Sexualistation of Young People

The APA definition of
sexualisation
In 2007, the American Psychological
Association (APA) carried out an
extensive review of the impact of
sexualisation on young girls. 83 The APA’s
taskforce provides the following definition
of sexualisation as occurring when:
• a person’s value comes only
from his or her sexual appeal or
behaviour, 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
– 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.
The APA views sexualisation as a
continuum, with so-called ‘sexualised
evaluation’ (that is, looking at someone
with sexual intent) at one end and severe
sexual exploitation, such as sexual abuse
or trafficking, at the other.
This report takes the APA definition as
its benchmark, since it accurately reflects
the themes emerging from the evidence
sessions held by the Home Office as part
of the Together We Can End Violence Against
Women and Girls consultation. Briefly,
these themes are that the sexualisation
of children and the infantilisation of adult
women is having a negative impact on
young people’s body image and identity
and making a significant contribution to
the demand for the sexual exploitation
of women and children within the UK.
We appreciate that academic debate
over the precise theoretical interpretation
of sexualisation is ongoing; however, our
83 Zurbriggen et al. (2007)
objective here is to better understand the
impact sexualisation is having now and to
identify effective strategies for combating
its negative effects.
Sexualisation, learning
and development
A number of factors shape the way
children and young people respond to the
sexualisation of culture. One of the most
obvious is the individual child’s age and level
of cognitive and emotional development –
a Pussycat Dolls video, say, will mean very
different things to a three-year-old, an eightyear-old
and a 14-year-old.
What is important to consider however
is the cumulative effect that exposure to
sexualised messages and images will also
have over time. Throughout this report,
we will argue that the ‘drip drip’ effect
is an insidious but powerful mechanism
by which the previously unthinkable
becomes widely acceptable, often within
a relatively short space of time. To give
just one example, cosmetic surgery
has moved from being predominantly
medical in nature to being the preserve
of Hollywood stars to being an accepted
part of mainstream culture (see page 58)
within just a few years.
Developments in technology play a
significant role, and while the internet
provides amazing learning opportunities,
it also gives children easy access to ageinappropriate
materials, which they can
access alone, without the input and
mitigating influence of an adult who could,
perhaps, help them to understand and
contextualise what they are seeing.
As the learning and developmental
theories outlined below demonstrate,
there is a considerable body of evidence
to suggest that children do learn
vicariously from what they see, and that
viewing inappropriate messages or images
can have a detrimental effect.
Sexualisation of Young People Review
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