A Content Analysis of Youth Sexualized Language and Imagery in Adult Film Packaging, 1995–2007

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21190864
AutoresRobin E Jensen (0000-0002-0216-3589, autor de correspondencia)
Año2010
Volumen4
Número4
Páginas371-386
Fecha de publicación2010-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Children and Media (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1748-2798 • E-ISSN: 1748-2801
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17482798.2010.510005
OpenAlexW2094201364
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas41

This study defines youth sexualized language (YSL)—language that sexually objectifies young people/youth (i.e. individuals who look like they could be minors)—and youth sexualized imagery (YSI)—photographs, drawings, or other visual depictions that sexually objectify young people/youth—and quantifies the frequency of both in mainstream adult film packaging. A content analysis of 2,600 randomly selected mainstream adult film covers released from 1995 to 2007 revealed that over 20 per cent of covers contained YSL, YSI, or both, including references to and depictions of teens, braces, pigtails, stuffed animals, and school uniforms. The analysis also revealed that adult film covers containing YSL and/or YSI overwhelmingly sexualized characters coded as female rather than as male or transgendered. KEYWORDS content analysis; child pornography; gender; media; pornography; youth sexualized imagery; youth sexualized language Over the last three decades, the hypersexualization of children, especially girls, has garnered the attention of parents, media researchers, and policy makers. Concerns ignited following media scandals such as those surrounding the 1981 Calvin Klein advertising campaign featuring 15-year-old Brooke Shields whispering “Know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing! ” and the 1996 murder of the child beauty queen JonBenét Ramey. Today, toy stores cannot keep Bratz dolls, which are decorated in heavy make-up and barely-there mini skirts, on the shelves, and popular clothing chains stock thong underwear for pre-adolescent girls with phrases such as “Little Hottie ” and “Wink, Wink.” Levin and Kilbourne (2008) and Durham (2008) have argued that this widespread sexualization of girls (what Durham calls “the Lolita effect”) exploits children and puts their self-image and wellness at risk. More specifically, the American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on the Sexuality of Girls (2007) reported that sexualizing girls can result in their impaired cognitive functioning, poor motor performance, and a range of mental health disturbances such as depression, eating disorders, and low self-esteem

Advertising · Mainstream · Political science · Sociology · Gender Studies · Gender Studies in Language · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Law · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology