Erin Huntington
Kai Cabatu
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A person’s value comes only from his or her
sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of
other characteristics
A person is held to a standard that equates
physical attractiveness with being sexy
A person is sexually objectified
Sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a
person
APA (2007)
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Sexualization has been linked with three
common mental health problems among girls
and women:
◦ Eating disorders
◦ Low self-esteem
◦ Depression or depressed mood
(APA, 2007)
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Previous work has focused mainly on women
(APA, 2007)
Future studies focusing on the influence of
sexualization on girls are needed (APA, 2007)
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American Academy of Pediatrics (2001)
◦ Children watch an average of nearly 3 hours of
television per day, not including videos
◦ 32% of 2- to 7-year-olds and 65% of 8- to 18-year
olds have television sets in their bedrooms
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There is evidence that television shows
marketed to children are becoming
increasingly sexualized (APA, 2007)
Girls who frequently consume mainstream
media content are more likely to endorse
sexual stereotypes that depict women as
sexual objects and are more likely to place
appearance and physical attractiveness at the
center of women’s value (APA, 2007)
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Does sexualized content in children’s media
have an effect on pre-adolescent girls’ selfesteem and body image?
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Girls exposed to more sexualized children’s
media will have lower self-esteem and more
negative body image than girls exposed to
less sexualized media.
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Participants
◦ 25 participants
 11 less sexualized
 14 sexualized
◦ All female
◦ 2nd & 3rd Grade students
◦ Age range 7-9 years
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Two media clips
◦ Sexualized children’s media (e.g. HSM 2 )
◦ Less sexualized (e.g. Wizards of Waverly Place)
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Questionnaire
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Media habits
General self-esteem
Physical appearance self-concept
Body image
Interview
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Attractive teenage girls singing and dancing
around the pool in their bathing suits and
high heels
Using looks and sex appeal to impress a boy
◦ A person is held to a standard that equates physical
attractiveness with being sexy (APA, 2007).
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Main character is valued only by her sexual
appeal
◦ A person’s value comes only from his or her sexual
appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other
characteristics (APA, 2007).
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6 items
Administered before and after viewing the media clip
Sample
Really true
Sort of true
Sort of true
Really true
for me
for me
for me
for me
Some kids are often
unhappy with themselves
BUT
Other kids are pretty
pleased with themselves
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6 items
Administered before and after viewing the media clip
Sample
Really true
of me
Sort of true
of me
Some kids wish their
body was different
Sort of true
of me
BUT
Other kids like their
body the way it is
Really true
of me
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Administered before and after the media clip
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Conducted after questionnaires and media
clips
◦ “How many of you have seen any of the High School Musical
movies?”
◦ “What do you like about the movie or about Sharpay, the
character? “
◦ “What do you like about the other characters in the movie?
◦ Is there anything you don't like?”
◦ “How does watching the movie make you feel about being a
girl?”
◦ “What do you think makes a girl attractive?”
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Mixed-model Analysis of Variance
◦ Within Subjects Factor
 Time (Pre/Post)
◦ Between Subjects Factor
 Group (Sexualized/Less-sexualized)
4
3.5
3
Pre
2.5
Post
2
1.5
1
HSM
WWP
Time x Group Interaction, p > .05
4
3.5
3
Pre
2.5
Post
2
1.5
1
HSM
WWP
Time x Group Interaction, p > .05
3
2.5
2
Pre
1.5
Post
1
0.5
0
HSM
WWP
Time x Group Interaction, p > .05
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Small sample size
Limited exposure to media clips
Demand characteristics
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Virtually all of our participants were familiar
with High School Musical
A ‘consensus’ quickly emerged indicating that
what makes a girl attractive is “inner beauty”
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Longitudinal study predicting changes in
girls’ attitudes from their exposure to
sexualized media content
Individual interviews rather than group
interviews
Questions?
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