Sexualisation_of_Children_and_Advertising

[pic] The above image is of 10 year old model, Thylane Lena Rose and was taken from the daily mail website A news story posted on the daily mail website in August 2011 is about 10 year old model Thylane Lena Rose. The story cause controversy as the young model was seen in the fashion magazine, Vogue, wearing make-up and lying down on leopard print bed covers. David Cameron and the mothers union called a summit, aiming to crackdown on the sexualisation of children in the media and advertising. The news story presents many comments from mothers and their views on the images and they feel that the images are wrong and are bluing the thoughts of beauty. Everyday there is advertisements posted of models, with the perfect body, skin and hair. Music videos also share this along with many sexual references for example, music artist Rhianna came under criticism for the clothes and words used in her music videos. The problem with this is that young girls may look up to these woman as role models, wanting to be and look like them. Also, advertisements of models can be found everywhere, in front of shops, on TV, on buses and so on. Therefore, young girls are surrounded by these images and may believe that’s the right way to look, creating the want to grow up quickly and also insecurities and lack of confidence with themselves. With culture and power, advertising is transmitted to audiences as a representation of how the world is and should be, this is the concept of ideology. “our press, our films, our conversations, the clothing we wear, everything in everyday life is dependant on the representation which the bourgeoisie has and makes us have of the relations between men and the world (Barthes, p146). The advertising of woman today, demonstrates this. Fashion companies mainly promote woman who are good looking, with small body shapes and can promote sex through body language.. They control this by having the power to choose who promotes their products. The effect this has it that it gives the idea of what sex and beauty is to young girls.. “Social relations and processes are appropriated by individuals only through the forms in which they are represented to those individuals. They are shown in a common sense which stimulatory validates and mystifies them” (Hebidge, p149). Therefore, ideology makes individuals believe that what they see is true and real when this is not always the case. Also, there is a division of power when it comes to the people who transmit the advertisements, and to the people who receive it. This is the concept of hegemony, where the subordinates power appears legitimate and universal and they have the consent from the people. Individuals do not go against the system as they perceive these images as natural, and therefore, the people in power, who control the advertising, has the power over consumers as they have their consent. However, there is opposition from this as we can see in the news story. With the growth of sexualisation of young girls, many mothers have started to come forward against media advertisements of woman and the effect this can have on young girls. Also, David Cameron is trying to put in age restrictions on music videos which means that videos with sexual innuendoes will be shown in the evening. This demonstrates that the power can be questioned by people and that not all people are passive, consuming what the media transmits. “Present day popular culture is tainted by the domination of the capitalist production of culture and its enslaving ideology. This is then no merely popular culture of the people.(Bennet, p31). This is evident in media advertising. The people who are in charge of advertising get to choose who promotes their products, instead of using a range of women with different looks. They are transmitting a dominant look across to audiences for example, the idea of what woman adolescence is, and the audience may see this as natural or universal. We can also use the term mass culture in regards to media advertising. Mass culture is mass produced for audiences. The main goal for companies is profit. Companies know how to promote their products well otherwise they would not sell and make money. Therefore their advertisement strategies work. the use of models and celebrities make young girls want to look and be like them. For example, Cheryl Cole promoted Loreal's red hair dye in advertisements. Soon after the sells for red hair dye rose. “In democratic countries, the final decision no longer rests with the educated but with the amusement industry. Popularity consists of the unrestricted accommodation of the people to what the amusement industry thinks they like” (Horkheimer, p31). However, it can be argued that a popular culture emerges from the resistance of advertising. Not all girls are consumed by media advertising and not all young girls are subject to the sexual references make through the media. “Girls created a variety of meanings, and where one can resist the force of hegemonic power” (Fiske, p38).Media not passively consumed by all members of society, therefore the images transmitted through the media on fashion will not have effect on everyone. Also, with the rise of new technology, people can express their views and opinions and put up their own images. This can be seen through blog websites such as Tumblr. Bibliography Mail Foreign Service. 2011. Far too much, far too young: Outrage over shocking images of the 10-YEAR-OLD model who has graced the pages of Vogue. Daily Mail [Online]. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2022305/Thylane-Lena-Rose-Blondeau-Shocking-images-10-YEAR-OLD-Vogue-model.html Hebdidge, D. From Culture to Hegemony. In Douglas Kellner and Meenakishi Gigi Duham (eds) Media and Cultural Studies. Blackwell publishing, 2006. Orginally published in Subculture: the meaning of style. Routledge, 1979. Jenkins, J, Mcpherson, T. Shattuc, J. Defining Popular Culture. In Henry Jenkins & al (eds). Hop On Pop: The Politics and Pleasures of Popular Culture. Duke Unversity Press, 2002. [pic] Sexualised music videos to get film style age ratings Image of music artist Rhianna, taken from telegraph website A news story printed on the Telegraph website on June 3rd 2011 is about policies to put age ratings on videos so they can only be shown at certain times. Also, advertisements with sexual imagery will be banned from sites near schools. There are concerns from parents that children are trying to grow up too fast with an increasing pressure on children to become consumers. The policies on the crackdown of sexualisation of children have occurred partly because of the sexual content in music artist's videos such as Lady Gaga and Rhianna (above), who have been said to have large audiences of pre-teens. Reg Baily, the chief executive of the mothers union has called for a online portal to be set up for parents to complain about the way products are marketed to children His concern is with the tone and style of the way things are marketed to younger people. The news story also states how David Cameron told his 6 year old daughter to stop listening to Lilly Allen because of the sexual references made in her lyrics. The news story presented here is an example of a moral panic as it is an issue that is threatening the social order. Moral panics can be seen in two different ways. That the media is exaggerating a issue, creating a panic among the general population. Also, the emphasis on media new values means that only certain news and certain social groups get presented in the media. Or on the other hand, that the media is presenting important news to the public, making them aware of issues and bringing them together as a community to solve the problem. “Youth is presented only when its presence is regarded as a problem, the category of youth only gets activated, in official documentary discourse in the form of editorials, magazine articles, when young people make their presence felt by going out of bounds, by dressing strangely, by resisting through rituals and by issuing challenges. When they adopt these strategies they get talked about, taken seriously, their grievances acted upon” (Hebdige, p296). This is evident in the news story. The issue on the sexualisation of children gets taken seriously as young girls are seen as trying to grow up too fast, buying into the media advertisements and music videos that are presented to them. The images of 10 year old model, Thylane Lena Rose where presented in the media as they where going against the norm. The idea of children is innocence so the images created controversy as she was see dressing like an adult, not a child. When this ideal image of childhood is broken, the story becomes news worthy as it is a change to the normal order. This demonstrates that young people are presented in the news only when they are doing something different to what is expected of them, in this case trying to look like adults. In turn this creates a moral panic. “A condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values: its nature is presented in a stylized and stereotypical fashion by the mass media”(Cohen, p84). The media uses some evidence of the effects of the media and the sexualisation of children, for example an image or a story on a particular child. This evidence is used to create panic among parents and the effects of the media on children. However in reality, not all girls are subject to the sexual references in music videos. The use of the statement on David Cameron 's parenting when it comes to sexual references in them media also play into the moral panic. Parents see how someone in power is acting on the issue, and therefore may see that it really is a serious problem. Also, moral panics suggest that in the past such problems would not occur. The news story states how mothers believe that the world they live in is a more sexualised place then before. By using how the world is now compared to how the world was then, may lead to a concern that society is in decline. However, moral panics can be seen as a positive aspect to society. The news on the sexualisation of children make people aware of issues from advertising. This makes people feel obligated to solve the problem and protect their children and brings society together. “It is about how the media are able to report and create problems which are recognized as implying moral obligations on the part of the audiences”(Tester, p89). The news presents the problems of advertising and the sexualisation of children to audiences which informs then and makes audiences and parents feel obligated to solve the issue. Therefore it can be argued that moral panics is a positive aspect, that informs audiences on the problems that are going on in the world. Another positive aspect that can be argued comes from moral panics is policies that are made. The moral panic as caused people to worry about the media and the sexualisation, but by bringing light of this issues, polices are being put in place to cut down on sexual advertising and age restrictions on sexualised music videos. Therefore, moral panics can lead to positive changes to society. The moral panic that has been created also puts emphasis on the growing sexual references in music videos and advertisements which have been said to put pressure on girls to buy into consumerism. However, there is arguments that demonstrates that not all girls are simply passive consumers. “Audiences are no longer envisaged as passive consumers but as active producers of popular culture” (Hunter and Kaye, p1). The news story puts emphasis on the affects of media and the sexualisation of children but not all children are subject to this. What post modernists argue is that within popular culture, there is a market for everyone and people can have their own meanings to texts. Just because there are children who have been shown to been affected by the sexual references in media, does not mean this happens to all children. Overall, The effects of moral panics can be negative and positive. There is an exaggeration within the media on certain social groups, especially the young as these groups of people are news worthy. The stories create panic among audiences who feel obligated to demand a change. However, this can be a positive thing and make people and parents feel a sense of solidarity. Biblography The Telegraph. Sexualised music videos to get film-style age ratings. 2011 [Online] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/8554251/Sexualised-music-videos-to-get-film-style-age-ratings.html Tester, K. The Media And Morality, in media culture and morality. Routledge, 1994. Hunter I.Q and Heidi Kaye. Trash Aesthetics:Popular Culture and its Audience. Pluto Press, 1997.