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Girl health, girl power: Representations of "girl" health issues in contemporary mass media and the effect of the media on girls' health behaviors

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Girl health, girl power: Representations of "girl" health issues in contemporary mass media and the effect of the media on girls' health behaviors

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GIRL HEALTH, GIRL POWER: REPRESENTATIONS OF "GIRL" HEALTH ISSUES IN
CONTEMPORARY MASS MEDIA & THE EFFECT OF THE MEDIA ON GIRLS'
HEALTH BEHAVIORS
Copyright 2001
by
Philantha Sue-Hwa Kon
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(CINEMA-TELEVISION)
(CRITICAL STUDIES)
August 2001
Philantha S. Kon
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
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This dissertation, written by
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ii
Table of Contents
Abstract iv
Part I: Female Adolescence & the Media
Introduction 1
Not Just "Little Women:" The Exclusion of Female Adolescents in Youth Studies,
Feminist Scholarship & Women's Health Issues 3
Chapter 1- Defining the Subject: Female Adolescence & Girl Culture 18
Girl Culture 33
Girls and Consumerism 36
Girl Power 43
Chapter 2- The Media as Health Advisor to Teens
Adolescent Health 54
The Influence and Power of Contemporary Mass Media on Youth 65
The Changing Media Landscape 70
Youth and the Media: A History of Concern 72
Girls and the Media 74
The Teen Magazine 80
The Girl TV Talk Show 88
The Internet 98
Advertising 103
The Media Texts 108
Part II: Girls' Health
Chapter 3- Sexual Health Issues 116
Adolescent Sexuality and Sex in the Media: Selling Fantasy 118
Sex and TV 129
Sex = Delinquency 143
Girls and Sexuality 151
Menarche & Menstruation 171
Teen Sex & the Promiscuous Girl 186
Safe Sex & Sex-Related Diseases (STD's) 194
Girl Mothers: Teen Pregnancy & Birth Control 212
Abortion 231
Date Rape & Sexual Abuse 233
"Coming Out:" Depictions of the Lesbian 249
Chapter 4- Body Image & Beauty 270
Dermatology & Skin Care 284
Girls & Cosmetics 287
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iii
Body Image 294
Self-Improvement: Girls & Cosmetic Surgery 321
Consumerism & the Body 243
Diet 351
Fitness (Girl Athletes) 358
Eating Disorders: Disorders of Desire & Denial 368
Self-Mutilation (Cutting) 390
Conclusion 410
Bibliography 434
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Abstract
This dissertation examines representations of contemporary girls' health
issues in the media. In doing so, it surveys some of the most used media by girls as
well as addresses the health issues that most pervade girls' lives today. The
guiding research questions deal with the following issues: 1) Which media forms
are most influential in girls' lives today? 2) How do media representations of girls'
health issues parallel the larger concerns in girls' lives today? (In w hat ways is girl
health related to girl power?) 3) How does the media affirm the multiplicity of
girls' identities while perpetuating insecurities? 4) How can the media be used as a
powerful health educational tool? By looking at various media texts, primarily TV
shows, Web sites, advertising, magazines, and books, this project examines the
increasingly prominent role of girls in contemporary culture, youth and feminist
scholarship, as well as in women's health issues. It considers girl power and
subjectivity and the role of the media as health advisor. The primary health issues
that are explored are related to sexual health and body image and beauty. I will
demonstrate how girls' concerns revolve largely around self-esteem and standards
of w hat is considered "normal," the ways in which media images propagate ideal
templates, and the ways in which media forms may be harnessed to send positive
messages of health and image to girls in our society.
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1
Part 1: Female Adolescence & the Media
Introduction
Today, millions of Americans say they get their information about important
health issues from the media- including media that are designed primarily to
entertain such as television sitcoms, dramas, and movies. Surveys have indicated
that people are far m ore likely to learn about many health issues from TV than from
their doctors.' We have also seen the growth of interest in girl culture and girl
power, including their influence upon as well as how they are influenced by
contemporary mass media. We have seen new literature on feminist media studies,
and even growing up "girl" with the mass media, but these studies have not taken an
in-depth look at girls' health issues in the media- how they are represented and what
sort of influence they have on girls' health behaviors. This project shall explore these
issues, examining the pervasive force of the media and its impact on girls in their
everyday lives and the extent to which girls' alives and health behaviors are
"mediated" by these industries. An examination of the media coverage of such
issues serves also as an index of cultural knowledge.
As we know, the awkwardness of adolescence and growing up is often trying
and uncomfortable in its own right. Girls are often vulnerable to images of romantic,
idealistic lifestyles. The media may have harmful effects on girls' mental and
physical wellness, painting glamorized, unrealistic, idealistic pictures and
encouraging them to engage in unhealthy behaviors. It is often difficult to resist all
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2
the commercial and social pressures girls face in our hypersexual, televisual
environment This is why education for young women has particularly important
correlates in the health and medical arenas. Educated young women are more likely
to access medical services both for themselves and subsequent families, more likely
to make efforts towards health promotion and disease prevention, more likely to seek
and use contraception effectively and by generally raising her self-esteem- she is
more likely to become more active and effective in decision making in both family
and community. And when designed to send healthy, realistic messages, the media
is a powerful ally, an effective health advisor to young people. Being healthy is key
to success and girls' health is an important part of girl power.
Because I am dealing with the intersection of vast topics- girls' health issues,
girl culture, and media studies-1 cannot cover everything. (For example, I do not
delve as much as I should into issues of race and class and how they, too, play
important roles in certain health issues.) I will focus on physical health issues that I
deem most important for girls in our society and which are most commonly
addressed in the media today (primarily sexual health and beauty and body image)
though there are others that are also important to consider (including addiction, drug
and alcohol abuse, and mental health issues) and though each of these issues can be
expanded upon as dissertations themselves. This dissertation shall lay the
groundwork and foundation for further research into these issues and to emphasize
the important, necessary, and taken-for-granted relationship between the mass
media and the health of young people. It calls attention to girls' health in a discourse
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that in recent years has focused on marketed and marketable forms of "girl power."
Girl power begins w ith girl health- healthy attitudes, minds, bodies, and behaviors,
good self-esteem, positive images, encouraging beliefs, and so forth. Girls must first
strive to be healthy physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and to cultivate
healthy relationships with themselves, friends, family members, peers, and authority
figures. And the media has a powerful influence on them.
Not lust "Little Women": The Exclusion of Female Adolescents in Youth Studies.
Feminist Scholarship, & Women's Health Issues
Whether in male-dominated youth cultures, in schools, in the workplace, or
in their communities, girls' experiences have been largely ignored and their voices
silenced. The experiences of young women were often assumed to be the same as
those of young men, were defined in relation to the centrality of young men within
the culture, or w ere neglected altogether. While it may seem banal to continue to
harp upon this theme of exclusion, its importance to the enterprise of critical cultural
studies should not be discounted. We know that girls suffer from lower self-esteem
than do their male peers. We know that girls and women experience eating
disorders and depression at higher rates than males. We know that girls and women
are sexually abused every day and yet fail to raise their voices to cry out for cessation
or for help. We also know that girls join gangs, commit crimes, adopt
unconventional lifestyles, and rebel against authority. However, girls adopting these
same modes of self-expression as their male peers have been described as marginal,
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girls in subcultures have been described as sluts and victims, and girls' contributions
to the creation of subcultures and style have been elided. Girls in subcultures have
been discounted as groupies, as detractions from pure male rebellion, and as bimbos
and playthings. Most importantly for subculture theory, girls' roles within the social
structure have been ignored, so that girls' cultures and adoptions of subcultural
lifestyles have remained unexplained, not because they are inexplicable, but because
they are deemed unimportant until recently.
Subculture theories carry an explicit tag of masculinity and have sought to
explain a limited number of cases within a framework of research on males. Most
twentieth-century literature on boys emphasized education, work, independence,
rebellion, and financial responsibility. Attempts to add gender to such theories fail
because they do not begin by inquiring whether such theories are applicable to girls.
Can these theories apply to girls? The scant literature on female adolescents
addressed issues of behavior, appearance, and relationships and idealized teenage
girls for their domesticity and dependence on consumer goods to alleviate feelings of
inferiority. Recognizing the limitations of such masculine focus and the subsequent
reinforcement of gender stereotypes, a proliferation of research on female youth
cultures occurred in the later part of the 1970s and into the early 1980s. The work of
Angela McRobbie, Mica Nava, Jenny Garber, and more recently ('90s), Sherrie Inness
and Mary Kearney, to name a few, exemplify the breakthrough and growing
awareness of the importance of studying "girl culture."
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The main emphasis in the early literature on girl culture was on British
girlhood as well as on the ways in which traditional definitions of femininity are
reproduced via the operation of various social processes and practices. As previous
work on youth culture had overlooked the domestic and family realms- the
traditional location of girl culture- it is not surprising that researchers began to focus
on the role played by sexuality, domesticity, relationships, school, and leisure in the
lives of young women. The location of the research within these social spheres also
coincided with the feminist aim to politicize the personal. By challenging the
distinction between public and private, many areas were opened up to political
contestation- family, housework, sexuality, child labor, the division of domestic
labor. It is within this context that feminism placed the formation of gendered
subjectivity and identity firmly on the agenda.2 Girls' studies has emerged within the
academy as a "melding of feminist scholarship with youth studies— Ideally, girls'
studies reclaims the label 'girl' from its demeaning connotations of servitude and
immaturity and, at least in theory, provides a space for recognizing its cultural
specificities."3
Some of the best and earliest work is that of McRobbie (1978) w ho questioned
the invisibility of girls in studies of youth culture and argued that teenage girls
participate in youth cultures but that gender structures their participation in different
ways from boys. Traditionally, girls have negotiated a different leisure space from
that inhabited by boys and have developed their own distinctive culture which offer
different possibilities for resistance. Drawing on the work of Hall and Jefferson
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(1976), McRobbie examined how teenage girls interpret the structural determinations
of age, class, and gender in the context of their own experience. In her study of girls'
identity, she explored how institutions such as the family, the school, and youth
clubs function to reproduce the sexual division of labor so that young women
willingly accept prevailing ideologies and a subordinate status in society. However,
the cultural space obtained by girls allows them the opportunity to construct their
femininity in opposition to the version offered by the dominant culture. McRobbie
suggests that female youth culture provides a temporary space in which girls exercise
some degree of self-definition before facing the role of wife and mother that is
ultimately expected of them as adults.
Perhaps her most novel and influential finding is the way in which working-
class girls combat the class-based and oppressive features of school. Specifically, the
girls in her study introduce their "femaleness" via their sexuality: they reject the
official ideology for girls in the school (neatness, diligence, femininity, passivity, etc.)
and replace it with a more feminine, sexual code. The girls took pleasure in wearing
make-up to school and spent vast amounts of time discussing romantic relations with
boys. The problem is that this "culture," which is propagated by various media for
girls, projected the girls more clearly towards traditional femininity through a future
of marriage and family, despite the fact that the girls were well aware of the
potentially oppressive dimensions of these institutions. McRobbie concludes that the
culture of femininity espoused by working-class girls is a response to the material
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limitations imposed on them as a result of their class position and, more generally, of
their sexual oppression as women.
McRobbie later focused her interest in girl culture and identities on the ways
in which femininity is constructed in magazine texts directed towards an adolescent
female audience such as Jackie. She recognized the explicit attem pt to win teenage
girls' consent to the dominant order via their consumption of such magazines. From
her analysis of the content and structure of Jackie, she concluded that femininity was
defined in terms of "romantic individuality." Girls act alone in getting and keeping a
boyfriend, but they must leave their individuality behind and define themselves in
relation to the male (female dependence). Analyzing another magazine for girls, Just
Seventeen, ten years later, McRobbie found that there was a shift away from the
previously dominant theme of romance towards a new theme of independence in the
construction of femininity. The interests of young readers were no longer defined
exclusively as a pursuit to get boys but were more about "self-image" and "self-
satisfaction." McRobbie now suggests exploring the multiplicity of subject positions
and personal identities that are now available to girls in their active participation in
consumer culture. Meanings that were once emblematic of the experience of teenage
femininity, like romance, have been replaced by a more diffuse femininity and a less
stable subject position.
McRobbie's work is thus important in pioneering the field of girls' studies.
Yet, it is somewhat limited by its focus on primarily British girls in the domestic
sphere and controlled spaces. As depicted in contemporary media texts, girlhood
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today has moved from the domestic sphere into the streets. Traditionally, girls on
the streets signified delinquency. But today, much of girlhood is based on access to
the public, girls as mobile subjects, street-wise, independent, active. For example, in
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy's duty as vampire slayer requires her to patrol the
streets on a nightly basis. She is always fearless, strong-willed, and well-prepared. If
we consider fictional characters in American girl culture, we will find that such
brave, intelligent, headstrong, and street-wise heroines are not such a recent
phenomenon. Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden, as page-turning heroines, captured
the imagination of girls in the 1930's through today. Courageous, intelligent,
resourceful, and caring, from the beginning Nancy Drew exhibited all the qualities
that have made her beloved by generations of readers. "Bom" as a characters in the
'30s (the teen sleuth was the last brainchild of Edward Stratemeyer, owner of
Stratemeyer Syndicate, w ho had already created such popular series as the Bobbsey
Twins, Tom Swift, and the Hardy Boys), Nancy has from the very beginning posed as
much of a challenge to gender stereotypes as she has to criminals. Bold, brave, and
independent, she has been a role model for girls (despite the fact that she is typically
white, popular, and privileged- money, time, and lack of parental supervision are of
no concern to her). (Nancy Drew was one of my favorite fantasy play characters in
addition to Wonder Woman and Charlie's Angels.) Nevertheless, she is depicted as
having the positive traits and interests of both traditional gender roles- she has an
inherent talent for auto mechanics as well as cooking, horseback riding, dancing,
sewing, and athletics. She is brave, confident, and daring but also polite, caring,
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sensitive, and kind. She is also a thoughtful daughter, always keeping her father
informed of her activities. These girls are "powerful," yet still almost always
restrained by a traditional heterosexual discourse. This project will also look at such
tension and interplay between contemporary and more traditional modes of
girlhood- how girlhood in the media today calls for "girl power," yet is mediated by
tradition. This tension is further seen in the sense that girls are simultaneously
critical of and vulnerable to powerful media images that encourage them to be
"perfectly" thin and beautiful. Girls often express their resistance to such images, but
are clearly made anxious and insecure by them. Such contradictions emphasize the
importance of media literacy among young people.
A long line of feminist critiques has elaborated the processes by which certain
facts become foundational to the construction of differences that mark wom en's
health and women's bodies. These critiques have further shown that battles over
gender as well as race, class, ethnicity, sexuality, and nationality shape the processes
by which differences are constructed. In order for us to understand the body of
"women's health," we must also understand current battles over gender and how
they are inextricably imbricated w ith race, class, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, and
power. How does the particular representation of women's (and in the case of this
project, girl's) bodies that has appeared in the media in conjunction with "new
millennium" developments draw upon these battles? How has encouraging girls to
take charge of their "health" contributed to the growing wave of "girl power?" I am
also interested in looking at how the particular forces structuring this new image of
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girls' bodies have forged connections between health and feminist critiques.
Hopefully, understanding how these images work will help feminist efforts to
articulate a fuller vision of young women's health.
It w asn't until the 1990s that active attention towards women's health took
place. W omen's lack of visibility (and hence women's source of inequality) has
resulted from medicine's failure to accord women a complete set of organs and to
pay as full attention to these organs in women as they have in men/ In 1991, the NIH
designed a study known as the "Women's Health Initiative" which was meant to be
the most definitive, far-reaching, study of women's health ever undertaken.
Advocates proposed the creation of a new medical specialty that would treat the
whole of wom en's health as opposed to women's reproductive and obstetrical needs
alone.5 A nd the US Congress requested a survey that assesses the adequacy of
women's health curricula at all US medical schools.6 Medical treatments for women
are based on a male model regardless of the fact that women may react differently to
treatments than men or that some diseases manifest themselves differently in women
than in men. The results of medical research are generalized to women without
sufficient evidence of applicability to women. There is even sex and gender bias in
anatomy and physical diagnosis text illustrations. An article appearing in a 1994
]AMA authored by female medical students and faculty associated with women's
health education program at the Medical College of Pennsylvania argued that:
the finding that males are depicted in a majority of nonreproductive
anatom y illustrations may perpetuate the image of the male body as
the normal or standard model for medical education...Publishers
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1 1
and illustrators should be urged to correct this imbalance in medical
texts by representing males and females equally and by normalizing
women through the inclusion of equal numbers of females and
males in nonreproductive chapters.
For women to achieve equality, medicine needs to pay attention to the sex differences
in parts of women's bodies that it had not previously seen as gendered- parts other
than those traditionally associated with wom en's reproduction.
It is interesting to see the force with which popular articulations of the new
body of women's health have foreclosed explicitly feminist approaches. For
example, since the early 1980s, psychiatrist Karen Johnson has been developing and
attempting to institutionalize a proposal for a women's health specialty. Her
proposal calls for knowledge from a range of disciplines- including nursing, the
history of medicine, the sociology of knowledge, women's studies, and feminist
theory- to be integrated into women's health in the medical curricula.' And now as
we enter the new millennium, I argue that we are witnessing increasing concern for
young women and their health and that the recently burgeoning field of "girls'
studies" must be taken into the consideration of girl health issues. Unfortunately, the
number of available prevention materials and program resources targeted to girls is
limited. Only in the last few years have authors and organizations published books
and provided materials that address the distinct developmental issues, strengths, and
needs of girls. (For example, it is important to note that substance abuse prevention
programs developed for adolescents in the last 20 years have targeted boys because
they were the predominant users. But as girls' usage rates increase, girls' have
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progressively gained more supportive attention.) Furthermore, there has been recent
concern over the rapid development of American girls and the blurring of the
boundary between childhood and puberty. This concern has spurred an onslaught of
self-help books for parents and for girls themselves. This includes titles such as-
Mavis Jukes' Growing Up: It's a Girl Thing, Valorie Schaefer's The Care b Keeping of
You, Jessica Gillooly's Before She Gets Her Period, Karen Gravelle's The Period Book, and
Lynda Madaras' What's Happening to My Body?(for Girls).
