and related dehumanization, the present set of experiments indicates that this strategy might not always be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Española de Sociología is the property of Federacion Espanola de Sociologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although Freud's 'Family Romances' from 1909 is hardly ever discussed at length in secondary literature, this article highlights this short essay as an important and informative text about Freud's changing perspectives on sexuality in the period in which the text was written. Given the fact that Freud, in his 1905 Three Essays, develops a radical theory of infantile sexuality as polymorphously perverse and as autoerotic pleasure, we argue that 'Family Romances', together with the closely related essay on infantile sexual theories (1908), paves the way for new theories of sexuality defined in terms of object relations informed by knowledge of sexual difference. 'Family Romances', in other words, preludes the introduction of the Oedipus complex, but also – interestingly – gives room for a Jungian view of sexuality and sexual phantasy. 'Family Romances' is thus a good illustration of the complex way in which Freud's theories of sexuality developed through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through an analysis of anti-suffrage arguments, I identify white supremacist tropes as an important strand in woman suffrage debates. I argue that sexualization and themes of home were signals to racial bias, and American womanhood was used as a rhetorical resource in struggles over race and national identity. As we celebrate the centennial of woman suffrage, it is vital to recognize how debates over women in national space participate in white supremacist logics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Québécois immigrant writers Dany Laferrière's and Kim Thúy's first novels, Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer (1985) and Ru (2009), both thematize the process of coming-to-writing and autofiction in parallel with the tropes of the sexualization of the nonwhite "other" in a global (post)colonial context. This article examines Laferrière's and Thúy's starkly different novels to begin to account for the connection between the act of entering literature and the indictment of racial inequality and sexual exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Film Quarterly / Kwartalnik Filmowy is the property of Kwartalnik Filmowy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Research on solo female travel indicates that women traveling alone in foreign countries are subject to different sociocultural and gender norms, and may bear more fear and constraints both temporally and spatially. Harassment from male strangers exerts considerable influence on women's perception of safety. However, issues of how solo female travelers confront stranger harassment remain untouched in tourism or leisure studies. Based on the perspectives of stranger harassment and cultural encounters, this article explores the experiences and interactions of 17 Taiwanese solo females with male strangers. Results revealed when facing harassment, they opted to neglect, forbear, or blame themselves; hardly had they actively fought back. Adding ramifications to the existing knowledge, this article contributes to the understanding of the theoretical conceptualization of stranger harassment of solo female travelers, and is in due response to the dearth of research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has examined the sexualization–objectification link (i.e., whether sexualized individuals are appraised as if they were objects rather than persons). This research has found that sexualized individuals are more likely to be processed and categorized as if they were objects and are also perceived as possessing fewer humanlike traits than nonsexualized individuals. In addition, sexualization prompts negative behaviors such as social exclusion. Altogether, these findings shed light on mechanisms that might underlie violence toward sexualized individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay analyzes the representation of female figures in two films of the New Romanian Cinema (NRC), Cristian Mungiu's Occident (2002) and Radu Muntean's Boogie (2008). Drawing on Karen Hollinger's (2012) statement that film is polysemic, my analysis departs from the claims of the extant scholarship on women's portrayal in the NRC. By investigating the manner in which fundamental concepts of gender analysis like agency, empowerment, (sexual) objectification, patriarchy, and hegemonic masculinity shape female characters, I show that Occident and Boogie offer views of women that are vastly different. I argue that Occident proposes a nuanced gender representation that breaks with patriarchal views of female characters as it presents confident and self-empowered young women who assert their agency by emigrating to the West. I maintain that Muntean's film is more sexist than acknowledged so far because, in contrast to Occident, it relegates female figures to a subordinate position — either as sexual objects lacking agency or in stereotypical domestic roles as mother and wife — over which a relentless and unquestioned hegemonic masculinity looms large. Ultimately, my analysis shows that there is no shared agenda vis-a-vis gender in these specific NRC films. While the scope of this essay is narrow since it focuses in detail on two NRC films by two directors, its findings can serve as a spring board for future inquiries that would scrutinize other NRC directors and their films in order to establish a broader gender analysis of the NRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human bodies are sometimes cognitively objectified, i.e., processed less configurally and more analytically, in a way that resembles how most objects are perceived. Whereas how people process images of sexualized bodies appearing in the mass media has been well documented; whether subtler manifestations of sexualization, such as wearing makeup, might elicit cognitive objectification of ordinary women’s faces, remains unclear. The present paper aims at filling this gap. We hypothesized that faces wearing makeup would be processed less configurally than faces wearing no makeup. Sixty participants took part in a face recognition task, in which faces wearing or not wearing makeup were presented. In regards to faces with no makeup, people recognized face parts better in the context of whole faces than in isolation, which served as evidence of configural processing. In regards to faces wearing makeup, face parts were recognized equally well when presented in isolation vs. in the context of whole faces; evidence of a lower configural processing. That pattern of results was driven by eye makeup (vs. lipstick). Implications for research on objectification and sexualization are discussed.

Danielle Knafo's "The Sexual Illusionist" is examined from the perspective of working unobtrusively with unsymbolized and unrepresented states in the register of enactment. Knafo's paper offers a unique rendition of an extremely challenging treatment involving great intimacy, love, violation and rampant and provocative sexual fantasies. In this commentary I suggest that the treatment exemplifies the challenge of working in the realm of psychic excess, too muchness and chronic developmental failure. I suggest that much of the highly sexualized material can be best understood as attempts by the patient, Cain, to create a transformational object such that he can manage his immersion in excess and come into being as a subject. I suggest that the therapeutic action takes place in the realm of unsymbolized enactment where love and limit can grow and take hold. I congratulate Knafo on a moving and honest description of an extremely challenging case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the pain of oedipal exclusion, especially in relation to the felt loss of the maternal figure. When too acute, this loss may be defended against by omnipotent defenses of disavowal and evasion of reality—a perverse structuring of the mind. In clinical work with such a person as an adult, sexualization of the dyadic treatment relationship within the analytic field serves to avoid deeper feelings of loss and deflated self-esteem. Mourning is foreclosed, and impasse may result. If "love" is to effect a cure, it is not "romantic" love of the analyst, but love of the analytic process—a passionate inquiry into the self. When fully articulated as an energy potential in both participants, analytic eroticism can offer libidinal engagement within an ethical frame as a stimulus to emotionally embodied thinking that can yield transformations in many dimensions, including the erotic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of digital technologies and social media platforms has been linked to changing forms of work, as well as the mainstreaming of pornography and a 'porn chic' aesthetic. This article examines some of the ways in which these themes coalesce, and interrogates the conceptual boundaries of sexualized labour, extending beyond traditional organizational settings and into Web 2.0. The study explores performances of sexualized labour on social media by analysing visual and textual content from 172 female influencers on Instagram. This article contributes to the literature on sexualized labour in three ways. First, by demonstrating how sexualized labour is enacted across various forms of influencer labour, and how this relates to the attention economy and monetization. Second, by developing the extant conceptualization of sexualized labour and introducing connective labour as a required element to mobilize sexualized labour. Third, by opening up a critical analysis of what is meant by 'sexualized' labour within a cultural context of pornographication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Income inequality generates and amplifies incentives, particularly incentives for individuals to elevate or maintain their status, with important consequences for the individuals involved and aggregate outcomes for their societies [R. G. Wilkinson, K. E. Pickett, Annu. Rev. Sociol. 35, 493-511 (2009)]. Economically unequal environments intensify men's competition for status, respect, and, ultimately, mating opportunities, thus elevating aggregate rates of violent crime and homicide [M. Daly, M. Wilson, Evolutionary Psychology and Motivation (2001)]. Recent evidence shows that women are more likely to post "sexy selfies" on social media and that they spend more on beautification in places where inequality is high rather than low [K. R. Blake, B. Bastian, T. F. Denson, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 115, 8722-8727 (2018)]. Here we test experimentally for causal links between income inequality and individual selfsexualization and status-related competition. We show that manipulating income inequality in a role-playing task indirectly increases women's intentions to wear revealing clothing and that it does so by increasing women's anxiety about their place in the social hierarchy. The effects are not better accounted for by wealth/poverty than by inequality or by modeling anxiety about same-sex competitors in place of status anxiety. The results indicate that women's appearance enhancement is partly driven by status-related goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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-à-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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Western cultures, the sexualization of children has increased over the past decades. In two studies, we investigated the consequences of children's sexualization for their peers' willingness to provide help in a case of bullying. In both studies, children (total N = 396; ages 7 to 11 years) were randomly assigned to view either a sexualized or non-sexualized target and answered questions about the target's traits and treatment. Our findings provide evidence that early sexualization exposes preadolescent children to the dehumanizing consequences associated with adult women's sexualization. We found that sexualized targets were perceived as less than fully human in terms of both human nature and human uniqueness (Studies 1 and 2) and that, among girls, human nature ratings mediated the association between sexualization and reduced helping intentions toward both male (Study 2) and female targets (Studies 1 and 2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the relationship of self-sexualization to self-objectification, weight concerns, self-efficacy, academic outcomes, and career aspirations among preadolescent girls. Participants were 89 six- to nine-year-old girls; parental reports were also obtained. Two thirds of girls showed signs of self-sexualization by choosing a sexualized doll over a