Threats to Girlhood
Threats to Girlhood
Achieving the mainstream media’s glorified image of “hotness” demands that girls be consumers.107 Because of the pressure they feel to have the newest “in vogue” products, girls more so than boys report feelings of “inadequacy and discomfort as a result of ‘images of perfection’ promoted by advertising.”108 43% of 6 to 9 year olds use lipstick or lip gloss; 38% use hairstyling products; and 12% use other -cosmetics.109 The average 12 to 19 year old girl uses fragrances five times a week.110
“Diva-ization” & Consumerization
Collectively 8 to 12 year olds spend more than $40 million a month on beauty products. Teens spend another $100 million.111 Cosmetic surgery procedures performed on those 18 and younger have nearly doubled over the past decade.112 Over 77,000 invasive surgical procedures were performed on teens 18 years old and younger in 2005, a 15% increase in 5 years.113
107 Ganeva, Tana. “Sexpot Virgins: The Media’s Sexualization of Young Girls.” May 24, 2008. http://www.alternet.org/story/85977/ 108 National Consumer Council. “Shopping Generation.” July 2005. P. 5. http://www. aeforum.org/aeforum.nsf/d5335c270a1f94d380256ef3004240f2/454e900c39c957418025 703b004108ed/$FILE/shopping_generation.pdf 109 Bennett, Jessica. “Generation Diva: How our obsession with beauty is changing our kids.” Newsweek. March 30, 2009. 110 American Psychological Association,Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. (2007). “Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls.” Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualization.html. 111 Bennett, Jessica. Generation Diva: How our obsession with beauty is changing our kids. Newsweek. March 30, 2009. 112 Bennett, Jessica. Generation Diva: How our obsession with beauty is changing our kids. Newsweek. March 30, 2009. 113 American Psychological Association,Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. (2007). “Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls.” Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualization.html. 25
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