Explaining my ideas for this project with the Director of the Division of
Adolescent Medicine at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles early last year, I was
asked a very interesting question: "If you were to propose a model for the institution
of a Center for Young Women's Health, w hat would the key elements be?" It made
me think about how this would be an incredible project to actually implement. Girls
have struggled, as a group, to have an identity of their own- separate from boys and
also separate from adult women. This identity is comprised of a variety of physical
and psychological differences, different by gender and generation. Girls have not
merely been excluded from academic studies of youth cultures and feminism, but
also from issues of health. They have been categorized under the general category of
women's health, particularly that of gynecology and sexual health. Yet, they are
vulnerable to particular illnesses, have particular developmental issues- mentally and
physically- enough to warrant studying their health issues (and the social contexts in
which they arise) in a category of its ow n and, I believe, enough to warrant an
institution that researches and treats them exclusively- an institution that is
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characterized by an attitude of developmental sensitivity and by a goal for
prevention. There must first indisputably be equal access to education for young
women. Health services must of course address the full range of sexual and
reproductive health needs; they must also be available, appropriate, accessible,
affordable, accountable, adaptable, and comprehensive (integrated). And most
uniquely and importantly, services and providers must accommodate the unique
developmental stage of adolescence while encouraging responsibility. We m ust
realize that adolescents' expectations and desires are determined so consistently by
media and advertising and recognize the reality of earlier maturation, the need for
sexual expression, and the nature of contemporary culture. We need to be responsive
to the developmental needs of girls, needs generated by their biological and
emotional growth as well as the popular culture in which they live. Furthermore, it
is important to recognize that girls' health issues are largely predicated upon their
relationships...with themselves, with families, w ith peers, with boys. It is necessary
to look at how the media influence girls' perspectives on these relationships.8
A great deal of attention has been given to general public health, women's
health, and more recently, adolescent health. Girl culture and girls' studies have
been growing in recognized importance and significance in our studies of gender
and culture, but not much attention has been given specifically to girls' health, nor
has this been studied much in the context of our contemporary mass media culture.
Girls, as I will discuss, have a number of unique health issues that are significant to
consider whether we are cultural or media critics or health researchers or health care
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providers. Survey data unanimously document that girls are generally more affected
by somatic symptoms than boys. This finding could result from a higher sensitivity
to and awareness of body processes among female adolescents, as from a greater
willingness to talk about these problems. Many studies also suggest a higher
psychological and physical vulnerability of females during adolescence, whereas
adverse conditions seem to be more harmful to males in the childhood years.
Processes of pubertal maturation, in particular, often have been assumed to be
related to somatic problems in girls. Another reason for the higher vulnerability of
girls in adolescence is seen in the complex and partly contradictory role of
expectations they have to cope with.’ Much of what we see of girls in the media is
predicated upon a variety of health issues- whether it involves sex and romance,
relationships, vanity and self-image, or mental wellness. This project will consider
representations of girls' health issues in the media and w hat this says about the
relative health of female adolescents in America, the process of growing up "girl" in
this culture, and the power of the media in influencing public health.
The dissertation is divided into two parts: In Part I, I shall introduce the
subjects of female adolescence and girl culture. In Chapter 1 ,1 discuss the power of
the media on young people and the concept of the media as "health advisor." In Part
II, I shall delve into specific health issues for girls and explore their representations in
specific texts of various media forms. The two primary health behaviors I have
chosen to examine are sexual health (Chapter 3) and body image and beauty
(Chapter 4). The media text case studies come primarily from contemporary
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television, print media, and the Internet. Finally, I will examine the general trends
that emerge from such representations in the media, consider how they influence
girls' health (and girl culture), and propose ways in which the media can serve to
help rather than hinder the "empowerment" of young women today.
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16
Endnotes for Introduction
1 Entertainment has been used as a teaching tool for years. In recent decades, however, the
increasing accessibility of mass media channels of communication have created the
opportunity for entertainment to reach millions of viewers, listeners, and readers.
2 Budgeon, Shelley, "Til Tell You What I Really, Really Want': Girl Power and Self-Identity in
Britain" from Inness, Sherrie (ed.), Millennium Girls, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers, Inc., 1998,118.
3 Signs, 23 (3) Spring 1998
4 Eckman, Anne K., "Beyond 'The Yentl Syndrome," from Treichler, Paula, Lisa Cartwright &
Constance Penley (eds.). The Visible Woman (Imaging Technologies, Gender, and Science),
New York: New York University Press, 1998,139.
5 Prior to 1991, medical knowledge about women was categorized and organized through the
prism of women's reproduction. By contrast, the 1991 Index Medicus listed a new term:
women's health. A 1992 article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine describes the
new understanding of women's health as requiring exclusive attention: "'Most biomedical
research has assumed that women are just like men. Now we witness a dramatic shift in
perspective. Not just professional and scientific journals, but newspapers, television and radio
productions, community and religious organizations, and even social conversations convey
the urgency of women's health concerns.'" (Ibid.. 134)
6 Almost all medical schools use the 70 kg male as the model and that medical practitioners
have gaps in their knowledge about the special health needs of women. Furthermore,
because of a lag in research on women's health and because almost all medical schools use the
70 kg man as their model, women's health is not integrated into general training. (Ibid.. 132)
7 And interestingly, Johnson's proposal for a woman's health specialty follows the path
established twenty years earlier by the creation of women's studies departments within
universities. It included the consideration of the social context of women's lives and women's
subjective experiences in order to see the woman as a total person and to understand her
health. After 1990, her proposal gained national attention, in conjunction with other post-1990
women's health initiatives. Various women's health journals as well as the front pages of the
Neio York Times and other newspapers and new magazines covered debates surrounding a
proposed medical specialty. (Ibid.. 153)
8 A two-year study of over twelve thousand adolescents reported on in the Journal of the
American Medical Association found that the best predictor of health and the strongest deterrent
to high-risk behavior in teens was a strong connection with at least one adult, at home or at
school. This finding held up regardless of family structure, income, race, education, amount
of time spent together, where or with whom the child lives, or whether one or both parents
work. The message is clear: Good relationships create the resilience that prevents dangerous,
acting-out behaviors in children. (Kilboume, Jean, Deadly Persuasion (Why Women and Girls
Must Fight the Addictive Power of Advertising), New York: The Free Press, 1999,312)
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9 Noack, Peter & Barbel Kracke, "Social Change and Adolescent Well-Being: Healthy Country,
Healthy Teens," from Schulenberg, John, Jennifer Maggs & Klaus Hurrelmann (eds.). Health
Risks and Developmental Transitions During Adolescence. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1997,58.
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Chapter 1: Defining the Subject: Female Adolescence and G irls' Cultures
Of all the great postwar inventions- television, rock 'n' roll, the Internet- the
greatest and most influential is, perhaps, the American teenager. While we have
always had adolescents (let's say persons between the ages of 12 and 18), it was only
in the past 50 or 60 years that they were recognized as tens of millions of semi-
grownups living in a developmental buffer zone somewhere between childish
innocence and adult experience. The teenage culture of pop songs, cars, acne, of
proms, allowances, and slumber parties is still unknown in less developed countries.
And until the reform of child-labor laws in the 1930s, the spread of suburbia in the
1940s, and the rise of targeted youth marketing in the 1950s, it was relatively
unknown here as well. Early 20th century adolescents were farmers, apprentices,
students, and soldiers- even wives and husbands- but not "teenagers." Spawned by
a mix of prosperity and politics, teenagers are a m odem luxury good.1
Girls have described the experience of being a teenager as being "in between"
identifiable social roles:
"I guess one of the hardest things is just the fact that you're kind of
'in between' so you're a child when it's convenient and you're an
adult when it's convenient. You never get to really be in one place
that's convenient for you. Well, not never, but it seems that a lot... If
they [adults] don't w ant us doing something they'll say 'Oh, you're
too young, you're too irresponsible.' And then if they need
something done, they say 'Oh, you can do it, you're a big girl now.'
It gets kind of annoying sometimes."2
Although a time of drastic physiological change, the primary tasks of adolescence are
psychosocial. Constructed as a transitional stage between childhood and adulthood,
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adolescence is a time of intense socialization into the adult role. This is the period
when sexual identities gain salience and when adult gender role expectations come
to the fore. Many argue that social expectations, even more than physical changes,
shape gender roles. When young people respond to peers and television as
socializing influences, they often become increasingly intolerant of deviations from
traditional sex role norms; peers often promote more traditional roles than do
parents. Stereotypical attitudes about girls and boys often solidify at this age into
hard and fast rules.3 The period of youth gives young people time and space in
which to make a self, free from certain demands of society. Ideally, youth is
conceptualized as a group with the attributes of restless energy, a desire for mobility
and experimentation and holding great expectations, hope, and optimism about the
future. It is described as a period in which the modem individual enjoys the freedom
to make him /her self, to determine what his or her identity will be, to explore the
social spaces available to them. Youth is the time of adventure, experimentation,
journeys, and grow th/ It is also seen simultaneously as a site of change and
enthusiasm as well as rebellion and troublemaking.
