Sexualistation of Young People

375
Gangs, sexualisation and
sexual violence
In gangs, rape and sexual assault is
increasingly becoming the weapon of
choice. Assaulting a girl is used not only
to assert power over the girl herself,
but also over those who associate
with her. The growing threat of sexual
violence also means that girls are
seriously affected by gang activities;
regardless of whether they are directly
involved themselves.
Girls also talk of feeling increasingly
pressurised by magazines, music
and the fashion industry to present
themselves in a highly sexual way.
They tend to respond to this pressure
either by over-sexualising themselves
from an early age or by developing a
more ‘masculine’ persona which, in the
gang context, means they often found
themselves in dangerous situations. 375
Pornography and
sexual aggression
“All this push to get women to buy into porn
and its values…is it really empowering? If
it was, wouldn’t it be empowering for all
women?” 376
‘Angela’, female prostitute
Evidence points to a link between
exposure to pornography and ‘sexual
callousness’, as well as a decrease in
feelings of guilt, repulsion and disgust.
Prolonged exposure increases the
likelihood of consuming material that
depicts either potentially ‘harmful’ or what
the UK government labels ‘extreme’ 377
sexual behaviours such as violent sex and
375 ROTA (2007)
376 Walter (2010)
377 McGlynn, Ward and Rackley (2009)
bestiality. Researchers point to a number
of negative consequences linked to the
consumption of such material:
“Dispositional changes include diminished
trust in intimate partners, the abandonment
of hopes for sexual exclusivity with partners,
evaluation of promiscuity as the natural
state, and the apprehension that sexual
inactivity constitutes a health risk. Cynical
attitudes about love emerge, and superior
sexual pleasures are thought attainable
without affection toward partners. The
institution of marriage is seen as sexually
confining. Increasingly, having a family and
raising children is considered an unattractive
prospect.” 378
A study of over 800 subjects aged 18 to
26 found that 87 per cent of young men
and 31 per cent of young women used
pornography, and that 67 per cent and
49 per cent thought pornography was
acceptable. There was a clear link between
the use and acceptance of pornography
and risky sexual attitudes and behaviours,
substance abuse and non-marital
cohabitation values. 379 However, high
pornography use is not in itself an
indicator of high risk for sexual aggression.
But people who are already predisposed
to violent activity and who also score high
for pornography use are much more likely
to engage in sexual aggression. 380
In other words, where a person already
has a propensity towards violence,
that propensity may be heightened
by the presence of sexually aggressive
pornography.
378 Zillman (1989)
379 Carroll and Padilla-Walker et al. (2008)
380 Malamuth, Addison and Koss (2000)
Sexualisation of Young People Review
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