Sexualization in Sports

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Sexualization in Sports The sexualization of girls is a growing and alarming trend in today’s society. The report we read brought up solid points and I feel the biggest factor is not media but parents. With parents today being much more open and accepting of their child’s choices in wardrobes, leisure activities and role models, it provides room for younger immature girls to mimic older mature women. The article brought up an example of a direct contribution such as entering young children into beauty pageants and even plastic surgery, but the process start much earlier (Zurbriggen, Collins, Lamb, Roberts, Tolman, Ward & Blake, 2010). The growing number of young parents and the multitude of easily accessible media mediums, mainly social media, provide influence that was once left to family and neighboring surroundings. We are in an instant sharing environment where people are now using social media as excuses for impromptu photo-shoots. From the time of birth children are photographed for the sake of social media and it is not limited to young girls. Young two and three month old little children are dressed in 1920’s “flapper girl” outfits, and what was once cute and maybe inappropriate photos reserved for private family albums are now stream instantly over the web for millions to see. Parents are buying “too sexy” diapers and onesie outfits for babies. Children are exposed early to the gender roles their parents want them to play and in many cases the instances are very mature for their age. As the young children grow older the resources and material they have access to also expand. A 12 year old girl with an Ipad and smartphone has the same access to the material a 35 year old woman has unless the parents have placed restric... ... middle of paper ... ...ed-sports-2013-brandspeak/ Estaban. (2013, December 3). The %0 most goodled female athletes of 2013. Retrieved from http://www.totalprosports.com/2013/12/30/the-50-most-googled-female-athletes-of-2013/ McBride, K. (2011, December 22). Letter of intent. Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/espn/story /_/id/7379853/espn-tries-solve-equation-women-sports-fans Stephey, M. J. (2009, May 21). Sex sells. here's why we buy. Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1900032,00.html Zurbriggen, E. L., Collins, R. L., Lamb, S., Roberts, T., Tolman, D. L., Ward, L. M., & Blake, J. (2013). Report of the apa task force on the sexualization of girls. Retrieved from American Psychological Association, website: https://elearningpilot.utdallas.edu/ bbcswebdav/pid-422437-dt-content-rid-2965627_1/courses/2142-UTDAL-PSY-4346-SEC001-21123/report-full.pdf

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