Sexualization and the Media: Part 1

♫ sex in the air, I don't care, I love the smell of it

Rihanna's video for S&M has just been released. You can view it here. Ihe video she gets tied up in rope bondage (pictured) a la Bettie Page. The video provoked the usual outrage about sexualization in music videos targeted at children, but it got me thinking.

Outrage is often sterotyped as coming from Christian groups and so the outrage is subsequently derided by proponants of free speech. But what about the other groups such outrage comes from, for example, the Parents Television council. Should we really be mocking a parent's group that just wants the government to help them to help their children appreciate age-related activities? Parents need help and support too. Those of you with children know that it's not just a matter of 'don't let them watch it'. You can't moniter your child 24/7- it's not possible. If you are not a parent or teacher, children are not your priority, so shouldn't we be listening to those whose children are?

The issue of the increasing sexualization in the media is not a simple matter of censorship v.s freedom of information, and it's extremely unhelpful to paint it as such, as some anti-censorship groups do. It's about helping to create a healthy environment for everyone. Not just you. Or your friends. Or your mom. But the immigrant's family, the gay teenager, the anorexic 12 year old, the 9 year old boy with ADHD. We already have adult ratings on films. What makes the rest of the media any different?

Screencaps from Rihanna's video

There are certain things a parent cannot control. Your 13-year-old's friend showing her a video of Skins on youtube at lunchtime on her iphone at school, for example. It's a sad fact that listening, watching, and doing things that are not age appropriate quite often creates a regressive mentality in those exposed to it. This can be seen in two ways:

1. In children doing activities that are for people far older than their age (e.g underage sex) their mentality hasn't be able to develop enough to deal with the issues raised by the activity in a mature way. Obviously some teenagers are more mature than others, but you give me one teen who wasn't influenced in any way by their friends, media or family.

2. Those kids who do age-inappropriate activites such as drinking, clubbing, and sex underage are far more likely to suffer with mental problems, alcholism and have a devient sex life than those who do activities that are age appropriate.

Vicky from Aha Shake Heartbreaker wrote a really interesting post about sexualization in the media, which inspired this post. I could write forever about this issue so I'm going to split it into a few sections. Next post will be on body issues and the media, with focus on body dysmorphia, which is an issue close to my heart. I will also be writing about what parents can do for positive reinforcement and what it is like for parents to feel peer pressure!

I hope people found this interesting to read and I would love to hear your thoughts on this difficult issue. You can also view Rihanna's new video below: