Sexualization - General Comments About The Reports On Sexualization

General Comments About The Reports On Sexualization

In 2006, an Australian report called Corporate paedophilia : sexualisation of children in Australia was published. The Australian report summarises its conclusion as follows:

Images of sexualised children are becoming increasingly common in advertising and marketing material. Children who appear aged 12 years and under, particularly girls are dressed, posed and made up in the same way as sexy adult models. "Corporate paedophilia" is a metaphor used to describe advertising and marketing that sexualises children in these ways.

In 2007, the American Psychological Association published a report titled Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, discussed below.

In 2012, an American study found that self-sexualization was common among 6–9-year old girls. Girls overwhelmingly chose the sexualized doll over the non-sexualized doll for their ideal self and as popular. However other factors, such as how often mothers talked to their children about what is going on in TV shows 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 religiosity moderated its effects.

However, in 2010 the Scottish Executive released a report titled External research on sexualised goods aimed at children. The report considers the drawbacks of the United States and Australian reviews, concluding:

here is no indication that the media might contain any positive images about human relationships, or that children might critically evaluate what they see.

The Scottish review also notes that:

uch accounts often present the sexualisation of children as a relatively recent development, but it is by no means a new issue … While the public visibility of the issue, and the terms in which it is defined, may have changed, sexualised representations of children cannot be seen merely as a consequence of contemporary consumerism.

It also notes that previous coverage “rests on moral assumptions … that are not adequately explained or justified."