Girls Oversexualed in Pop Culture

With new photos of Miley Cyrus - also known as Hannah Montana - on the internet and causing a stir, the entertainment community is again making people ask if and why teenage girls are being oversexualized.

The questions started with a 16-year-old Britney Spears singing "Hit Me Baby, One More Time" in a schoolgirl outfit. As subsequent singles were released, her wardrobe shrank (in size, not quantity), and now she has had a multitude of problems with drugs, pregnancy, and the custody of her children.

While some argue that Spears is a singular case, there are experts who argue otherwise. On February 20, 2007, the American Psychological Association (APA) released a report that was researched by the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. It concluded, regardless of the type of media, that the sexualization of girls in popular culture has harmful effects on the girls who see it. The damage done to girls' self-image is detrimental to healthy development, the report said. The report can be read in its entirety at http://www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualization.html.

Even a quick look through the American Eagle Outfitters (http://www.ae.com) and Pacific Sun (http://www.pacsun.com) websites show colorful and playful girl's panties and short shorts, flimsy tank tops, extremely low cut pants and belly-revealing shirts. When girls only see this type of clothing available, and their friends are all dressed in the same way, they naturally want to fit in.

Even the U.N. is under fire because of the social changes seen in young girls in the last few years. The U.N. Millennium Report even touched on the problem. According to The Christian Post, director and senior fellow of Concerned Women for America (CWA)'s Beverly LaHaye Institute Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse addressed the U.N. On the subject.

Many schools are struggling with girls who are wearing inappropriate clothing. On click2Houston.com, in April of 2007, there was even a story about girls and their dates being turned away from the prom based on the clothes they were wearing. "Parents dropping off their students said several girls and their dates were turned away from the party after a teacher deemed their dresses too provocative. Most of the offending garb apparently involved excessive display of cleavage." The article can be read in its entirety at http://www.click2houston.com/education/12153828/detail.html. Photos of the prom dresses are also included. While some of the girls went to prom after their dresses were more appropriate, it just shows the trend of revealing clothing.