Imagine being a young girl in the 21st century, the pressure of fitting in with the cool crowds can be overwhelming. Most young girls begin to change their fashion styles by the age of nine. At a very young age, these girls are targeted by marketers to pursue them to dress and be a certain way. Marketers realized that upon applying this term they gained a new billion-dollar clientele. In the 1980’s President Reagan signed the improvement of The Federal Trade Commission Act that would allow marketers to target children without restrictions. These laws need to be amended to give our children the opportunity to have a decent childhood without promiscuous clothing, and without damage to their self-esteem. The Federal Trade Commission Act needs to be reshaped to prevent our young girls from being sabotaged by marketers.
Marketers that target young girls are causing them to dress like young adults in a promiscuous manner. Marketers frequently use the tactics of pursuing teens by using celebrities to promote their products. Much of the clothing that these marketers promote is far too promiscuous for young girls. The clothing that is being promoted the most resembles a sexier style than in past years, and little girls seem to be intrigued by it because they do not realize that it is wrong. Because girls of school age begin to dress with a provocative sort of fashion they also become more aware of sexuality. According to noted author Lawrence Downes of the New York Times, “What surprised me, though, was how completely parents of even younger girls seem to have gotten in step with society's march toward eroticized adolescence—either willingly or through abject surrender”(“American Culture”). Many of these girls hit the puberty milestone, w...
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...rove that marketers targeting young girls is a serious problem that needs to be halted.
Works Cited
Bawdon, Fiona. "Celebrities Should Not Be Role Models for Women." Can Celebrities Change the World? Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. At Issue. Rpt. from "No Model For Girls." New Statesman (27 Sept. 2007). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
Downes, Lawrence. "American Culture Rewards Girls for Eroticism." Is Childhood Becoming Too Sexualized. Olivia Ferguson and Hayley Mitchell Haugen. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. At Issue. Rpt. from "Middle School Girls Gone Wild." New York Times 29 Dec. 2006. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
Ramsey, William A. "Rethinking regulation of advertising aimed at children." Federal Communications Law Journal Apr. 2006: 361+. Business Insights: Essentials. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
To what extent is it acceptable, in an age of shifting morals and the increasing acceptance of sex and violence in entertainment, to use sex to sell to consumers? Does this definition of acceptable shift when the consumers are underage children and teenagers? We all know that "sex sells", but deciding where to draw the line is becoming increasingly difficult as what is acceptable is redefined with each new generation. When does a company's tactics move from representing progressiveness to having crossed the line? Well in Abercrombie & Fitches case they continue to push the envelope.
Deborah Tolman author of “Dilemmas of Desire” dwells on uncovering a wealth of feelings about sexuality from teenage girls who are faced with a lot of struggles in developing sexual identity and detached from their sexuality. One of her main argument is centered on the juxtaposition of media representations of girls as highly sexualized objects. For instance, “the urban girl is viewed as the overly sexual young jezebel. Latinas are often eroticized as exotic, sexually alluring and available.” (Tolman, pg.170). I agree with this statement due to simple fact that we are living in a highly sexualized cultural milieu and evidence of sexualization is seen through mainstream culture. Images such as Sarah Bartman depict African American/ urban portrayal of sexual imagery formed socio-historical
A Study Conducted by the American Psychological Association Task Force concluded that sexualization occurs when a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics; a person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness (narrowly defined) 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 Task Force reported many example of the sexualization of girls, such as toy manufactures duce dolls wearing black leather miniskirts, feather boas, and thigh-high boots and market them to 8- to 12-year-old girls. Clothing stores sell thongs sized for 7– to 10-year-old girls, some printed with slogans such as “eye candy” or “wink wink”; other thongs sized for women and late adolescent girls are imprinted with characters from Dr. Seuss and the Muppets. In the world of child beauty pageants, 5-year-old girls wear fake teeth, hair extensions, and makeup and are encouraged to “flirt” onstage by batting their long, false eyelashes. Journalists, child advocacy organizations, parents, and psychologists have become alarmed according to the APA Task Force, arguing that the sexualization of girls is a broad and increasing problem and is harmful to girls, and I for one agree with their proposition.
From an early age girls are bombarded with graphic messages about sexiness in the media and from popular culture. American society is filled with obscene amounts of images encouraging sexual behavior. The secularization of popular culture is extremely detrimental to young girls.
When girls are disheartened over their inability to look like some media idol or doll, then it is time to pay attention and ask why. Psychologist Levine and Kilbourne, emphasize a need to stay more connected, and finding out why children feel they have to compete with the images of people they see in the media (So Sexy So Soon 27). The idea of looking sexy may be fine for adults, but the notion of sexy little girls is somehow disturbing. TV is setting the agenda and succeeding as it paints the perfect girl, as tall, skinny, tan, pretty, and rich. TV commercials sell sexy because sexy sells, and is now targeting younger audiences. A preteen viewing a Bratz Dolls commercial will be prompted to visit their web site, where she will be greeted with attractive dolls dressed in sexy outfits. The dolls portray an image of teenage girls with large attractive eyes, lush glossy lips, and dressed in the latest fashion.
