Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls
Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls
From advertising and merchandising, to Bratz and Voodoo Dolls, to the Henson affair, Getting Real puts the spotlight on the sexualisation and objectification of girls and women in the media, popular culture and society. Girls are portrayed as sexual at younger ages, pressured to conform to a ‘thin, hot, sexy’ norm. Clothing, music, magazines, toys and games send girls the message that they are merely the sum of their body parts. The effects of prematurely sexualising girls are borne out in their bodies and minds, with a rise in self-destructive behaviours, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. Getting Real brings together writers, advocates and academics, including some of the most vocal critics of the widespread pornification of culture. They call corporations, the media and the sex industry to account for creating this toxic environment. Lively and engaging, this collection is of interest to anyone troubled by what’s happening today and those seeking ideas to address and mobilise against the sexualisation of girls.
Review
Jo Case, editor of Readings Monthly
The ‘raunch culture’ identified by Ariel Levy in Female Chauvinist Pigs, is having an increasingly damaging effect on the self-worth of younger and younger girls. This book – boasting a foreword by much-loved former Play School presenter Noni Hazelhurst – is a much-needed wake-up call.
Topics covered include the culture of exhibitionism, the role of corporations, outdoor advertising, the effects of pornography on boys’ behaviour towards girls and girls themselves, and the Bill Henson affair. There’s an impressive roll-call of contributors, including Maggie Hamilton, author of What’s Happening to Our Girls, Clive Hamilton, and Emma Rush, co-author of the Australia Institute’s groundbreaking 2006 report on the sexualisation of children in Australia.
The diversity of contributors offers a valuable range of professional and personal insights into an urgent issue, and the book will be of great interest to concerned parents and interested readers alike.
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