The Sexualization of Childhood and the Media

Children Sexualized in the Media and Teen Pregnancy

Girls today are exposed to an abundance of toxic images in the media. Right from toddler-hood girls are exposed to the images of Disney princesses, Barbie and Bratz. The images of Ariel and Jasmine are so prevalent we no longer notice them when we buy pull-ups for our little ones. Walk into a toy store and it is almost impossible to find toys that are not promoting negative messages about body-image, self-worth and the importance of being sexy. Corporate America is marketing to our children in some very hardcore ways. Children are exposed to more and more sexualized images of other children all the time. Not to mention the mixed messages in cultural norms that on one hand seek the protection of children through the legal system, while at the same time exploiting children in the mass marketplace of consumer culture.
Headlining in the news recently is the case of the alleged pregnancy pact among a group of 17 year females at a high-school in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Several articles, including Time Magazine, cited a failing economy that has historically relied on the fishing industry, as a contributing factor in the lives of several of the teens. Kacia Lowe, a teen living in the community, stated that in her view the girls wanted to become pregnant because “no one’s offered them a better option.”
Is it really a failing economy that is responsible for this many teen pregnancies? What factors are driving this perception that pregnancy is yet another “option?" Children and adolescents are given so many mixed messages regarding their sexuality via mainstream media that they have begun to identify their value and self-worth through their bodies. I’m confused myself as to what exactly is the take away message for anyone in a school system who receives sex-education, but to whom contraception is made available without parental consent. Does having a free on-site daycare center on school grounds promote teen motherhood? The case in Gloucester may be the most telling in terms of what is happening to young girls in America. According to Sue Todd, the CEO of Pathways for Children, the program responsible for the school site daycare, reported that several of the students who became pregnant had been identified as early as 6th grade to be at high-risk for pregnancy. The factors that placed them in a higher-risk category were low self-esteem, poor access to after school programs, feelings of isolation and family issues.
I can’t help but wonder if over-exposure to sexualized images of children and adolescents didn’t contribute to the low self-esteem prevalent amongst the teens who participated in the pregnancy pact. Pregnancy just might be an alluring option in a culture that promotes teen sexuality through the media. The bombardment of sexualized images of children and teens has a profound negative effect on self-esteem and self-concept of girls. The sexualization of children is now mainstream culture…so much so that we barely notice images of Ariel on pull-ups for toddler girls, or Bratz being promoted by Scholastic Books for young readers.