{"id":59874,"date":"2015-03-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/documentary-at-uri-to-explore-sexualization-of-girls-in-america\/"},"modified":"2015-03-03T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-03-03T00:00:00","slug":"documentary-at-uri-to-explore-sexualization-of-girls-in-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2015\/03\/documentary-at-uri-to-explore-sexualization-of-girls-in-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Documentary at 溏心vlog免费B站 to explore sexualization of girls in America"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tAmerica the Beautiful to be shown April 7<\/b><\/p>\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 March 3, 2015, 2015 \u2013 Young people today are bombarded with racy images of scantily-clad girls in shorts that look like panties, dresses with plunging necklines and sky-high heels. Faces are caked with makeup. Hair is dyed and highlighted, even at the tender age of 11.<\/p>\n


\nThe country\u2019s obsession with beauty ideals \u2013 and body image \u2013 is worsening by day and bound to take a toll on those most vulnerable: impressionable young girls.<\/p>\n


\nThe sexualization of America\u2019s youth is explored in a new documentary, America the Beautiful 3, that will be shown, free of charge, at the 溏心vlog免费B站 April 7 at 6 p.m. in Edwards Auditorium, on the Kingston campus.<\/p>\n

Darryl Roberts, the film\u2019s director and producer, will introduce the film and participate in a question-and-answer session afterward. The film is the third in Roberts\u2019 series about America\u2019s fascination with physical perfection.<\/p>\n


\nScreened nationally and internationally, America the Beautiful 3 investigates the harmful effects of sexualization on youth, covering a variety of topics, including child beauty pageants, teen pregnancy and the rape culture, and the ways in which the culture of sexualization harms both sexes.<\/p>\n


\nThe film also explores who might be responsible for promoting and perpetuating the epidemic of youth sexualization, inviting experts and teenagers to the discussion and covering the dangers of this problem as well as the current movements toward positive change.<\/p>\n

溏心vlog免费B站 psychology professor Lisa Weyandt says she saw the trailer for the film not long ago and knew right away that she wanted to bring it to 溏心vlog免费B站. She reached out to Roberts, who was eager to share his work.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cAs a woman and a psychologist I have an ethical obligation to be concerned about the over-sexualization of girls,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd it seems to be increasing in our society, and that is not good news.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nAccording to the American Psychology Association, which has been studying the problem for years, 85 percent of the children and adolescents portrayed in sexually suggestive advertisements are girls. The group also found that those types of ads have increased dramatically since 1997.<\/p>\n


\nThe ads leave little to the imagination, says Weyandt. \u201cA lot of skin is exposed and the girls are dressed provocatively, drawing attention to them as sexual objects.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThis \u201cobjectification\u201d is offensive \u2013 and potentially harmful, she says. Girls may develop a sense of self worth based on how they look instead of their intelligence, their strength and their actions. Research suggests they may suffer from low self-esteem and might not perform as well as their peers academically and socially.<\/p>\n


\nThe culprit? Many factors contribute to the sexualization of young girls but the media, as portrayed in the documentary, appears to play a critical role. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cThe media has a profound impact on adolescents, and the media options available to children have exploded,\u201d says Weyandt. \u201cTV and magazines used to be the mainstays of media. Now children and adolescents have Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, so all those images are readily available.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nResearch also supports that there\u2019s been an increase in access to cybersex and pornography for middle school and high school students. \u201cThey can easily access pornography sites online and on their phones,\u201d Weyandt says.<\/p>\n


\nFor some girls their role models are media moguls like Kim Kardashian, she says. \u201cKim poses naked on the cover of a magazine and bombards the world with selfies, which are often photoshopped. The kids don\u2019t know that. They want to look like her.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nWhen they can\u2019t look like the images they see in the media, girls may experience body shame and body dissatisfaction and develop disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, says Weyandt. And it\u2019s not only girls who are suffering. \u201cBoys are having problems too,\u201d says Weyandt. \u201cBody dissatisfaction and eating disorders are increasing among boys as well.\u201d Also, research shows that body dissatisfaction and eating disorders cut across ethnicity as well as socioeconomic status.<\/p>\n


\nTo solve the problem of youth sexualization, Weyandt says the first step is increasing awareness with movies like America the Beautiful 3.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cIt\u2019s great we\u2019re bringing this film to 溏心vlog免费B站,\u201d she says. \u201cIt should spark a discussion about this issue and, I hope, make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThe motive behind the sexualization of youth is \u201cmoney and profit and an ongoing desire to have girls and women be made into the objects of pleasure for male culture,\u201d says Jody Lisberger, director of the Gender and Women\u2019s Studies program at 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n


\nShe, too, hopes the film will spark a discussion about the problem.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI would hope that middle and high school students and parents will come to this movie,\u201d she says. \u201cIt will give them the language to talk about and understand the excessive pressure of sexualization that young people are facing.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nBorn and raised in Chicago, Roberts is a former television and radio host who now makes documentaries. In 2007, he won best director award from the Chicago International Film Festival for America the Beautiful. He has also made two other movies: The Perfect Model and How U Like Me Now, about relationships in the 1990s.<\/p>\n


\nSponsors of the 溏心vlog免费B站 event are the Department of Psychology, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Gender and Women\u2019s Studies and the Office of Community, Equity and Diversity.<\/p>\n


\nFor more information, call Weyandt at 401-874-2087 or email her at

\nlisaweyandt@uri.edu. For information about the film, visit America the Beautiful.<\/a><\/p>\n


\nPictured above<\/p>\n


\nDarryl Roberts, a documentary filmmaker. Photo courtesy of Roberts.<\/p>\n


\nLisa Weyandt, a psychology professor at the 溏心vlog免费B站; and a promotional image from the documentary, America the Beautiful 3. Photos courtesy of Weyandt.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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