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Author's personal copy Sex Roles DOI 10.1007/s11199-013-0321-0
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Low-Cut Shirts and High-Heeled Shoes: Increased Sexualization Across Time in Magazine Depictions of Girls Kaitlin A. Graff & Sarah K. Murnen & Anna K. Krause
# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
Abstract Theory and past research predict an increase in the sexualization of girls in United States culture. We used content analysis to examine change in the number of sexualizing characteristics (e.g., low cut shirts, high-heeled shoes) and childlike characteristics (e.g., polka-dot print, Mary-Jane style shoes) present in depictions of girls across time in the magazines Seventeen (N =1649 images from issues in selected issues from 1971 through 2011) and Girls’ Life (N =763 images from selected issues from 1994 to 2011). One-way ANOVAS revealed increases in the total number of sexualizing characteristics across time in both magazines. In particular, depictions of low-cut tops and tight fitting clothing increased in both magazines. There was also a decrease in the number of childlike characteristics in Girls’ Life across time. Possible reasons for increased sexualization as well as possible consequences are discussed. Keywords . Sexual objectification . Sexy . Girls’ magazines
Introduction A sexually objectified and unrealistically thin body ideal for women is frequently portrayed in U.S. media (Greenwood and Lippman 2010). Basing women’s primary value on their sexual appeal to men, and defining appeal based on narrow standards of attractiveness are examples of sexual objectification (American Psychological Association, APA 2007). An increased emphasis on thinness as the body ideal for women has been widely advertised since the 1970s (Dittmar et al. 2009) and research shows that this standard puts pressure on
K. A. Graff : S. K. Murnen (*) : A. K. Krause Kenyon College, Gambier, OH, USA e-mail:
[email protected]
women that is associated with increased body dissatisfaction and eating problems (e.g., Grabe et al. 2008; Levine and Murnen 2009). More recently, there has been increased emphasis on “sexiness” revealed through the cultural availability of products and practices that enhance the sexualized body parts of women such as clothing that reveals women’s legs, midriffs, and cleavage; stiletto heels that augment the length of women’s legs; clothing and surgeries that create larger breasts; and “thong” underwear and tight shorts and skirts that emphasize rounded buttocks (Jeffreys 2005; Murnen and Seabrook 2012; Paul 2005). Such products and practices are increasingly shown in media depictions of adult women (Hatton and Trautner 2011; Reichert and Carpenter 2004). The APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls warned that this culture of sexualization is affecting girls (APA 2007) and called for more research on this topic. For girls, magazines are a popular media source (Kaiser Family Foundation 2010) that should be examined for sexualizing messages. In the present study we analyzed change in the degree of sexualization in depictions of females in two magazines across time. Previous research (from the U.S., unless otherwise noted) indicates that women are often sexually objectified, or valued based on their sexual appeal to men. In everyday life women are more likely than men to report experiences with being objectified (e.g., Swim et al. 2001), and they are dramatically more likely to be shown as sexual objects in the media. For example, Seidman (1992) found that out of 182 music videos coded, 37 % showed women in revealing clothing, compared to only 4 % for men. Stankiewicz and Rosselli (2008) found that 51.8 % of the advertisements in a variety of magazines depicted women as sex objects in that their sexuality was used to advertise a product. In a review of content analyses of gender depictions across a variety of media, Collins (2011) determined that women were underrepresented compared to men, and when they were depicted it was often in a sexualized manner.
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Other research shows that the sexual objectification of women has increased in recent years. Reichert and Carpenter (2004) analyzed sexualized depictions, operationally defined as revealing clothing and intimate contact, in magazine advertisements from 1983 to 2003 and found a significant increase. Hatton and Trautner (2011) looked at more than 40 years of Rolling Stone magazine covers and found a similar increase. In fact, women were likely to be portrayed as “hypersexualized” in more recent years such that they were portrayed with multiple sexualizing characteristics including revealing clothing and sexualized body position. There is concern that cultural depictions of sexualization have trickled down to girls (APA 2007). In a recent analysis it was found that almost 30 % of the clothing items available for pre-teen girls on the websites of 15 national stores had sexualizing characteristics such that the clothing emphasized or revealed a sexualized body part (e.g., bikinis and push-up bras), or had characteristics associated with sexiness (e.g., red satin lingerie-like dresses) (Goodin et al. 2011). In another content analysis, Boyd and Murnen (2011) found that the recently developed Monster High dolls had a higher number of sexualizing characteristics than Bratz dolls that were criticized by the APA report (2007), which in turn were more sexualized than Barbies. Sexually objectifying images portrayed in popular culture have been found to negatively impact women in multiple ways. According to objectification theory (Fredrickson and Roberts 1997; McKinley and Hyde 1996), exposure to sexually objectified media leads to self-objectification; which in turn can lead to body shame, potentially resulting in eating disordered attitudes and behaviors, depression, and sexual dysfunction. Much support has been found for objectification theory (Calogero et al. 2011; Moradi et al. 2005; Moradi and Huang 2008; Muehlenkamp and Saris-Baglama 2002). In addition, it has been found that objectification theory applies to girls in addition to women (e.g., Lindberg et al. 2007; Slater and Tiggemann 2002). Girls likely consume many messages about sexuality through the use of a variety of types of media sources (Carpenter 1998; Merskin 2004; Ward and Friedman 2006; Ward et al. 2005) as they spend a significant amount of time consuming media each day. Children between the ages of 8 and 18 spend an average of 7 h and 38 min per day interacting with various media sources. This time is often spent multitasking with more than one source, yielding a total of 10 h and 45 min of media time per day (Kaiser Family Foundation 2010). Thus, adolescents are likely exposed to the sexual objectification of women and girls. In a longitudinal study Peter and Valkenburg (2009) found that Dutch adolescents who were exposed to sexually explicit media were subsequently more likely to view women as sex objects. In addition, as with women (Daniels and Wartena 2011; Glick et al. 2005; Gurung and Chrouser 2007), the sexualization of girls can affect how others
perceive and evaluate them. Graff et al. (2012) found that when a fifth grade girl was dressed in sexualizing clothing she was seen as less intelligent, competent, and moral than when she was dressed in childlike clothing. The societal encouragement of sexualization practices for young girls might lead them to accept a sexualized role as both normative and ideal without realizing that there might be negative consequences associated with a sexualized appearance (APA 2007; Lamb and Brown 2006; Levin and Kilbourne 2008). After analyzing the landscape of the commercial culture for girls, Lamb and Brown (2006) concluded that the culture promotes sexualization by depicting sexualization practices as a route to a (false) sense of power. Coy argued that sexualization is now shown as a “normal” route to social and material gain in the commercial culture, but it actually limits girls’ “space for action” by preoccupying their time and prohibiting other possible roles (Coy 2009, p. 376). In sum, there is some evidence of the sexualization of girls in modern culture, as well as some research to suggest that the sexualization of girls might be harmful. However, the possibility that the sexualization of girls has increased across time has not been determined. The main purpose of this study was to analyze change in the sexualization of females over time in two girls’ magazines, Seventeen and Girls’ Life. Magazines are a popular mass media source for girls and young women. According to a recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation (2010), 35 % of 8–18 year old girls and boys read magazines on a daily basis. Generally, researchers have found that early adolescent girls are more likely to read magazines than their male peers, helping to explain why the majority of teen magazines are directed towards girls (Larson 1995; Hopper 2005). Girls’ teen magazines have been found to emphasize stereotypical gender roles such as the encouragement of heterosexual romantic relationships (Peirce 1993); and a focus on body shape, weight, and appearance, promoting the thin ideal (e.g., Garner et al. 1998; Guillen and Barr 1994; Luff and Gray 2009). Given the significant amount of time that girls spend reading magazines, this media source can be influential. Reading magazines and looking at the pictures may contribute to appearance evaluation and comparison to the pictured models, which may lead to negative feelings about the body (Grabe et al. 2008). Hypotheses We proposed to examine the total number of sexualizing and childlike characteristics per depiction of females in the two magazines across a long time period. We chose the magazine Seventeen because it is a very popular magazine focused on fashion, has been in publication for a long time period, and has been the subject of previous research. Although Girls’ Life was not published until 1994, it was developed as an alternative to the