nonsexualized doll as who they preferred to look like and/or who they currently look like. Girls who self-sexualized reported higher self-objectification and weight concerns than girls who did not self-sexualize. Self-sexualization was unrelated to social, emotional, and academic self-efficacy and to girls' career confidence and interest. However, parents of girls who self-sexualized reported their daughters had lower academic performance and enjoyed school less compared to girls who did not self-sexualize. Additionally, parents of girls who self-sexualized had lower academic expectations for their daughters. It is possible that in preadolescence self-sexualization affects girls' body cognitions and parental expectations without (yet) affecting self-efficacy or academic goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peer sexual harassment (PSH) occurs frequently and across contexts during adolescence. The current study examined the relations among PSH in school, psychological distress, sexual experimentation, and sexual risk-taking in a sample of African American middle and high school girls. Results indicate that negative body appraisals mediated the relationship between PSH and psychological distress, suggesting that PSH is one way to operationalize interpersonal sexualization and sexual objectification. PSH was directly associated with sexual experimentation, but the association between PSH and sexual experimentation was not mediated by negative body appraisals. Neither PSH nor negative body appraisals were related to sexual risk-taking. This suggests that frequent exposure to high levels of sexualization and sexual objectification, in the form of PSH, is associated with more psychological distress and sexual experimentation, but not with sexual risk-taking, regardless of how girls feel about their bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexualized gender stereotypes (SGS) include the belief that girls should singularly prioritize their sexualized attractiveness for the attention and approval of boys. By elementary school, boys and girls perceive girls' sexualized attractiveness to be incompatible with intelligence and competence. In the current 2-year study, we examined whether girls' higher SGS endorsement in seventh grade predicted a diminished mastery goal orientation and lower perceptions of academic ability in eighth grade and whether this was moderated by gender typicality and self-monitoring. Cross-lagged panel analyses tested whether earlier academic attitudes better predicted later SGS endorsement than the inverse. The study included 77 girls in the final sample from four public middle schools (M ageT1 = 12.4, SD =.57). The sample was ethnically diverse (45% identified as White, 21% as Latinx, 19% as Black/African American, and 14% as multiracial). Girls' greater endorsement of SGS in the seventh grade predicted lower academic self-efficacy later, controlling for age, academic ability, and earlier levels of academic attitudes. Highlighting a likely feedback loop, earlier academic self-efficacy equally predicted later SGS endorsement. For highly gender-typical girls, greater SGS endorsement also predicted lower mastery goal orientation over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates responses to, consequences of, and resistance against objectification from the perspectives of sexual minority women in the United States. Data from 5 focus groups with 33 sexual minority women were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results revealed 13 themes and 49 subthemes. First, sexual minority women's responses to objectification included those described in prior research with heterosexual women, as well as novel responses not routinely assessed in prior research (e.g., critical examination), and the complex co-occurrence of responses (e.g., indignation and internalization). Second, participants identified deleterious consequences that were consistent with prior theory and research as well as consequences that reflected resilience and growth from working through objectification. Finally, participants articulated personal, relational, and identity-related forms of resistance against objectification. Sexual and gender identity processes were interwoven with resistance. These results highlight how centering sexual minority women's experiences can both corroborate and advance prior understanding of responses to and consequences of objectification. Findings from this study suggest the need to broaden conceptualizations of responses to objectification in research and practice to account for the complex co-occurrence of multiple responses. Similarly, the negative consequences of objectification co-occur with sexual minority women's resilience. Findings also reveal that sexual minority women resist against objectification using a range of personal, relational, and identity-related strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mass Communication Research is the property of Guoli Zhengzhi Daxue Xinwenxue Yanjiusuo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A growing body of research documents the adverse effects of sexualized appearance on people's attitudes toward women victims of blatant forms of gender violence. However, the impact of sexualization of women victims of subtle forms of gender violence and the moderating role of people's conservativism on victim blaming remain under-investigated. In the current study, we examined the effects of sexualization on blame attribution to victims of a stranger harassment incident, considering the moderating role of participants' Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA). Two hundred and thirty-six participants (31.8% male; Mage = 30.52, SD = 12.70) completed an RWA scale and then read a fictitious Facebook's post where the victim herself described the stranger harassment episode that happened down the street (vs. at a house party). The post was presented with a sexualized (vs. non-sexualized) portrayal of the victim. Finally, participants rated the severity of the episode and expressed to what extent they blamed the victim. As predicted, harassment at the house party (vs. down the street) was perceived as less severe, and sexualized (vs. non-sexualized) victims were blamed to a greater extent. Our major results revealed that people's RWA synergizes with the victim's sexualization in shaping blame attribution. People with an average and a high level of RWA tend to blame to a greater extent the sexualized victim of stranger harassment, while blame attributions did not change according to victim's sexualization for people with a low level of RWA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Self-objectification occurs when women view their bodies as objects, existing for the pleasure of others. Individual differences in trait-based self-objectification are associated with negative psychological outcomes, including an increased risk of poor body image. Recent research has revealed that narcissism moderates the pathway between self-objectification and body image concerns, but research has yet to explore the moderating role of the remaining members of the dark triad. This study presents evidence from a cross-sectional study of young Australian women (age range: 18–30 years) in which we explored the potential for each dark triad traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) to differently act as a risk or a protective factor for body image concerns, or to be a moderator in the relationship between self-objectification and body image concerns. Specifically, participants responded to explicit (self-report) and implicit (associative) measures of self-objectification, the dark triad, and measures of body shame and discrepancies in actual-ideal weight. A somewhat unexpected pattern of findings emerged from regression analyses - narcissism was a protective factor, while Machiavellianism was a risk factor in the development of body image concerns through self-objectification. Psychopathy was mostly unrelated to body image concerns. The implicit measure of self-objectification was unrelated to all other measures. Highlights • We contribute evidence to the literature on the link between explicit self-objectification and body image concerns. • This paper is the first to explore implicit self-objectification. • Implicit self-objectification is unrelated to both the dark triad and body image concerns. • Narcissism is a protective factor in the relationship between body image concerns and self-objectification. • Machiavellianism is a risk factor in the relationship between body image concerns and self-objectification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fail videos showing mishaps/accidents are very popular on YouTube. But is this genre affected by sexism, that is, are women portrayed more often than men in an objectifying, sexualized manner in the video clips (H1), and are women more likely than men to be the target of gendered online hate speech in the video comments (H2)? Quantitative content analyses of 500 video clips (derived from 50 videos) and of 1,000 video comments (derived from 5 "male" and 5 "female" videos) from YouTube's most popular fail video channel FailArmy were conducted. Women in fail videos were portrayed in an objectifying, sexualized manner twice as often (H1), and were the target of gendered hate comments nearly five times more often (H2) compared to men. Future research could analyze videos and comments from additional fail channels and investigate the reasons for the sexualized portrayals as well as for the audience's hateful reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios Pedagogicos (Valdivia) is the property of Estudios Pedagogicos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Doll play is critical in the formation of young black girls' gender, race, and class identities. In this article, I use textual analysis that emphasizes how physical changes in dolls correspond to contextual shifts in society over the last seven decades, and qualitative research with ten Afro-Caribbean girls and young women in Toronto to reveal the racial and cultural meanings of dolls in young people's everyday lives and how doll play is complicated by racist and classist representations of dolls. By exploring what doll play meant to them, I show how it helps black girls understand racial and gendered norms. Through doll play, girls reveal an understanding of their racialized identities and marginalization as they demonstrate unacknowledged skills in their ability to navigate barriers that reinforce racial inequalities and social hierarchies in girls' material culture in a multicultural Toronto. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The focus of this brief literature review is to explore whether there is a relationship between the unique anatomical and physiological paradigms of the adolescent brain and an increased sensitivity to sexually explicit material.Methods: The EBSCO Research Data bases were searched using the following key terms: adolescence, adolescent brain development, neuroplasticity, sexually explicit material, sexualization, and pornography.Results: The literature highlighted several components of the adolescent brain that are different than the mature brain. These include: an immature prefrontal cortex and over-responsive limbic and striatal circuits, heightened period for neuroplasticity, overactive dopamine system, a pronounced HPA axis, augmented levels of testosterone, and the unique impact of steroid hormones. The physiological response to sexually explicit material is delineated. The overlap of key areas associated with the unique adolescent brain development and sexually explicit material is noteworthy. A working model summary that compares the response of the adult and adolescent brain to the same sexually explicit stimulus is outlined.Conclusions: The literature suggests that the adolescent brain may indeed be more sensitive to sexually explicit material, but due to a lack of empirical studies this question