User:Amesdeutsch/sandbox

Sexualization (or sexualisation), is, at its most basic, a process that occurs 'to make sexual; attribute sex or a sex role to'. It can be an indirect (e.g. mere exposure), or direct (e.g. modelling), pressure to adopt sexualized appearance and behaviour. One of the most sited definitions of sexualization is from the American Psychological Association (APA). Its 2007 Report it considers that anyone (girls, boys, men, women) can be sexualized when at least one of the following is present:
 * a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or sexual behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics;
 * a person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness (narrowly defined) with being sexy;
 * a person is sexually objectified—that is, made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than seen as a person with the capacity for independent action and decision making; and/or
 * sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person.

=Introduction= Often sexualization is presented as a negative term or a form of oppression, but although there are some potential negative aspects of it, such as sexual objectification, there is some evidence that offers the view that sexualization, at least for some women, is a form of empowerment. And so it is currently unclear whether sexualization is truly good or truly bad. But either way anyone can be sexualized, though usually by different processes.

There is an innate process within human beings that encourages our minds and bodies to see others as sexual and attribute sex or a sex role to. The average age that men reach puberty is between age 11-12 and for women it is slightly earlier, age 10-11. It is during this stage that we are significantly more interested in our sexuality; exploring our sexual identity, sexual orientation, and sexual behaviour. But according to the APA definition 'self-motivated sexual exploration nor age-appropriate exposure to information about sexuality are considered sexualization'.

Evolutionary Psychology Perspective
We can better understand the sexualization process when we consider an evolutionary psychology perspective, which suggests humankind has an innate desire to procreate and maximize the number of genes we pass on. The sexual strategies theory in particular would suggest that women prefer mates who offer security through physical protection and resources, whereas men will choose physically attractive and young females to mate with as they seem more fertile and thus more likely to give them genetic success. When women are sexualized these evolutionarily desirable traits are emphasized and similarly for men their physique (which suggests protection and good genes) is emphasized. This could be described from an essentialist view that says categories of people are biologically established but cultures and societies influence sexuality by empahsizing or downplaying these differences.

Behavioural Cognitive Perspective
The media has a big part to play in sexualizing people, often with negative effects. The social cognitive theory advocates that humans learn about gender role-consistent behaviour through observing others and experiencing punishment for deviating from these behaviours or rewards for conforming to them. It is thought that the media is a common model for imitation that can determine what such behaviours are. Furthermore some also suggest that our cultural and psychosocial environments can influence our perception of what the acceptable levels of sexual desire in men and women are.

Methods often used:
 * Referential strategies: when one or two categories (e.g. identities, roles, characteristics) is emphasized more than other equal categories
 * Fragmentation and focalization: when one's body is presented as separate parts rather than a whole body, potentially denying their humanity
 * Transitivity choices: subjects either active or being acted upon (passive); actions either material, verbal, behavioural or existential.

=Sexualization of men=

The sexualization of men receives a lot less attention than the sexualization of women or children. Some even suggest that the male body is 'invisible' but male bodies are being increasingly sexualised to the point that some see the main model of masculinity as becoming the erotic male.

The media often presents males as well groomed and sensuous objects of sight. Usually they are young, white, muscular, slim, clean-shaven, and have facial features that combine softness with strength (e.g. strong jaw, large lips and eyes, soft looking skin). These men are posed either alone or with an attractive female standing or doing physical activity with a gaze that assets dominance and enforces their heterosexuality. Permission to look at and desire men is subliminally given through this idealized and eroticized presentation of their bodies or more negatively and unhealthily as a mechanical piece of equipment. And not just for women viewers. Advertisers try to appeal to three audiences; gay men, heterosexual women and heterosexual men.

Some of the negative consequences can be:
 * Anxiety about body's appearance
 * Anxiety about ability to perform
 * Lower self-esteem
 * Negative effects on mental health
 * Susceptible to eating disorders
 * Narcissism

=Sexualization of women=

The sexualization of women is clearly evident in Western culture language and imagery. When women are sexualized it is their physical attributes and/or sex appeal that attention is drawn to, usually overshadowing their occupation or role. A study of the covers of Rolling Stone magazine from 1967-2009 showed that women are more frequently sexualized then men. This, as well as the fact that social variables have a stronger influence on female sexuality is perhaps why it receives more attention from social activists and governments.

Some potentially good effects of sexualization on women could be:
 * Feeling good for being viewed as sexy
 * Rewards - such as being spoken to more warmly by the opposite sex
 * Temporary boost in self-esteem

Though it has been noted that a women's enjoyment of being sexualized could be from a false sense of empowerment. Some of the negative effects of sexualization on women could be:
 * Belief that their self-worth is directly related to their outward beauty
 * Being rated as a less competent job applicant if also rated as 'sexy'
 * Sexual harassment
 * Violence against
 * Exploitation of
 * Self-objectification
 * Focusing on appearance more than function of one's body
 * Body Shame
 * Eating disorders
 * Depression
 * Decreased self-esteem and well-being

=Sexualization of children=

The sexualization of children receives a lot of attention from governments and researchers but is not a new development in Western society. Some cultural critics have postulated that over recent decades children have evidenced a level of sexual knowledge or sexual behaviour inappropriate for their age group.

