New Book: The Lolita Effect

I was out of town – As the mother of two I’m sorry I missed this reading… ~ Connie

University of Iowa News Release
April 25, 2008

Professor: profit motives behind sexualization of ‘tween girls

At Abercrombie & Fitch, little girls were sold thong underwear tagged with the phrases "eye candy" and "wink wink." In Britain, preschoolers could learn to strip with their very own Peekaboo Pole-Dancing Kits — complete with kiddie garter belts and play money. And ‘tween readers of the magazine Seventeen discovered "405 ways to look hot" like Paris Hilton.

This kind of sexualization of ‘tween girls – those between the ages of 8 and 12 — in pop culture and advertising is a growing problem fueled by marketers’ efforts to create cradle-to-grave consumers, a University of Iowa journalism professor argues in her new book.

Gigi Durham will read from "The Lolita Effect" at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 8 at Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City.

"A lot of very sexual products are being marketed to very young kids," Durham said. "I’m criticizing the unhealthy and damaging representations of girls’ sexuality, and how the media present girls’ sexuality in a way that’s tied to their profit motives. The body ideals presented in the media are virtually impossible to attain, but girls don’t always realize that, and they’ll buy an awful lot of products to try to achieve those bodies. There’s endless consumerism built around that."

Durham advocates healthy and progressive concepts of girls’ sexuality,
but criticizes the media for its sexual representations. Studies by the
Kaiser Family Foundation and other research organizations show that
sexual content aimed at children has increased steadily since the
1990s, Durham said. Times were prosperous, Britney Spears emerged as
the sexy schoolgirl on MTV, and ‘tweens had plenty of disposable income
— a perfect alignment for marketers trying to expand into a new
demographic. By 2007, 8- to 12 year-olds’ consumer spending was $170
billion worldwide, according to the market research firm Euromonitor.

The book, published this month by Overlook Press, is the culmination of
13 years of research by Durham, an associate professor in the UI School
of Journalism and Mass Communication, part of the UI College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences. Publishers Weekly described "The Lolita Effect" as
"well-written and well-researched," and Booklist, the national magazine
of the American Library Association, called it "provocative and
erudite."

Durham immersed herself in magazines, movies, TV shows, catalogs and
Web sites aimed at young girls, from Cosmo Girl to "Hannah Montana."
She went to junior high schools to talk with girls about how the
messages affected them.

In the book, Durham identifies five myths of sexuality and provides
advice and resources for caring adults who want to discuss the issue
with young girls.

The myths are:

–If you’ve got it, flaunt it. Bare a "Barbie body" as
often as you can. But don’t celebrate or enjoy any other body type.
"It’s really excluding a lot of girls from enjoying and recognizing
pleasure in their own bodies," Durham said.

–Anatomy of a sex goddess. "Media reinforce a ridiculous
ideal of being both extremely thin and voluptuous — a body not found
in nature," Durham said. "You have to go through borderline starvation
and plastic surgery to get it."

–Pretty babies. Representations of sexual girls are
getting younger and younger. Many of the images presented as the most
sexually desirable are images of girls as young as 11 or 12. "It’s
problematic in many ways: It encourages sexualization of girls too
young to make good decisions about sex. It legitimizes the idea that
young girls should be looked at as sexual partners. And, presenting
pre-pubescent bodies as the sexual ideal pressures grown women to
achieve the body of a child who hasn’t even matured yet," Durham said.

–Sexual violence is hot. Media aimed at children — like
PG-13 "slasher" movies — convey the message that violence is sexy or
that sex should be violent.

–Girls don’t choose boys; boys choose girls — and only
hot girls. Women and girls are supposed to focus on pleasing men. But
little emphasis is placed on women taking pleasure in their own
sexuality or bodies, or on guys striving to please gals, Durham said.
"It’s a very one-way construction of sex."

"The book definitely isn’t anti-sex," Durham said. "It starts with the
recognition that girls are sexual — everybody’s sexual — but that
girls deserve good information that will help them make good decisions.
We have the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the industrialized world,
and a study by the Centers for Disease Control just reported that 1 in
4 teen girls in the U.S. has an STD. Clearly we’re not giving them the
kind of information they need to take care of themselves sexually and
transition to adulthood in safe ways."

Durham encourages parents, teachers and counselors to jump-start
conversations about sexualization of young girls in the media. Ask
girls to look through a teen magazine and discuss the messages. How
seriously do they take them? Do they understand the profit motives, or
how images can be doctored to perfection?

Other tips include: complimenting girls on more than just their
appearance to emphasize that they are multidimensional; encouraging
activism for causes like ending sex trafficking; and assisting girls in
creating their own media — Web sites, blogs or ‘zines — that are less
focused on sex and appearance.
"There’s this hesitance to talk about these issues, especially before
kids reach adolescence," Durham said. "But often, when parents finally
do bring it up, it’s too late. Kids have already had their sexual
understanding shaped by media. We need to be having a lot of open
discussions about the sexualization of childhood and what constitutes
healthy sexuality. I don’t think we should neglect our responsibility
as adults and leave them to navigate this terrain on their own."

STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa News Services, 300 Plaza Centre One, Suite 371, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-2500
MEDIA CONTACTS: Nicole Riehl, University News Services, 319-384-0070, nicole-riehl@uiowa.edu

LINKS:

The Lolita Effect: Required Reading for Parents

Little girls gone wild

Sexualizing Tweens for Profit: A Q&A with Gigi Durham

The Iowa Independent  interview with Gigi Durham