cannot be answered definitively. Suggestions for future research are given to further advance the work in this applicable field of today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexualized gender stereotypes (SGS) are commonly endorsed by adolescent girls. These stereotypes include the notion that girls can enhance their social status by prioritizing their sexualized attractiveness, which necessitates downplaying other traits such as intelligence. According to the stereotype emulation hypothesis, a girl will be more likely to "emulate" SGS if she also identifies as a typical girl. Based on this hypothesis, the current study examined the relationship between girls' SGS endorsement and their academic motivations, beliefs, and motivations—and whether this relationship was moderated by gender typicality. Girls (N = 99), aged 11 years to 14 years (Meanage = 12.4 years, SD = .57 years), completed a survey assessing their academic outcomes, SGS endorsement, and gender typicality. As hypothesized, results indicated that higher endorsement of SGS was generally associated with maladaptive academic outcomes, and this association was the strongest for highly gender-typical girls. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People who self-objectify perceive their bodies as objects which exist for the pleasure of others. Personality traits are important factors that might moderate the pathway between self-objectification and body image concerns. In the present paper, we explore if narcissism moderates this relationship, and we do so by exploring the facets of grandiose narcissism (associated with an inflated sense of self-importance) and hypersensitive narcissism (a more defensive and insecure narcissism). A convenience sample of 277 young Australian women (Mage = 21.34 years, SD = 3.25, range = 18-30) completed an online battery comprising measures of self-objectification, subclinical grandiose and hypersensitive narcissism, and measures designed to capture concerns related to body image. We found that hypersensitive narcissism, but not grandiose narcissism, predicted higher levels of self-objectification. Grandiose narcissism scores predicted lower levels of body shame and less weight discrepancy, indicating more positive body image, and also moderated the relationship between self-objectification and body shame (i.e., women who report lower levels of narcissism are more vulnerable to body shame associated with self-objectification). In contrast, hypersensitive narcissism scores predicted higher levels of both body shame and discrepancies in actual-ideal weight. These findings suggest that grandiose narcissism may have a protective relationship regarding body image in this population, whereas hypersensitive narcissism may be a risk factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative consequences of video games have been a concern since their inception. However, one under-researched area is the potential negative effects of sexualized video game content on players. This study analyzed the consequences of sexualized video game content on online sexual harassment against male and female targets. We controlled for a number of variables that might be related to online sexual harassment (i.e., trait aggressiveness, ambivalent sexism, online disinhibition). Participants (N = 211) played a video game with either sexualized or non-sexualized female characters. After gameplay, they had the opportunity to sexually harass a male or a female partner by sending them sexist jokes. Based on the General Aggression Model integrated with the Confluence Model of Sexual Aggression (Anderson & Anderson, ), we predicted that playing the game with sexualized female characters would increase sexual harassment against female targets. Results were consistent with these predictions. Sexual harassment levels toward a female partner were higher for participants who played the game with sexualized female characters than for participants who played the same game with non-sexualized female characters. These findings indicate that sexualization of female characters in a video game can be a sufficient condition to provoke online sexual harassment toward women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, the author discusses the characters and characterization of the news network "Fox News" by examining its newscasters. Other topics include how gender affects the perception of the personalities of the network's female reporters in both the newsroom and their audience, and a brief history of the network including its foundation by Rupert Murdoch of the Fox News Channel in 1966.

In this paper, we draw upon group interviews in London and New York City to explore how differently classed and racialized groups of teen girls navigate media constructions of hot, sexy, femininity. We explore how cultural ideals of sexiness are shifting to include more skin shades and larger body parts in specific proportions which align to new sexualized and racialized ideals of femininity. Some celebrities embody these new forms of what is termed racial mobility, but these ambiguous mixtures still relate to a standard that references normative white, middle-class femininity. All girls found navigating the contradictory and impossible ideals of sexy femininity challenging, but white girls had internalized the norms and technologies of "perfectibility" the most, and believed that achieving sexy femininity would bring them confidence. In contrast, racially marginalized girls were much more critical of normative ideals of sexiness. Black girls had a heightened awareness of how their bodies were consistently read as either not sexy enough or hypersexualized and they discussed the dangers this posed to them in both their school communities and in other public spaces. Overall, our findings demonstrate how diverse girls must undertake very different forms of work to navigate and manage expectations around racialized and classed sexiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]