Often the media is blamed for the sexualization of children, and while it plays a role it should be noted that an American study (2012) found that 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 religiosity moderated its effects. And through an analysis of thirty one girls, it was concluded that there is a complex interaction of social and family background, everyday life, and personal reactions to sexualized images and culture rather than a single sexualization process. Furthermore these girls would actively deny, accommodate or resist the sexualized world they live in.

Some of the main things children are sexualized through:
 * Advertising (both print and television)
 * Girls' magazines
 * Television programs (including music video-clips)
 * Movies
 * Children's clothing with sexual connotations
 * Toys and products with sexual connotations
 * Access to adult culture via the internet
 * Lack of parental oversight and discipline
 * A lack of comprehensive school sex education programs

Some of the implications of child sexualization are thought to be:
 * Distorted body image and increased body dissatisfaction
 * Low self-esteem
 * Depression or depressed mood
 * Development of eating disorders
 * Promiscuous behavior
 * Complications with developing a healthy sexual self-image
 * Could be a distraction from other developmental activities (e.g. physical, intellectual, or artistic)
 * Diminished intellectual performance

=Sexualization of gender/sexual minorities=

There are sexualized images of lesbian and gay relations but less is known about their effects on people's perceptions of the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) community. Commercial Closet facilitates an online archive of advertisements (both print and television) that portray the LGBT community. They are rated as either positive, neutral, stereotype or negative, with the majority being positive (44%). Looking at lesbian and gay depictions, they are sexualised differently, with some similarities to heterosexual depictions.

Lesbians are often portrayed very femininely, rather than in a butch appearance. Some note this is a way of appealing to the heterosexual community and placing heterosexual norms of beauty on lesbianism and targeting the male fantasy of ‘doubling’. Sexualized images of lesbians usually involve two people and involve physical interaction, for example kissing, touching, embracing.

With gay liberation and the 'pink economy' in Western cultures there has been an increase in homosexual depictions of males but comparative to lesbian depictions, there is rarely any physical or intimate interaction. Rather, they are portrayed as stylish and attractive or through negative stereotypes.

=Cultural studies work on sexualization= Sexualization has also been a subject of debate for academics who work in media and cultural studies. Here, the term has not been used to simply to label what is seen as a social problem, but to indicate the much broader and varied set of ways in which sex has become more visible in media and culture. These include; the widespread discussion of sexual values, practices and identities in the media; the growth of sexual media of all kinds; for example, erotica, slash fiction, sexual self-help books and the many genres of pornography; the emergence of new forms of sexual experience, for example instant message or avatar sex made possible by developments in technology; a public concern with the breakdown of consensus about regulations for defining and dealing with obscenity; the prevalence of scandals, controversies and panics around sex in the media.

The terms 'pornification' and ‘pornographication’ have also been used to describe the way that aesthetics that were previously associated with pornography have become part of popular culture, and that mainstream media texts and other cultural practices ‘citing pornographic styles, gestures and aesthetics’ have become more prominent. This process, which Brian McNair has described as a 'pornographication of the mainstream' has developed alongside an expansion of the cultural realm of pornography or 'pornosphere' which itself has become more accessible to a much wider variety of audiences. According to McNair, both developments can be set in the context of a wider shift towards a 'striptease culture' which has disrupted the boundaries between public and private discourse in late modern Western culture, and which is evident more generally in cultural trends which privilege lifestyle, reality, interactivity, self-revelation and public intimacy.

=Criticism of= The Australian writers, Catharine Lumby and Kath Albury (2010) have suggested that sexualization is 'a debate that has been simmering for almost a decade' and concerns about sex and the media are far from new. Much of the recent writing on sexualization has been the subject of criticism that because of the way that it draws on ‘one-sided, selective, overly simplifying, generalizing, and negatively toned’ evidence and is ‘saturated in the languages of concern and regulation’. In these writings and the widespread press coverage that they have attracted, the term is often used as ‘a non sequitur causing everything from girls flirting with older men to child sex trafficking’. They often ignore feminist work on media, gender and the body and present a very conservative and negative view of sex in which only monogamous heterosexual sexuality is regarded as normal. They tend to neglect any historical understanding of the way sex has been represented and regulated, and they often ignore both theoretical and empirical work on the relationship between sex and media, culture and technology.

=See also=


 * Human sexuality
 * Child sexuality
 * Sexualism
 * Sexual objectification
 * Miss Bimbo
 * Social impact of thong underwear
 * Pornified
 * Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture