A report of the American Psychological Association (APA) (19.FEB.2007) found evidence that the proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising, and media is harmful to girls’ self-image and healthy development.

To complete the report, the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls studied published research on the content and effects of virtually every form of media, including television, music videos, music lyrics, magazines, movies, video games and the Internet. They also examined recent advertising campaigns and merchandising of products aimed toward girls.

Sexualization was defined by the task force as occurring when a person’s value comes only from her/his sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics, and when a person is sexually objectified, e.g., made into a thing for another’s sexual use.

Examples of the sexualization of girls in all forms of media including visual media and other forms of media such as music lyrics abound. And, according to the report, have likely increased in number as “new media” have been created and access to media has become omnipresent. The influence and attitudes of parents, siblings, and friends can also add to the pressures of sexualization.

“The consequences of the sexualization of girls in media today are very real and are likely to be a negative influence on girls’ healthy development,” says Eileen L. Zurbriggen, PhD, chair of the APA Task Force and associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. “We have ample evidence to conclude that sexualization has negative effects in a variety of domains, including cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, and healthy sexual development.”

Research evidence shows that the sexualization of girls negatively affects girls and young women across a variety of health domains:

• Cognitive and Emotional Consequences: Sexualization and objectification undermine a person’s confidence in and comfort with her own body, leading to emotional and self-image problems, such as shame and anxiety.
• Mental and Physical Health: Research links sexualization with three of the most common mental health problems diagnosed in girls and women—eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression or depressed mood.
• Sexual Development: Research suggests that the sexualization of girls has negative consequences on girls’ ability to develop a healthy sexual self-image.

According to the task force report, parents can play a major role in contributing to the sexualization of their daughters or can play a protective and educative role. The APA report calls on parents, school officials, and all health professionals to be alert for the potential impact of sexualization on girls and young women. Schools, the APA says, should teach media literacy skills to all students and should include information on the negative effects of the sexualization of girls in media literacy and sex education programs.

“As a society, we need to replace all of these sexualized images with ones showing girls in positive settings—ones that show the uniqueness and competence of girls,” states Dr. Zurbriggen. “The goal should be to deliver messages to all adolescents—boys and girls—that lead to healthy sexual development.”

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How will newspaper advertising ‘go digital’ in the future?

What newspapers are doing to create new advertising revenues and increase market share will be the focus of the 17th World Newspaper Advertising Conference & Expo, to be held in Zürich, Switzerland, on 22 and 23 February next.

The conference, organised by the World Association of Newspapers and hosted by Swiss Press, will deliver the best advertising ideas and initiatives that are producing new revenues for newspapers.

More information on the WAN conference available here.

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There’s a very intriguing case going through the courts at the moment. If you’re concerned about the impending Privacy Bill (2006), you might also like to look into how the High Court is interpreting the constitution regarding the Press and Privacy.

Sinnott v Carlow Nationalist for the Supreme Court?

Mediaforum.ie has picked up the analysis from Eoin O’Dell. It’s worth the long read.

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Simple, yet powerful, analysis provided by medialens.org.

The image, left, is a screen shot of the cover story of the Independent on Sunday’s Review supplement of February 4th, 2007.

Thematically concurrent with a global warming take by Kevin Myers in the Independent today.

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Meanwhile, yesterday Insight Research Group and Common Sense Media launched a research poll report of US parents’ attitudes towards their children’s media consumption.

Intuitively, parents have a sense that too much media isn’t a good thing, but they can’t quite put their finger on why.

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Monday’s Muse.

mediaforum.ie wants to dialogue about the media in Ireland. This, however, poses a problem.

Any subject matter to be analysed and looked at, needs to have a current, accurate and meaningful set of measurement criteria.

Or does it?

How can it be done?

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Paper Round.
tuppenceworth’s Paper Round seems to be the only easily accessible comparative analysis around at the moment.

The qualitative analysis worked at:

to read them with a critical eye- to note down when news reports don’t tally with what they know, or when columnist’s arguments don’t make sense. Or when they seem to be intent on talking about something that has nothing to do with you.
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February 05th 2007 Posted to Monday's Muse

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Some of the documents you’d need to access about the Defamation Bill 2006

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