A recent scientific review studying the sexualization of young people suggests 36 initiatives on how to regulate images of sex in the media in an effort to reduce the early “pornification” of girls and boys. The review was commissioned last year by former British Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, in an effort to stop violence against women and girls.
Initiatives include:
Education and Schools
- All school staff should have training on gender equality.
- Schools should ensure that all incidents on sexual bullying are recorded and reported separately to other forms of bullying.
Media and Awareness Raising
- The introduction of a system of ratings symbols for photographs to show the extent to which they have been altered. This is particularly critical in magazines targeting teen and pre-teen audiences.
- Broadcasters are required to ensure that music videos featuring sexual posing or sexually suggestive lyrics are broadcast only after the ‘watershed’.
- Games consoles are sold with a separate ‘unlocking’ code, which purchasers can choose to input if they wish to use or allow access of the console to adult and online content.
Working with Business and Retailers
- The existing voluntary code for retailers regarding the placements of ‘lads’ mags’ be replaced by a mandatory code, allowing customers to report retailers who continue to place such magazines at children’s eye-level and/or next to publications aimed at children and young people.
- As a first step, guidelines should be issued following consultation with major clothing retailers and parents’ groups so that a broad consensus can be reached with regard to what is appropriate for different age groups.
Research
- A detailed examination of media literacy programmes should be carried out jointly by the DCSF and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
- Funding for trend research into teenage relationship abuse and the frequency of sexual bullying and abuse.
Online magazine Salon.com called the suggested initiatives “admirable” but ultimately a “disservice to kids,” with author Tracy Clark-Flory saying the “superficial” initiative only makes the targeted vices “more alluring.” I agree with this to an extent, except that in worrying about making the vices “more alluring,” ultimately we can’t just leave them within reach either. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with requiring that sexy videos not play during day hours, or asking that porn mags be put out of the eyesight and reach of anyone under age 15, but, of course, the question then becomes: who defines the terms?
The initiatives are, in my opinion, smart and founded on reason. My only discrepancy with the review is its failure to recognize that the sexualization of youth is not always the influence of media, but the effects of internal characteristics and desires.
Take, for example, American Apparel advertisements, which arguably mirror the “pornification” of society this review addresses. There’s no denying their advertisements are provocative and overtly sexual in nature, but a company such as this one also has a target demographic. The people who wear American Apparel are of a subculture who appreciate the amateur, the unpolished, the grit. American Apparel’s audience gravitates to their product because their product represent their (life)style, not the other way around; that is to say, their audience doesn’t become sexual because of their advertisements.
The best part about the review is Dr. Papadopoulos’ suggestion that media literacy be a requirement in schools, and that airbrushed images carry a rating system to emphasize the unrealistic nature of what’s being “sold” in the advertisement. The review ultimately doesn’t attempt to ban sexuality in media, merely suggesting to keep it out of the reach and influence of young children who have yet developed the analytics skills necessary to digest sexual images and the definitions they possess.
What do you boys and girls think of the anti-pornification initiatives, extreme or effective?
And just because, below is a gallery of racy American Apparel ads. Enjoy!
Source: Sexualisation of Young People Review by Dr. Linda Papadopoulos (PDF) via HomeOffice.gov.uk via The Independent via Salon.com