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traditional celebrity or fashion magazine so we chose it for comparison. Our main, general hypothesis was that the total number of sexualizing characteristics in depictions would increase across time. There are at least three trends associated with sexualization that have been identified in previous research or theory. First, clothing and accessories on the models depicted were expected to increasingly reveal sexualized body parts as has been found in previous research with depictions of women (Hatton and Trautner 2011). A second trend expected was an emphasis on breasts which was found by Goodin et al. (2011) and consistent with the fact that breast augmentation surgery has now surpassed liposuction as the most common invasive plastic surgery for U.S. women (ASAPS-2012-Stats 2013). Third, “pornification” might occur where characteristics of clothing in pornography such as high-heeled shoes might occur (Jeffreys 2005). All three trends were expected to be operating leading to a higher total number of sexualizing characteristics in later years compared to earlier years. It was expected that Seventeen would have more characteristics than Girls’ Life, though, due to the fact that it is more explicitly focused on fashion and celebrity culture, and is targeted at older girls. We also examined childlike characteristics. Goodin et al. (2011) found that when girls’ clothing had sexualizing characteristics they were often combined with childlike characteristics. For example, a low cut (i.e., sexualizing) dress might have a childlike print such as butterflies. A mix of sexualizing and childlike characteristics might lead an article of clothing to have an appeal to a “tween” for being somewhat adult-like, but still seem sufficiently childlike to appease parents. In addition, there is evidence that adult women are sometimes depicted as “infantilized”, perhaps to emphasizing a submissive role for women (Merskin 2004). Clothing styles like “baby doll” dresses and “rompers” for adult women exemplify this phenomenon. Thus, we coded for childlike characteristics, which we expected to occur most often in depictions in Girls’ Life , and with younger females. It was expected that the presence of childlike characteristics would decrease across time as sexualizing characteristics increased. In sum, there is little research about the change in the sexualization of girls over time. Through content analysis, the present study aimed to document the shift towards greater sexualization in the females depicted in the girl’s magazines Seventeen and Girls’ Life . Based on theory and previous research, we tested the following hypotheses: 1. The sexualization of girls will increase across time in both magazines-girls will be pictured wearing more sexualized clothing items and accessories in later issues compared to earlier issues. 2. Concurrent with an increase in sexualization across time, there will be a decrease in the portrayal of childlike characteristics across time in both magazines.
3. Overall, there will be more sexualization in depictions in Seventeen than Girls’ Life since it is aimed at an older audience. 4. Overall, there will be fewer childlike characteristics portrayed in depictions in Seventeen compared to Girls’ Life. 5. The total number of sexualizing characteristics will vary by the age of the female depicted with adult women having the most characteristics, followed by teenage girls, followed by younger girls. 6. The total number of childlike characteristics will vary by the age of the female depicted such that girls younger than teen age will have the most childlike characteristics, followed by teenage girls, and then women.
Method Magazines Seventeen, first published in 1944, is the first magazine specifically written for and targeted towards teens (Massoni 2007). From the 1940s to the 1990s, Seventeen, Teen, and Young Miss (YM) were the top selling magazines, with a total readership of 6.3 million (Kaiser Family Foundation 2004). The magazine is currently targeted towards girls and young women between 12 and 19 years old and has a circulation of around 2,016,049 (Audit Bureau of Circulations 2011). Girls’ Life was chosen as a comparison as it was founded to be less fashion and celebrity focused (Girlslife.com 2012) and is geared towards a younger age than Seventeen. During the 1990s, the number of teen magazines tripled, going from five magazines in 1990 to 19 magazines in 2000. Girls’ Life was one of these magazines, founded in 1994 by Karen Bokram. Over its 18 year existence, Girls’ Life has received multiple Parents’ Choice Gold awards (Girls’ Life.com). Although this magazine appears to no longer adhere to its founding beliefs as an alternative to the celebrity and fashion culture, it is still marketed as a magazine that can “guide their girls through the growing-up years-without making them grow up too fast” (Girls’ Life.com). It is geared towards girls between the ages of 10 and 15 (Kaiser Family Foundation 2004) and has a circulation of around 350,022 (Audit Bureau of Circulations 2011). Issues of Seventeen were purchased online. Missing issues were obtained at the Bowling Green State University Popular Culture Library. Two issues per year of Seventeen were analyzed (April and October issues) from the following years: 1971, 1981, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011, for a total of 14 issues. Issues of Girls’ Life were purchased from the publisher. A total of 12 issues of Girls’ Life were coded. We analyzed the
