Sexualistation of Young People

There is also a connection between
exposure to stereotypical images of
women in adverts and aggressive or
violent attitudes. Researchers suggest that,
by encouraging male viewers to internalise
the notion of women as sexual beings,
adverts create a hierarchy within which
women are viewed as subordinate and,
therefore, as appropriate targets for sexual
violence. 356 The repeated depiction of men
as dominant and aggressive and females
as subordinate and demeaned is arguably
perpetuating violence against women. 357
Adults – including women 358 – who
viewed sexually objectifying images of
women in the mainstream media were
more likely to be accepting of violence. 359
A significant number of men exposed to
video games featuring hyper-sexualised
characters made judgments that suggested
greater tolerance of sexual harassment;
in the longer-term, exposure correlated
with tolerance of sexual harassment and
greater acceptance of the ‘rape myth’. 360
A study of 458 young adolescents
examining the relationship between family
environment, gender-focused themes and
narratives in music videos and attitudes
towards sexual harassment 361 showed
that, while girls were less accepting of
sexual harassment than boys, exposure
to music videos reduced their resistance.
This was particularly true for girls without
a supportive family. For both boys and
girls, frequent TV viewing and exposure
to pornographic material led to greater
acceptance of sexual harassment. The
study also identified a link between
viewing sexualised images of girls, a
tendency to view younger girls as potential
356 Lanis and Covell (1995)
357 Murnen et al. (2007); Dill and Brown et al.
(2008)
358 Johnson and Adams et al. (1995)
359 Kalof (1999); Lanis and Covell (1995)
360 Dill and Brown et al. (2008)
361 Strouse and Goodwin et al. (1994)
sexual partners and a more tolerant
attitude towards child sexual abuse. 362
A recent longitudinal study of 1,000 boys
from birth to 25 looked at how their
levels of self-esteem affected their risk of
violent behaviour. Boys with higher levels
of self-esteem at 15 were less likely to be
violent offenders by the age of 25, while
lower levels of self-esteem were linked
to a greater risk of violence at 18, 21
and 25. 363 A survey of 13,650 pupils aged
11–16 from 39 schools across England
found that lack of self-concern and low
self-esteem were useful constructs in
predicting adolescent violence. 364
Partner violence
“Our research has uncovered, for the first
time in the UK, the shocking levels of
violence – physical, emotional and sexual
– that many girls experience from their
partners. Indeed...this may be the most
prevalent form of violence girls experience
in their childhoods. We can no longer ignore
this fundamental welfare problem and the
damage it does to girls’ well-being and their
long-term life chances.”
University of Bristol & NSPCC
research report 365
A recent survey commissioned by the
NSPCC 366 found that 33 per cent of
teenage girls aged 13–17 had been
subjected to unwanted sexual acts while
in a relationship, and 25 per cent had
suffered physical violence. Among boys,
18 per cent had experienced physical
violence. Nearly three-quarters of
girls and half of boys claimed to have
experienced some form of ‘emotional
violence’ from their partner, with girls
more likely to have experienced this in a
362 Strouse and Goodwin et al. (1994)
363 Boden and Horwood et al. (2007)
364 Sutherland and Shepherd (2002)
365 Barter, McCarry, Berridge and Evans (2009)
366 Barter, McCarry, Berridge and Evans (2009)
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