Pleasure vs profit
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What is sexualisation?
In 2007 the American Psychological Association (APA) carried out an extensive review of the impact of sexualisation on young girls. 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 and made into a thing for others’ sexual use rather than seen as a person with the capacity for independent action and decision making
- sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person.
‘Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualisation of Girls.’ American Psychological Association. Zurbriggen et al. (2007) http://www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualization.html
Why is it happening?
‘We know from our research that commercial pressures towards premature sexualisation and unprincipled advertising are damaging...
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