Girls as young as 6 are already beginning to think of themselves as sex objects, according to a new study of elementary school-age kids in the Midwest.
Researchers have shown in the past that women and teens think of themselves in sexually objectified terms, but the new study is the first to identify self-sexualization in young girls. The study, published online July 6 in the journal Sex Roles, also identified factors that protect girls from objectifying themselves.
Psychologists at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., used paper dolls to assess self-sexualization in 6- to 9-year-old girls. Sixty girls were shown two dolls, one dressed in tight and revealing “sexy” clothes and the other wearing a trendy but covered-up, loose outfit.
I read about this here but I also tracked down the original paper, which is here.
The journal Sex Roles is peer-reviewed. Articles are “written from a feminist perspective, and topics span gender role socialization, gendered perceptions and behaviors, gender stereotypes, body image, violence against women, gender issues in employment and work environments, sexual orientation and identity, and methodological issues in gender research.”
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