In “The man behind Abercrombie and Fitch.” An interview conducted by Benoit Denizet-Lewis displays a glimpse into the life of Mike Jeffries and his views of his company only hiring “good-looking” people and targeting “good-looking” people to wear his clothes. This has been done in order to force his audience to recognize that the issue of acceptance one’s peers and exclusion of a community mentioned by Mike Jeffries, is a result of cultural perceptions and individual self-image. Denizet-Lewis skillfully shows that while Jeffries remarks of not wanting the “not-so-popular” kids to shop in his stores, it poses a question to consumers asking what change in our attitudes will come or if there will be any change at all. Thus comes the issue of how consumers today have a shift in the reasoning behind why one buys clothing and the motivating factors that influence one to buy certain clothing. Denizet-Lewis also demonstrates the different messages that controversial advertisements and statements affect different groups of people and how what they project is really what people desire, though deemed by many people as unacceptable or inappropriate. The author also examines how in the news media, the image has become more important than the message and how images have taken precedent over actual issues and character. As a result of this, various communities have formed by the construct of selling to “beautiful people” and how popular appeal has become an extension of a person.
In Jean Kilbourne's documentary “Killing Us Softly 4”, she gives multiple detailed examples of advertisers making women a sexual object which leads to society dehumanizing the female species. As well as this, they are finding younger and thinner women to use, even photo-shopping their models to unrealistic body shapes; warping the average women's view of what she should look like. American Apparel's founder and CEO Dov Charney himself stated that he had worked hard to acquire the provocative image they have today and that he purposefully created ads that were “soaked in youth and sex” (Chauduri). The company insists that they are simply “open about sexuality” and should not be persecuted for it (Chauduri). While sex is more prominent and less taboo than it has been in society, there is a definite line between more “open” about sexuality, and abusing the sexual side of men and women. By “open about sexuality” Dov Charney and American Apparel actually mean that they are going use extremely young women in promiscuous positions to sell their clothing, despite the fact that the...
Durham, Meenakshi Gigi. The Lolita Effect: The Media Sexualization of Young Girls and What We Can Do about It. Woodstock, NY: Overlook, 2008. Print.
Britney has been questioned about her racy image, one that is considered inappropriate for a teenage girl, but she ignores the concerns (Koeppel 491). Not even family members can prevent Britney from flaunting herself with revealing outfits. Her older brother told her she needs to put on more clothes, but she refuses. She says she enjoys feeling “sexy” sometimes (Tresniowski 100). Britney’s impact is everywhere and needs to be carefully monitored. Young girls, from bar...
should listen to, and how teens should act. The desire to buy products which are
Mary Pipher goes on to say that the problem faced by girls is a ‘problem without a name’ and that the girls of today deserve a different kind of society in which all their gifts can be developed and appreciated. (Pipher,M). It’s clear that cultures and individual personalities intersect through the period of adolescence. Adolescence is a time in a young girl’s life that shapes them into the woman they become. I think it begins earlier than teen years because even the clothing that is being sold for younger girls says sexuality. Bras for girls just beginning in every store are now padded with matching bikini underwear, Barbie dolls are glamour up in such away that these girls believ...
In prevalent culture, the term “sex sells” acts as a beacon in the minds of many young girls: What used to be just a simple terminological play on words to express the sexually explicit culture of magazines and the sale of fad products, is now being used in a literal sense. Teen girls have grown to believe that selling or “giving away” their sex has become the norm and saying no is now the equivalent of writer Sylvia Plath sticking her head in a stove, or in other words, committing social suicide. Many of these girls do not know that they are being sexually exploited because of this. They believe in their heads that they have no choice when it comes to performing these sexual acts and fail to realize they are being exploited by men (or women), which more often than not ultimately results in dire situations in the end.
Traister, Rebecca. A. "Fathers Should Not Exploit Their Daughters' Sexuality." Is Childhood Becoming Too Sexualized? Olivia Ferguson and Hayley Mitchell Haugen. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010.
Have you ever noticed walking into a large shopping complex and seeing children as young as 6 years old wearing midriff bearing t-shirts and short skirts? And wondered to yourself why the younger generation of today portray themselves like that and why their parents allow it. It all goes back to the strong impact that sexualization portrayed in media and marketing has on everybody in today’s society especially young children from toddlers to late teens, both girls and boys. They see it everywhere from movies/television shows, magazines, clothing, computer games, toys, the music industry and of course the internet.
Calvin Klein is an American fashion house that began in New York, selling high end or high fashion underwear, jeans, fragrances, among others. To the public Calvin Klein has become a highly popular clothing line known for their fashion, youthfulness, and chic and classic styles. CK uses their luring advertisements to entice consumers and persuade them into more buying. The average CK advertisement appears to the public as simply a man and woman posing in an image to promote their product, however the underlying meaning of the advertisement is increasingly overlooked. I claim they are indirectly expressing male and female inequality or insulting the rights of individuals or putting pleasure above what is right or lying to the audience about