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first issue of Girls’ Life, which came out August/September 1994. Three issues of Girls’ Life per year were analyzed (February/March, June/July, August/September issues) from the following years: 1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011. We selected the particular issues of the magazines to try to keep the month consistent across years, and to have more than 1 month represented per year. Girl’s Life was published less frequently than Seventeen and had a smaller number of pages per issue so three issues were selected for each year of that magazine compared to two for Seventeen to try to equate the number of images for each year for the two magazines. Since the magazines were not published with the same frequency we could not control well for month chosen between the two magazines. We purposely avoided early summer issues (e.g., May), though, as they tended to focused on swimwear which would have inflated sexualization ratings. The magazines were coded in a random order. Depictions Coded On each page, coders first indicated the name of the magazine, the year and month it was published, the page number, and the type of page (picture or advertisement). Pages were included in the analysis if they contained depictions that were onequarter page or larger. If girls and/or women were portrayed in a group, only the girls who were the most visible and were not predominantly covered by another person were coded. Cartoon depictions of girls and women were included as long as they were one-quarter page or larger. In order to be coded as an advertisement, the page had to contain one clearly identified product. All pages in each of the magazines were included in the analyses except the ones found in the table of contents, as the same images in the table of contents generally appeared later in the magazine. Sexualizing Characteristics We developed a list of sexualizing characteristics compiled mainly from a study of children’s clothing (Goodin et al. 2011), but consistent with measures from media research (e.g., Dill and Thrill 2007; Downs and Smith 2010; Hatton and Trautner 2011). Sexualized characteristics were aspects of female appearance (clothing, jewelry, hairstyle) which revealed, emphasized, or enhanced sexualized body parts on the female depicted, or had characteristics associated with sexiness. These characteristics are listed in Table 1. Whereas Goodin and colleagues created a categorical index of sexualization, we totaled the number of sexualizing characteristics. There were sexualizing characteristics associated with all three trends associated with increased sexualization. The sexualization codes adapted from Goodin et al. (2011) of lowcut, midriff-baring, and short represent the trend revealing. In addition, we coded for navel piercing which emphasizes a bare
midriff. Low-cut clothing, tight clothing, clothing cut to otherwise call attention to breasts, and a necklace dangling in cleavage are codes related to breast emphasis. Characteristics associated with pornography (and prostitution) included high-heeled shoes, obviously highlighted hair, and clothing or accessories made of slinky material, black leather, or animal print. Originally there were 16 sexualizing characteristics coded, but three characteristics had Kappa values less than .70 so were not included in analyses. See Table 1 for a list of the resulting 13 characteristics, their frequency across time, and the Kappa coefficient measuring the consistency of the raters. For use in some analyses, the total number of sexualizing characteristics was computed and could range from zero to 13. Validity For some confirmation of validity, a separate, small study was conducted to determine whether the pictures were perceived in the way they were coded. Forty students (28 women) from several different psychology classes were asked to rate 12 images of females from Seventeen and Girls’ Life. There were six from each magazine with two from each having no sexualizing characteristics or almost none (0–1 characteristics), two from each having a moderate amount of sexualizing characteristics (2–3 characteristics), and two from each having a large amount of sexualizing characteristics (4 or more characteristics). Images were presented in color on a paper questionnaire and were randomly ordered. Participants were asked to respond to the following questions after examining each depiction: “How sexy do you find her clothing?” “How sexy do you find her hair and makeup?” “How sexy do you find her posture?” and “Overall, how sexy do you think she appears?” Responses were made on 7-point Likert scales where 1 = not at all sexy and 7 = very sexy. We were most interested in the final question but asked all of the questions so that participants would focus closely on each image. A 2 (gender) × (12) (picture) mixed-design ANOVA was conducted to examine overall sexiness ratings by picture. There was not a significant gender difference, or a significant interaction, but there was a statistically significant difference in the ratings by picture, F(11, 396) = 66.56, p
