Dress and sex: a review of empirical research involving human participants and published in refereed journals Full Text

Choose a Girl

The researchers questioned whether exposure to sexually objectifying television programs (77) and magazines (61) measured during 1 year would increase self-objectification and body surveillance the following year. Surprisingly, exposure to these media increased body surveillance only for men. One explanation for this sex difference might be that for women body surveillance is normative and thus not as susceptible to an external influence as it is for men. Later, Vandenbosch and Eggermont (2012), using objectification theory and social cognitive theory, examined the effect of viewing sexually objectifying fashion advertisements on adolescent girls in Belgium. Results demonstrated a direct effect of viewing sexually objectifying fashion magazines on internalization of beauty ideals and an indirect effect on self-objectification through the internalization of beauty ideals. Subsequently, researchers have shown interest in documenting the detrimental consequences for women to repeated exposure to these depictions.

• For example, Koukounas and Letch (2001) reported both men and women thought that women used sexy dress to indicate sexual interest and that men perceived more sexual intent than women.
• Using objectification theory for guidance, researchers exposed undergraduate men to objectified advertising images of women or men (in revealing dress) as well as to neutral consumer product images (Johnson et al. 2007).
• Women in their high fertility phase wore clothing that revealed skin and were rated by observers as trying to be attractive.

Suggestive Fashion Leads to Sexualization

So she moved to New York at 23, and over the subsequent decades continued to use styling, prosthetics and technology to interrogate female identities and women’s roles in society. She has embodied so many characters that the real Cindy Sherman has become something of an eccentric mystery. In 2012, when MoMA hosted a retrospective of her work, various attenders thought they had seen her there in disguise – one said she was in wire-rimmed spectacles, another believed she had come in a fat suit. It’s a bizarre experience, discussing thirst traps with the woman who pioneered the selfie.

Dress and sexual assault

He believes Pinterest should invest more heavily in human moderators because they can understand the nuances behind users’ behavior, like the difference between someone creating a board of their own children versus one full of random kids in bathing suits. Girls and young women are in a “no-win” situation when it comes to their Facebook photos, Daniels said. Those who post sexy photos may risk negative reactions from their peers, but those who post more wholesome photos may lose out on social rewards, including attention from boys and men, she said. — Today’s pop divas show plenty of skin and choreograph — — their video moves with all the subtlety of a lap dancer. They flaunt — — their sexuality as well as their talent, and are rewarded for it. — — They’re big girls, after all; they earn big money to be public teases, — — to dress as what kids laughingly refer to as “hoochie mamas.”

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As compared to when dressed in the long skirt, women wearing sexy clothing were approached in less time, were assigned a higher probability of agreeing to a date, and were assigned a higher probability of agreeing to have sex on a first date. For example, Pomerleau et al. (1990) visited the homes of young children to learn whether mothers and fathers provided sex-typed environments and clothing to their children. Use of dress cues to signal biological sex was evident as boys were dressed in blue, red, or white, while girls were dressed in pink or multi colors and had more jewelry than boys.

The photos were actual high school senior portrait and prom photos of a real young woman who allowed the photos to be used for the experiment. “Kids should not be described using words like ‘spicy’ and ‘sexy’, let alone being dressed in such clothes,” said another person. The design of Chinese children’s wear also moved from a cartoon style to adultified fashion around the same time. The adultification or sexualisation of girls’ clothing is not a China-only problem.

Screens and interactive media form an important part of teens’ and young adults’ social lives, education, and entertainment choices with teens and young adults engaged in a constant and often simultaneous interaction with the online world alongside their “real life” world. While Pinterest reports sexually exploitative content to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the U.S. and has complied with takedown requests, it has for years had no clear way for users to report the types of boards identified in this article. NBC News’ investigation comes as lawmakers express growing concern about children’s safety on the internet. In a rare instance of bipartisanship in Washington, some Democrats and Republicans are coming together in a push for legislation to curb the sexual exploitation of minors online. After NBC News asked about the sexually suggestive boards, Espinosa said Pinterest was planning to roll out a new feature next week enabling users to report boards, which is not currently possible. On Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, the hashtag “People’s Daily Online commenting on baby spicy style” had been viewed 250 million times by the time of writing, reigniting the heated debate over sexualised children’s fashion.

From clothing to cartoons, choreography to commercials, the emphasis on sexuality undercuts parents’ efforts to instill purity in their daughters. Although many children are using social media before they turn 13, that is the “official” age where most social media platforms allow users to create their own profiles. Research on the social, emotional, and mental health impacts of social media continues to develop — evidence is mixed on the negative and positive effects of using it and how dramatic those effects are. The effects of social media may differ for teens based on many different factors in their life. But research also shows that active parenting practices about social media and monitoring use in a way that still respects their child’s autonomy may be protective, reducing mental health risks and minimizing cyberbullying effects.

In similar research using objectification theory, Nezlek et al. (2015) had undergraduate men and women view and rate four photos (2 male athletes and 2 female athletes). In the control condition the athletes wore their athletic dress and in the experimental condition the athletes wore dress that revealed skin. Lower ratings of competency and abilities as a function of the revealing dress manipulation plus an attribution of sexualized traits were interpreted as evidence of sexual objectification. By this definition, men sexually objectified both male and female athletes while women sexually objectified only female athletes.

Men rated the model as more likely to provoke sexual harassment and to be sexually harassed than women. When wearing no cosmetics the model was judged least likely to be sexually harassed. Thus the minimal cue of cosmetics use was related to likelihood of sexual harassment. Later, Johnson and Workman (1992) used attribution theory to study the effect of provocative clothing and sex of observer on attributions of sexual harassment. Undergraduate men and women viewed a photo of a young woman dressed in provocative (dark suit jacket, low cut blouse, short skirt, dark hose, high heels) or non-provocative (dark suit jacket, high cut blouse, below the knee skirt, neutral hose, moderate heels) clothing.

Over the past few years, a growing group of advocacy organizations have formed to help fight against marketing pressure and sexualization. One of the best ways to keep girls from falling into rigid gender roles is to broaden their horizons. Although the color blue, sports equipment, and fire engines grace much of their décor, boys still have far more options of how to define themselves. In her book, Levin says that the numbers would be even higher if advertisements were included. And reality television, which has ballooned during the past decade, is particularly sexualizing.