Physically, this is when puberty effects profound changes on girls' and boys'
bodies. This time has become socially defined as the beginning of maturation; boys
are expected to begin behaving as "men," and girls are often told that they are
"women" at the onset of menstruation. However, both sway between the two
identities of "man" and "boy" or "woman" and "girl." This is also the
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developmental stage in which adolescents undergo profound psychological changes,
a stage that is characterized by adolescents' uncertainties about their physical selves
as well as intense questioning about their inner selves- unfulfilled desires for
independence accompanied by the overwhelming need to be wanted and loved.
Amidst these uncertainties, the adolescent is expected to gain a sense of identity,
independence, and responsibility.5 As noted in the quote above, society does not
offer adolescent girls a sense of belonging through provision of a specific social
"place." In the absence of positive definitions of adolescence, many girls feel that
they exist in a state of limbo, between childhood and adulthood, with few guidelines
or clear boundaries.6
The development of autonomy in adolescence has important effects on
current and later feelings of self-reliance and self-efficacy. Initially, young people
were declared as particularly susceptible to contemporary pressures of conformity, a
social group "at risk," in need of monitoring and social assistance. Youth were
deemed to remain so for a definite and extended period of time to ensure their
successful negotiation of the tasks of growing up.7 Adolescence was constituted as
the threshold at which children learnt to take on the social norms as one's own.
Developmental psychology formulated the cultural ideal of balancing societal
demands of integration into the social order with the "need" for the young person to
assert an autonomous, independent sense of self. The developmental task of the
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adolescent was to learn to adjust this "need," to reconcile it with the requirements of
the social order.
The implications of this rigid agenda for girls are dramatic. Despite the fact
that the defining characteristic of adolescence is the possibility and need for
choosing, the choices are gendered. In making these choices, the adolescent girl must
make herself as well as learn to adjust to social expectations. Young women were
expected to frame their choices around the decisions of whether to take on the
socially approved feminine role of wife and mother or to be a career woman.8
Studies show that girls' academic and career ambitions actually decline in early
adolescence when they internalize the notion that females should achieve less than
males. During this period females and males both come to view math, science, and
computer skills as male domains. (The language of scientific research- "reaching
outwards to the edge of the universe," struggling with nature, and avoiding "ethical
and emotional conclusions in their work-" suggested a set of capacities and
orientations which described the masculine, not the feminine.9 ) Consider the small
numbers of women, still, in fields such as engineering and computer science. Girls
also learn by early adolescence that in order to be defined as successful they must
please others, putting the needs of others first.1 0 Sadly, while cognitive developments
that take place in early adolescence can encourage children to look at gender roles in
a flexible way, social constraints encourage them to limit their thinking and
conceptualize gender roles in highly conformist and predictable ways. This
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translates to the rule that they must get a boyfriend, keep a boyfriend, and leam
dependence on males to be successful in life. These messages are perpetuated not
just at home or in school, but also through popular culture. Studies reveal the
influence of television on gender role socialization (i.e. the development of
stereotypical beliefs about gender roles)."
We can also see how the socialization of heterosexuality affects women's
aspirations for careers an d /o r independence in Educated in Romance by Dorothy
Holland and Margaret Eisenhart. The authors confirm how many college women
they studied "ended up with intense involvements in heterosexual romantic
relationships, [and thus] marginalized career identities, and inferior preparation for
their likely roles as future breadwinners."1 2 They seem to willingly scale down their
aspirations for careers and enter into marriage in economic positions inferior to those
of their husbands. Issues like this raises questions such as "Why do women enter
into positions of economic and emotional dependency on men?...Why do they accede
to 'compulsory heterosexual relations?'"1 3 We still see traits of the continuing social
expectation that girls' lives are predeterminedly organized in different ways to those
of boys. Further contradictions in the coexistence of what girls want to be and w hat
they are supposed to be (girls may be strong, but shouldn't show it; they may be
smart, but shouldn't use it; and they may be independent, but shouldn't be) may
result in feelings of alienation and confusion. The girl feels divided against her
inadequate self- body versus mind, mother versus daughter, woman versus wife.
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The development of girls' self-images during adolescence is crucial to their
future well-being. Already, a teenage girl, being in the middle of the adult-child
transition, is placed in the doubly subordinate position of being both a child and a
female. She is also constantly bombarded with contradictory messages in media
texts which encourage her to "accept herself" for what she is while, for example,
giving overall emphasis to "getting a boyfriend" which can construct a context that
makes it difficult for girls to accept themselves if they, if fact, do not have a
boyfriend. A girl's experienced self is not coherent and well-defined. Even when
textual discourse contains elements of feminism, a feminist subject position is not
necessarily constructed for female viewers/ readers. Although texts may encourage
girls to do w hat's right for them and to assert their own needs and desires, the
socially approved femininity of media discourses is usually linked to non-feminist
values: the importance of physical beauty and male authority or approval. While
girls may be explicitly encouraged to accept their feelings as valid and to feel good
about themselves, feeling good is implicitly linked to looking good and having a
boyfriend.1 4 In short, while girls may be addressed as unique and valuable
individuals, approval comes through the pursuit of goals and values which conform
to traditional norms of femininity. This need for approval is an overriding concern
for school-aged girls and generally places sharp restrictions on their search for
individuality.
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The nature of school culture1 5 itself makes is difficult for girls to "be herself."
Peer pressure is the most frequently mentioned restriction on girls' budding
autonomy. Social acceptance, which is required for the development of a healthy
sense of self, requires conformity to seemingly arbitrary codes of behavior. At the
same time, this requirement for conformity can introduce self-doubt. Acquiring a
sense of self requires carefully negotiated trade-offs between asserting individuality
as an expression of self and being like others in order to gain approval from peers.
Thus, school, in a sense, has a hidden curriculum- learning to "fit in." Acceptance
(for girls) by peers is based on conformity to social codes which are based very much
on gendered norms which accompany being female. Thus, for those whose sense of
self draws on definitions which place them outside the bounds of traditional
femininity, the hardest thing about being a girl is "being herself."1 6 These
negotiations can throw girls' subjectivity into a state of flux which is sometimes
labeled through a discourse of the excessive emotionality which accompanies the
biological fact of "being a girl." Thus, the everyday experiences made available to
girls through institutionalized modes of social organization (e.g. school) may
reinforce commercial meanings of the social world.
Studies of girls and self-esteem dating back to the early '70s have consistently
demonstrated a gap between girls' development of qualities of self-reliance and
autonomy and that of boys and significant gender differences in self-concept (girls
had lower self-concepts than did their male peers). These studies have found that
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girls are more likely than boys to have low self-esteem and high self-consciousness
and that this level of self-consciousness increases sharply in early adolescence.
Reports argue that as girls grow, they fall victim to a socialization process that robs
them of the qualities of self-reliance, self-esteem, efficacy, and assurance. Therapist
Mary Pipher's Reviving Ophelia (1994) is based on accounts of helping adolescent girls
resist "lookism" (the tyranny of female beauty norms). Peggy Orenstein's Schoolgirls
(1994) is a journalistic account of the impact of the "hidden curriculum" of gender
roles on girls' self-esteem. In "Throwing Like a Girl," Marion Young argues that
young women learn to live their bodies as objects as well as subjects. She thus
hypothesizes a link between a general lack of confidence among women in their
cognitive and leadership abilities and a doubt about the capacities of their bodies to
act upon the world.1 7
Adolescent girls are overly concerned with being liked, valuing others'
opinions of themselves more highly than they do other forms of self-validation. Girls
are especially concerned with achieving male approval, and with outward forms of
validation through relationships. Self-esteem is often measured by her ability to
please others, especially boys. This can have negative consequences: although girls
are trained to value relationships with, and opinions of, others more highly than they
value their own self-assessments, they also leam that the trait or relationality is
deemed inferior to those virtues of independence and self-reliance that are reinforced
throughout boys' development.1 8
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The self-esteem gap is also affected by girls' growing consciousness of their
physical development: girls' images of their bodies are intimately linked with their
feelings of self-worth. Studies have shown that girls are more likely than boys to
point out physical characteristics, rather than skills of talents, as their best features.
This focus on the physical becomes especially dangerous when assessments of one's
physical features are negative. Girls routinely report that they are less satisfied with
their body images than are their male peers; not surprisingly, this may be an
important factor in young women's disproportionately high rates of eating disorders.
Attributes that girls are taught to value, including physical attractiveness, are also the
source of the majority of negative self-evaluations.
Girls do not just have overall lower self-esteem than boys, their self-esteem
plummets as they progress through adolescence (a time when they should be
building their confidence). The work of psychologist Carol Gilligan demonstrates
that girls lose their "voice" as they mature. An American Association of University
Women report notes, "'Girls aged eight and nine are confident, assertive, and feel
authoritative about themselves. Yet most emerge from adolescence with a poor self-
image, constrained views of their future and their place in society, and much less
confidence about themselves and their abilities.'"1 9 Thus as girls mature, they
become less assertive, less confident, less vocal, and increasingly self-conscious and
dependent upon others' approval in developing positive self-concepts. (45% of
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elementray school girls say they are good at a lot of things. By middle school that
number drops to 29% and by high school to only 23%.)
Many researchers have attributed girls' declining self-esteem to the process of
female socialization in early adolescence- the process by which the norms of
femininity become central in girls' lives. Scholars have speculated that this drop in
self-esteem is due to girls' realization that the gender role that they are internalizing
is deemed inferior to the male gender role. As girls enter adolescence, they lose self
esteem in their attempt to conform to the constraints and demands of the female
gender role: "self-confidence yields to self-consciousness as a girl judges herself as
others judge her- against an impossible feminine ideal."2 0
In an attempt to mold themselves to the impossible ideal of femininity, girls
are asked to suppress positively valued attributes such as assertiveness, spontaneity,
and self-possession in favor of attractiveness, docility, and passivity. As early as
1949, Simone de Beauvoir explained that:
to be feminine is to appear weak, futile, docile. The young girl is
supposed not only to deck herself out, to make herself ready, but
also to repress her spontaneity and replace it with the studied grace
and charm taught by her elders. Any self-assertion will diminish
her femininity and her attractiveness.2 1
Despite the best efforts of various waves of women's movements to challenge these
damaging gender ideologies, sociocultural expectations of girls have remained
relatively constant in the past half-century.
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Currie describes the self-doubt and anxiety (anxiety about looks, about being
accepted by peers, and about societal expectations) symptomatic of adolescent
femininity as "undoing." She describes, "'Undoing' refers to processes, such as
worrying about looks and being labeled by others, which unsettle girls' emerging
sense of self and worth as social beings."2 2 This uncertainty renders adolescent
subjectivity unstable and may be experienced as a loss of control. Thus, girls as girls
and as adolescents, are doubly fragmented. Her study takes into account the
importance of "school culture" as another avenue through which girls gains a sense
of self.
The "feminine" norms to which girls are still taught to aspire include an
emphasis on appearance and the highlighting of relational skills. In the process of
contemporary girls' socialization, I will show how more "masculine" attributes such
as competence, strength, and assertiveness are increasingly worked into the formula
of femininity. However still in the greater social context, the norms of femininity are
construed to be inferior to those of masculinity. Traditionally, socialization into
adult femininity requires girls to abandon all vestiges of socially valorized masculine
attributes. Girls thus develop impoverished self-images leading to lowered
expectations and achievements. Those who achieve the feminine ideal come to the
realization that they are inferior (to men); those who do not achieve the ideal must
suffer the consequences of their "failure" in femininity.
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Given that the norms of femininity command such a heavy toll on girls' self-
concepts, it is crucial that we examine girls' encounters with these damaging gender
ideologies. Feminist scholars have critically evaluated the ways in which girls learn
gender as well as the social forces that devalue femininity. Various theories of
gender socialization explain the mechanisms of both internalized and external
constraints, showing how femininity is imposed both from the outside environment
and from internalized pressures. The "value constructs" of femininity function as a
form of social control, restrict wom en's lives. These norms, internalized throughout
childhood and cemented in adolescent development as well as externally
constraining through comparisons with the feminine ideals portrayed primarily in
the media, are the very factors responsible for the gender gap, and decline, in girls'
self-esteem. Much research documents the ways girls are traumatized by encounters
with such constraints. Such research portrays girls as victims of a culture Pipher
describes as "girl-poisoning." (1994) Contemporary film, television, music, and
advertisements portray unattainable ideals of feminine beauty, ideals for which some
girls would willingly starve to death. Accordingly, to become a girl or a woman, is to
lose subjectivity and strength, to lose a strong sense of self.
In describing this process, researchers depict girls as passive victims of
feminine socialization, casting young women as dupes of cultural forces that
systematically degrade us. Few researchers adopt the view that girls are also agents
in their construction of gender identities. Few document the strategies of resistance
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that girls create to counter the pressures of socialization. Teenagerhood should allow
young women to experiment with taking on and off different types of femininity. In
the example of punk girls, which may also be applied to other girl "subcultures," by
joining male-dominated youth subcultures, girls construct forms of resistance to the
dominant cultural models of femininity, and they do so at a critical time in their
development. These girls engage in active resistance to the prescriptions and
proscriptions that overpower many contemporary adolescent girls. In negotiating
between the norms of femininity and the masculinity of punk, these girls construct
forms of resistance to gender norms in ways that permit them to retain a strong sense
of self. It is in resisting these gender norms that girls both subvert and challenge
femininity, engaging in a reconstruction of its norms. Such reconstructions have
important effects on our conceptualizations of gender and gender role socialization,
as well as on girls' own self-assessments. Such reconstructions also have important
implications for the ways we view and react to adolescents' forms of gender
resistance.
The difficulty in studying and even defining "girl culture" can be seen in
conflicting notions of "girlhood" and "adolescence." Barbara Hudson argues that
girls are confronted by conflicting sets of expectations, expectations arising from
connotations attached to femininity and adolescence. She, too, borrows the idea of
studying these phenomena as discourses in order to understand the contradictory
standards. Hudson describes, "young girls' attempts to be accepted as 'young
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women' are always liable to be undermined (subverted) by perceptions of them as
childish, immature, or any of the terms by which we define the status 'adolescent.'2 3
Adolescence meant the creation of a period of life when young people, demonstrably
no longer children, were nevertheless not yet adults and could therefore be subject to
the discipline of their teachers and of their parents on whom they m ust remain
financially dependent, a "difficult transition period" between childhood and
adulthood, a unique and stormy developmental period. The problem of adolescence
for teenagers is that they must demonstrate maturity and responsibility if they are to
move out of this stigmatized status, and yet because adolescence is conceived as a
time of irresponsibility and lack of maturity, they are given few opportunities to
demonstrate these qualities which are essential for their admission as adults. And,
the adolescent is presumably engaged in a struggle to emancipate
himself from his parents. He therefore resists any dependence upon
them for their guidance, approval or company, and rebels against
any restriction or controls that they impose upon his behavior. To
facilitate the process of emancipation, he transfers his dependency to
the peer group whose values are typically in conflict with those of
his parent.2 4
The sexist language of this quote illustrates the way in which adolescence is a
masculine construct. Hudson explains that this is the basis of many conflicts posed
by the coexistence of adolescence and femininity: "if adolescence is characterized by
masculine constructs, then any attempts by girls to satisfy society's demands of them
qua adolescence, are bound to involve them in displaying not only lack of maturity,
but also lack of femininity."2 5 These contradictions are particularly dangerous for
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32
girls because they further toy with a girl's self-esteem leading her to possibly engage
in health-compromising behaviors that may help boost self-esteem and self-image.
Young people want to "fit in" with their peers, to make efforts to demonstrate their
independence. This often inevitably leads to risky health behaviors.
The connotation of femininity relates to appearance as well as to stereotypical
personality characteristics- gentleness, kindness, compassion, nurturing. Girls are
faced with the problem of how far to display femininity, assessing in what social
situations it is appropriate to be feminine, and to what degree. The situational
difficulties for girls of knowing how to behave according to the expectations of
femininity exist, even though the cultural notion of what femininity is may be clear
and consistent. Angela McRobbie points out that some girls assert their opposition to
the de-individualized and class-oppressive school culture by exaggerating the
femininity that is tacitly encouraged by teachers:
one way in which girls combat the class-based and oppressive
features of the school is to assert their 'femaleness/ to introduce into
the classroom their sexuality and their physical maturity in such a
way as to force the teachers to take notice...Thus the girls took great
pleasure in wearing makeup to school, spent vast amounts of time
discussing boyfriends in loud voices in class, and used these
interests to disrupt the class.2 6
The challenge for girls is to negotiate male and female characteristics. What this asks
for is for teenage girls to develop masculine traits of independence, political and
career interests, while at the same time developing a personality style of caring for
others, looking after children, being gentle and unassertive.
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Girl Culture
"Girl culture" itself is a vexing term to describe because its boundaries are ill-
defined. It encompasses a vast variety of concerns, subjects, and commodities.2 7 It
can come from a number of different sources- from both adults who seek to target a
market of girls and girls themselves. In addition, what makes up a girl in the first
place is not something that people agree upon. Some refer only to prepubescent
females. Others use the term more generally to refer to both young girls and
teenagers. Yet other individuals use the term generically to refer to all women,
whether they are six or sixty. (While in other contexts, "girls" also refers to pom
stars, prostitutes, and strippers, as I discovered in my research for this project.) I use
the term "girls" to refer specifically to the younger females in our culture. Even
though my focus will be on female teenagers and adolescents, I will include preteens
and twenty-somethings at particular points in my discussion. While young girls do
share a culturally distinct position from that of older girls, both also share many
similar traits that mark them as "girls" in our culture (which exhibits the lasting
influence of girl culture over a girl whether she is five, sixteen, or twenty-eight.)
Not only is a "girl's" actual age an issue, but the term has recently been
appropriated as a hip statement of power and vitality after years of being spum ed as
a sexist put-down (young, small, immature, naive, powerless). With a significant
degree of female equity and parity established in the workplace and other
institutions, there has been a gradual social warming among women to the once-
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34
ostracized "girl"- a curiously defiant celebration of a world formerly fraught with
oppression. According to Jane Pratt, editor of Jane magazine and ex-editor of Sassy,
‘ "W e've taken back the word and are using it the way we want- girl power, girl
talk...It's about girls supporting each other and reveling in what's fun about being a
girl...'"2 ® "Girl" has been reborn in the image of a modem woman: It borrows the
youthful vigor and spontaneity of female adolescence and discards the meekness of
the old-fashioned office girl. It is now being embraced as something vital and strong.
Other theories say that using "girl" is a reaction to decades of implied pressure to use
"woman" when referring to any female over 15 years old, as a way of respecting her
budding independence. In a way, it started to feel oppressive. More grown women
are willing to be (and perhaps prefer being) called girls than the generation that
preceded them. Some feminist scholars also claim that often after a social movement
has been established for a while- like feminism- it is OK to play around with certain
terms- like "girl."2 9
In the early 1990s, small groups of musicians and artists appropriated "girl"
for political reasons. So-called "guerrilla girls" were masked women w ho appeared
at art shows to protest the plight of women artists neglected by a male-dominated art
world. Similarly, the "riot grrl" movement sprang up in the early 1990s in the Pacific
Northwest, playing a kind of hard-edged music whose purveyors dressed in a
coquettish, girlish way but belted angry lyrics about the victimization of women.
They reveled in the contradictions- part girl, part angry woman. And they paved the
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way for a flock of mainstream singers such as Alanis Morissette, Gwen Stefani, and
Tori Amos, all of whom sing about hurt and anger- and often do it in midriff-baring
baby T-shirts popular with young women.”
The "inception" of the concept of "girl culture" is even more difficult to
define. However, we can say that a distinct "girl culture" has existed at least through
throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and has flourished in the
twentieth century. In their edited collection The Girl's Own: Cultural Histories of the
Anglo-American Girl, 1830-1915(1994), Lynne Vallone and Claudia Nelson describe
girl culture as already established and recognized throughout the nineteenth century.
What is evident is that girl culture has long been an important element of Anglo
culture and has long served to socialize girls in specifically gendered ways. Thus, it
is impossible to understand Anglo culture w ithout understanding the role of girl
culture which is central to the understanding of American and world cultures.
Vallone writes in Disciplines of Virtue, "the study of girls' culture and girls' reading is
crucial to our understanding of femininity, women's history and literature, and
ideologies of domesticity, conduct, and class."3 1 Understanding girl culture is
essential to understanding how our entire society has been structured on gendered
lines.
I have chosen to study contemporary girl culture since perhaps no epoch is
more important to study when considering the influence of girl culture and mass
media and new technologies than the late twentieth (and now the twenty-first)
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36
century. In the past few decades, commodities of girl culture have had the ability to
travel further and be utilized by a greater number of girls than ever before. Whether
a Barbie doll, a Barbie CD-ROM, a Nancy Drew novel, a recent edition of Seventeen
magazine, or a television show featuring perfectly fashioned and coifed
highschoolers, the commodities of girl culture now has the power to reach millions of
consumers. Our society is saturated with girl culture, and it reaches virtually every
girl in the United States (and girls beyond American borders). This type of cultural
saturation has been achievable because of a wide variety of twentieth-century
technologies that have made a mass-market girl culture both possible and profitable.
In addition, girls' health issues are inherently entwined within the auspices of girl
culture and vice versa.
Girls and Consumerism
Adolescence is a period when growth is equated with change. Susan Willis
observes that young children anticipate adolescence consciously and unconsciously
and that "in consumer society, the child's anticipations are met more quickly and
easily by commodities than by social institutions such as family and schools."3 2 She
argues that commodities offer children a means to articulate notions about the
transition to adolescence. For example, Barbie is for the 6-year-old girl the
acquisition of the adult female body. Willis describes, "Her [Barbie's] accentuated
length suggests height, which is the young child's most basic way of conceptualizing
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37
age or adulthood. And her accentuated breasts signify- directly and simply-
femininity."3 3 Clearly, 6-year-old girls sense that adulthood and femininity are far
more complex.
A discussion on consumerism is important in the context of this project as it is
one of the primary ideologies grounding media texts and their various discourses
and representational strategies. Furthermore, much of adolescents' health issues
revolve around what young people "consume." In 1995, the average teen income in
the United States was $64 per week, and teenagers' combined spending power was
$109 billion, 38% greater than in 1990. Today that figure has reached $122 billion and
continues to increase.3 4 These statistics show that not only is teen spending helping
the US economy, but that manufacturers and advertisers are increasingly focusing on
youth as an extremely lucrative market.3 5 Only 16% of the total population, teens buy
25% of the movie tickets, and 71% of them have bought at least one CD in the last
three months. Since the teen population will continue to increase until the year 2010
when it is projected to peak at 35 million, constructing teenage girls as consumers is
an extremely profitable venture for advertisers and magazines that attempt to mold
brand loyalties at a young age to ensure future profits. Given that teenage girls
strongly influence family purchases and that they will later become the primary
consumers of their own families, it is no surprise that consumerism continues to be
one of the most prevalent ideologies used by teen- and female- targeted media texts.
Girls have proved to be a powerful market force by helping generate an estimated
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38
30% to 40% of the movie Titanic’s $580 million gross. And young women ages 12 to
19 spent $60 billion in 1997 according to Teen Research Unlimited.
Postwar affluence sharpened the demarcations around the teen years: fewer
teens than ever worked or left school to help support their families, making teenhood
more distinct from adulthood as a time of leisure. More teens than ever also had
money to spend. Marketing strategies that recognized the importance of teens as
precocious consumers also recognized the importance of heightening their self-
awareness of themselves as teens. Commercial interests speaking to the teenager
constituted young people as having "citizen status." As teenagers, they had both a
public visibility and a public importance. They were provided with an identity
which proclaimed them able to act in the world, to be independent agents and to act
on their own desires and wishes. They were also defined as having their own voice,
to which the attentive marketplace listened and responded. This represented a major
change from understanding oneself according to the status of "child."3 * For young
women, its significance was even greater as they acquired a form of self-
identification which spoke of their independence, their capacity for autonomous
action and their ability to be self-defining. Thus, advertisements appealing to
teenagers, teenage girls or "Miss teens" encouraged young women to consider
themselves as in charge not only of their own money but of their lives and
identities.3 7
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39
Girls are written into youth cultural theory in the language of consumption.
Feminist theorists consider the ways in which girls live out the contradictions of their
lives through an everyday culture of consumption. Commodities that pattern the
fabric of girls' lives include advertising images, fashionable clothes, mass magazines,
and popular fiction. Ever since the emergence of the image of the teenage girl in the
1950s and '60s, the consumer industries set out to create a form of agency committed
to a project of subjective fulfillment through narcissistic consumption. The
commercial culture of this time defined the space of the teenage girl as the time in
their lives when girls learned to produce their bodies in feminine form. Lesley
Johnson's study of consumerism shows how it defined young women first and
foremost as sexed identities. Consumption (of all forms) has long been used to
indoctrinate girls into w hat society assumes are their "normal" gender roles. The
fashion industry set out to ensure that young women devoted their lives to a pattern
of consumption concerned with their own self-image. This type of consumption was
concomitant with the pervasive penetration of advertising, television, and the media
in the 1950s.3 8
Advertisers and media interests set out to create a "world of their own" for
teenagers by providing separate programs, publications, and consumer goods. Such
strategies of creating a separate teenage world strove to incite those very needs and
desires these interests claimed to serve. While recognizing a potential new market,
they were also busy attempting to create and foster one.3 9 Modem consumer society
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40
created what Laura Mulvey calls a "democracy of glamour." Advertising, the
packaging and display of products, and movies promoted the image that all women
could and should participate in this world of glamour and creating desirable
appearances.*1 All young women were now expected and provided with the
appropriate information and technologies through consumer culture to make their
bodies according to a single set of norms. The rhetoric of consumer culture sought to
address all young women as one group despite differences in material circumstances
reflecting their class, race, and ethnicity. These industries worked hard to mobilize
the desires of young women to be concerned with their appearances as well as with
the look of things around them in the spaces they occupied, and specifically, a
youthful, teenage femininity. A form of power was being enacted on these girls,
which led them to an unhealthy preoccupation w ith themselves as objects. Yet, they
had the illusion of making free choices. Consumer culture provides girls with a new
form of agency: it produces new capacities and skills as they leam to become good
consumers with an associated set of responsibilities and powers.
Thus, for marketing purposes, girls and women themselves are shown to be
in need of continual "aesthetic innovation." Young women are trained in the
"importance of having," complementing the more general rhetoric of advertisers and
other agents of the fashion industries. Not only this, but representations of the male
gaze are central to the trainings- females should desire to be observed by that gaze.
Consumer culture seeks to invoke in young women the constant desire to be making
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41
and remaking their bodies and selves. Thus, they are contained by a patriarchal
demand for self-scrutiny and self-surveillance. Their self-image must constantly be
regulated and managed and despite goals of building confidence, young women are
always to be dissatisfied with how they look. Furthermore, the time and energy girls
spend on image management are also likely to leave girls with less time and energy
to develop other aspects of the self.
Discourse about self-improvement is an important part of the construction of
femininity and is overwhelmingly connected to an ideology of consumerism. In the
suggestion that girls need to improve themselves, they are encouraged to purchase
commodities that will help in that process. Most advertising has a two-pronged
approach: to produce a sense of inadequacy in potential customers and then to
recommend a product that can remedy those alleged problems. Just as teen
magazines deliver their consumers to advertisers through both advertising and
editorial content (advice columns, features), television delivers its consumers to
marketers through commercials and programming content (news shows, sit-coms).
More so than any other objective, the ultimate goals of such texts is to construct their
viewers as consumers. According to a recent report, commercials may take up to a
total 17 minutes out of every 60 minutes of prime-time television. One of the primary
ways in which "girl shows" construct their viewers as potential consumers is by
presenting a privileged mode of female adolescent subjectivity, typically a relatively
glamorous, well-coifed, fashionably dressed, middle-class white girl "star." Male
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adolescents are just as attractive, often the most attractive paired with the primary
female character, further underlining a logic of heterosexuality. These "pleasurable"
images motivate viewers to find pleasure in watching the show. Beautiful,
glamorous, a n d /o r unusual, fantastic settings as well as commercials for beauty and
other teen products featuring the "stars" (the "tie-in") or other attractive females
contribute to this pleasure and "consumption."
In consumer culture, femininity is defined as an image, a mask, a construct,
something to be taken on and off, fluid and disposable. This emphasis placed on the
anxious but calculating cultivation of appearance makes it possible to understand
femininity as not defining some essential truth of womanhood but as a "mask to be
changed, reworked, manipulated, and discarded..."4 1 Johnson's theory for the
purpose of girls' production of their bodies and selves in appropriate and desirable
form according to media such as magazines, is for the purpose of attracting a man to
marry, hence predicated upon both patriarchal and heterosexual demands as a
desirable point of closure. The story of feminine achievement is thus based not on
the achievement of femininity itself but of attaining true feminine fulfillment in the
roles of wife and mother. Consumer culture increasingly defines a femininity
absorbed in a presentation of body and self. Young women are urged to make and
remake themselves in desirable form in the restless search for guarantees to ensure
that they became the "loved individuals" of the romance narrative.4 2 Teenagerhood
thus allows young women to experiment with taking on and off different types of
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femininity, a playing with those images. At the same time, this obsession with image
produces the possibility of a set of pleasures around a "playfulness" about one's
identity.
Girl Power
The term "girl power" is a product of the nineties and signifies more than just
the sassy, "don't mess with me" adolescent spirit or the opportunity to consume or
sport products bearing girl power imagery.1 3 It is an increasing reality on the pop
charts, playing fields, and TV and movie screens. Many interpret it as a
manufactured term designed to sell things to an increasingly assertive female
audience. In many ways, "girl power" has been transformed from an expression of
individuality and empowerment to a slick marketing slogan. Yet, it is actively
interpreted by many girls as an expression of independence, strength, success, and
sense of self-worth. It may also express the female's need to prove that she is as good
as or even better than a man. Not since the height of Beatlemania have adults been
so aware of girls' power to shape trends and never before have girls been so active in
the culture at large. Many young women now have a range of options and choices
available to them that were unknown to previous generations of women. "Girl
power" is an expression of confidence, assertiveness, and a challenge to conventions
while processes of individualization have increasingly released the individual from
external sources of authority. It also means celebrating femininity and girlhood.
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Jane Pratt describes, "'Girl power means something different from feminism. It
means finding the strength and expressing the strength that's girlie- everything from
the way that girls talk to each other to having fun with makeup...And most
importantly, it refers to girls or women supporting each other or choosing not to put
a man first.'"4 4 Others argue further that being a girl means taking pride in the very
qualities denigrated by both sexists and doctrinaire feminists, including pettiness,
brattiness, and sexual flamboyance. Unlike conventional feminism which focused on
women's socially imposed weaknesses, "girl power" assumes that girls and women
are free agents in the world, that they are strong, and that the odds are in their favor.
While feminism tried to imagine what women and girls could become, "girl power"
urges them to enjoy what they have and to go ahead and use it.
"Girl power" involves the reflexive engagement with self-identity and an
active negotiation of external constraints and expectations. In the interaction
between self-identity and the cultural expectations of what is means "to be a
woman," girls today can forge their own ways of being a woman. Femininity in late
modernity has become a possibility, a potential. Therefore the answer to the
question, "What does it mean to be a girl as we enter the new millennium?" may
have some contradictory answers, but they all share the idea that it means "being
whoever you w ant to be." "Girl power" rallies for self-love, independence, health,
speaking one's mind. And what girls w ant from culture today is relentlessly focused
on their own desires, ambitions, and identities.
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Commercially, the culture includes the cartoonish Spice Girls singing (if you
can call it that): "I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want;" Buffy the
Vampire Slayer declaring her love to her vampire boyfriend, Angel, before driving a
dagger through his heart; Xena destroying barbarians. This "girl offensive" includes
the more than 100 teen-oriented movies released (e.g. Heathers, The Craft, Scream,
Clueless, Ten Things I Hate About You, Cruel Intentions) in release (Final Destination), in
production, or in active development, many with empowered heroines. Even the
Disney animation, Mulan, is about a young Chinese heroine w ho dons male military
drag to save her disabled father from being conscripted for death in a war against
invaders. Mulan thus apparently transcends the conventions of gender (she can both
fight like a boy and cry like a girl) and proves herself as valuable, if not more so, than
any boy. (Yet isn't it ironic that in order to succeed, she must disguise herself as a
boy?)
There are a now a number of girl power television shows, especially on the
WB such as The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, The Secret World of Alex Mack, Felicity,
Buffy, and Charmed. Most of the heroines are girls whose bravery and optimism are
designed to inspire girls (in both realistic, but especially in fantastic contexts): girls
who make their own decisions, girls who make it on their own, girls that can undo
the dead and cast spells, girls that can beat up humans and creatures several times
their size, girls being boy-like, girls that can kick ass physically, morally, and
spiritually. These girls are alluring to many young female viewers. Yet there is a
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46
problem and the problem is twofold: one, that in order to imagine female heroism,
we often place girls in the realm of fantasy; and second, that despite their powers,
these girls are often (and in some cases always) motivated by a boy, by their
inherently heterosexual desires. (For example, Buffy may be physically equal, if not
superior, to her beaus and foes, yet her power is always mediated by romance and an
ubiquitous heterosexual discourse.) How well do these images prepare girls to be
adults in the real world? W hat realistic models for heroism can we offer girls? One
thing they need to realize- being healthy, mentally and physically is a major step
towards heroism.
As mentioned earlier, the transition from childhood to adolescence is a time
of special, and sometimes painful, development and change for young girls. Studies
show that girls tends to lose self-confidence and self-worth during this pivotal age,
becoming less physically active, performing less well in school, and neglecting their
own interests and aspirations. It is during these years that girls become newly
vulnerable to negative outside influences (including peer pressure) and to society's
and the media's mixed messages about risky behaviors. For example, public service
announcements on TV discourage high-risk behaviors. At the same time, TV shows
glamorize such behaviors. It is no surprise then that too many girls fall into
substance abuse, premature sexual activity, and unhealthy eating habits that may
lead to disorders.
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The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) developed a
national public education campaign known as "Girl Power!" in response to research
showing increases among girls in substance abuse and other risky behaviors. Led by
Health Secretary Donna E. Shalala and launched on November 21,1996, it is
designed to provide positive messages, accurate health information , and to support
girls through the sometimes tum ultuous years of adolescence. Under the leadership
of the Substance Abuse and M ental Health Administration's (SAMHSA's) Center for
Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), Office on Women's Health, and Office of the
Secretary, the program was developed in consultation with several health agencies
that make up HHS. "Girl Power!" is also a product of the girls themselves. Across
the country, girls from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds share their
concerns and ideas with CSAP in focus groups. As a result, the campaign combines
the latest knowledge about girls' lives with messages designed to be appealing to
girls and to the adults who care about them. (For example, "Girl Power!" has
collaborated with the Girl Scouts of the USA to develop materials for young girls and
worked with Olympic gold medalist Dominique Dawes to produce public service
announcements and posters on physical fitness.) "Girl Power!" uses a
comprehensive prevention model to develop and promote strategies that address a
spectrum of health risk issues for 9- to 14-year-old girls. These include focusing on
health, nutrition, physical activity, and good mental health as well as the prevention
of substance abuse, eating disorders, and early sexual activity. Much of girl power in
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general is based on reinforcing girls' self-confidence with an emphasis on providing
opportunities for girls to build skills in academics, arts, sports, etc. The "Girl
Power!" campaign recognizes that while some health messages work equally well for
boys and girls, girls also need to hear health messages targeted to their unique needs,
interests, and challenges. By helping them develop skills and confidence, the
campaign aims to lower their chances of becoming involved in high-risk activities
that can limit their life opportunities. And opportunity is pow er/5
Educators can help meet the needs of adolescent girls by providing equitable
teaching for boys and girls across the curriculum; both representing and focusing
critically on the experience of girls and women within the curriculum; developing a
curriculum (including media studies) which accounts for cultural change; counseling
and teaching informed by a realistic understanding of adolescence including social
contexts and the effect of mass media, gender, class, and ethnicity; and providing
institutional support for practices that reduce gender, social, and class differences.
Girls are still underrepresented in science, math, and technical courses. Girls are less
likely to enroll in math and science courses and receive less challenge and attention
when they do. Young women can begin to arm themselves against disempowering
media messages by learning how to understand and deconstruct television, computer
programs, films, and magazines (media literacy). This means adding serious,
required courses in media and communication and taking media studies content out
of the margins of social studies, technology, and English classes. Personal as well as
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theoretical discussions of media presentation of girls and women (body image,
health, sexuality, social pressure, employment futures, culture, and class issues) need
to enter into the mainstream of curricula and school talk.
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Endnotes for Chapter 1
•It is interesting to also consider the argument that the category of "teenager" (as classically
defined) is slowly phasing itself out or at least becoming something different. Walter Kim, in
Time magazine, argues that the buffer zone teens once inhabited is being squeezed out of
existence for two reasons: children are growing up faster than ever before, and adults are
growing up more slowly. For example, "silicon billionaires like Jerry Yang of Yahoo have
proved that the traditional interval between a boy's first shave and his first million need not
be much of an interval at all." The postponement of family responsibilities was one thing that
made teens teens. But today, even people in their 30s and 40s are postponing family
responsibilities, sometimes permanently. Increasingly, youth are extending their education
into the third decade of life, thereby prolonging their "adolescent" period of economic
dependence. The median ages of first marriage and entering parenthood have been increasing
since 1960. Thus, teenagerhood as "preparation for life" makes no sense when the life being
prepared for resembles the one lived as a teenager. Traditionally, the teenage years were a
time when people could get away with things, to make mistakes and not really have to pay for
them. The legal system today has changed thus by trying kids as adults for serious crimes. And
teens themselves have contributed to this by committing so many terrible crimes. Adolescents
are increasingly feeling the same pressures as adults to succeed financially, to maintain their
health, to stay on society's good side. The carefree years are turning into the prudent years
that are to last a lifetime. According to Kim, that's how it used to be in the 19th century and
that's how it will be again in the new millennium. (Time, Feb. 21 '00)
2 "Kelly" from Currie, Dawn, Girl Talk (Adolescent Magazines and Their Readers), Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 1999, 240.
H anlon, Jennifer, "Boys-R-Us," from Inness, Sherrie (ed.), Delinquents and Debutantes
(Twentieth-Century American Girls' Cultures), New York: New York University Press, 1998,
186.
4 Johnson, Lesley, The Modem Girl (Girlhood and growing up), Philadelphia: Open University
Press, 1993,37.
5 "Youth" aged eighteen to twenty-four emerged in the 1920s as a distinct cultural entity,
recognized in part by their trend-setting fashions. By the late 1930s and 1940s, the emerging
image of the teenager, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, embodied the new youth
and described a group defined by high school attendance. In the 1940s, this definition
expanded, along with teenager's growing economic power, to participation in specific leisure
activities, styles, and fashions that attracted national media and business attention. (Schrum,
Kelly, "'Teena Means Business,"' from Inness 1998,137.)
6 Also interesting to note is Franco Moretti's argument, in The Way of the World (1987), that the
more a society perceives itself as unstable and precarious in its legitimation of the social order
or the social norms of its culture, the stronger is the image of youth and its use to register these
anxieties.
7 "Adolescent studies" was bom in the 1950s. Primarily either psychological or sociological in
orientation, these studies set out to investigate and monitor the "adolescent experience" as
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well as to specify what that experience should involve. As a period in a person's life
associated in contemporary Western culture with experimentation and self-definition, youth
now became the focus of a body of knowledge and techniques of social intervention which set
out to ensure that it took on precisely that form. The role of the human sciences was to assist in
organizing the lives of young people to enable them to go through stages at appropriate
moments in their lives; surveillance and intervention in the lives of young people were
required to bring the processes of growing up to a satisfactory point of closure. Four
educational tasks basic to the work of schools and educators dealing with adolescents were: to
provide the kind of skills and knowledge to help the adolescent make a material success of
life, to encourage young people to use their talents and skills to their full extent, to help them
develop their social skills, and to teach adolescents not merely to participate effectively but to
understand and to evaluate the culture which is to become the very fabric of their lives.
(Johnson 45,55-6) The goal of such a program was as much for social unity and order as a
means of best serving the needs of young people. Secondary education was also seen to be a
"moratorium," a supervised space in which young people could delay making decisions about
what they were going to do with their lives while also being monitored and directed according
to the norms considered appropriate to producing good citizens. They were to take on social
norms as their own, to become self-regulating individuals, and to become happy members of
the social group. (Johnson 61)
8 Western social and political thought has constituted the world of the feminine by a series of
negations around ideas of independence, autonomy, rationality, etc.
9 Johnson 76.
1 0 Gilligan talks about how girls are plagued by conflicting loyalties as they grow up: "Seeking
to perceive and respond to their own as well as to others' needs, adolescent girls ask if they
can be responsive to themselves without losing connection with others and whether they can
respond to others without abandoning themselves." (Johnson 13) This causes further
fragmentation of their identities, already subordinated and fractured by their youth and
gender.
"Also in earlier studies of youth, young women were considered as to not bother with the
requirements of modem individuals to "make themselves." Their roles and futures were
predetermined by their biology (to be wives and mothers).. Only young men had to take on
the burden and the risks of defining themselves, the pleasures and responsibility of becoming
self-legislating. The cardinal rule was that men, not women, economically supported the
family. The woman staying home w ith her children was a sign of his success and masculinity.
And if women had careers, they should conceal them. Qohnson 47)
1 2 Holland, Dorothy C. & Margaret A. Eisenhart, Educated in Romance (Women,
Achievement, and College Culture), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1990,4.
1 3 Ibid. 6.
1 4 Currie 189.
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l5 Also, in general, schools are the gateway to social and economic opportunity for those who
are willing to study and leam. However, in the critical literature, the reverse is argued:
schools maintain class, race, and gender structures by differentially training students and by
supplying ideologies that mystify the systems of privilege in this society. Moreover, the peer
system often promotes and propels women into a world of romance in which their
attractiveness to men counts most. (Holland & Eisenhart, 6)
1 6 Currie 244.
1 7 Johnson 129.
1 8 Leblanc, Lauraine, Pretty in Punk (Girls' Gender Resistance in a Boys' Subculture), New
Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1999,10.
1 9 Ibid.
2 0 Ibid 11.
2 1 Ibid.
2 2 Currie 209.
2 3 She refers to Foucault's use of discourse to make connections between ideas, positions, and
practices as they mesh together to mediate people's lives; discourse offers a "snapshot" of the
matrix of ideas, terminology, and practices surrounding an area of social life at a particular
time. (Hudson, Barbara, "Femininity and Adolescence," from McRobbie, Angela & Mica Nava
(eds.). Gender and Generation. London: Macmillan, 1984,32.)
2 4 Hudson 35.
2 8 Ibid.
2 6 McRobbie, Angela & Jenny Garber, "Girls and Subcultures" from Hall, Stuart & Tony
Jefferson (eds.), Resistance through Rituals (Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain), London:
Routledge, 1978,104.
2 7 When I tell people that my dissertation is on "girl culture," they will raise an eyebrow and
ask, "What is girl culture? You mean like "Hello Kitty," body glitter, and mini-barrettes?" As
a matter of fact, the "Hello Kitty" phenomenon was selected as a historical moment in girl
history by the Signs November 1997 "girl issue." In August 1976, Hello Kitty arrived in
America with the opening of the first Sanrio store in a mall in San Jose, California, creating a
"cute" frenzy among schoolgirls. The megacephalic white kitty with the red bow and her
friends such as the goggle-eyed frog Keroppi, Pochaco the dog, and Zashikabuta the pig rose
to heights of popularity in the 80's and 90's in the riot grrrl, club, skate scenes and on baby
tees, lunch boxes, backpacks, stationery, erasers, pencils, and other "cute stuff" for girls.
2 8 Los Angeles Times, November 19,1997.
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2 9 Ibid.
3 0 It is also interesting to note that in the black community, "girl" (e.g. "You go, girl!") has
been a staple of conversation among women of all ages for decades.
3 1 Vallone, Lynne, Disciplines of Virtue (Girl's culture in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries). New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995,4.
3 2 Willis, Susan, A Primer for Daily Life, London: Routledge, 1991, 29.
3 3 Ibid.
3 4 Teen Research, Unlimited
3 5 The irony, considering today's fears of teen violence and deviant behavior, is that we
encourage teens to be adults for consumer purposes. We want to liberate them from their
parents so they will make their own choices, so we cultivate rebellion. But then they are
liberated and suddenly we have something that is uncontrollable and we become afraid. At
the same time, marketing to teens depends on young people's isolation from the adult world.
If young people had access to adult jobs and responsibilities, they would have more money,
but they would become a less distinct market.
3 6 Hence, on one hand, adolescents were represented as a separate category, quasi-dependent
and in need of supervision and regulation. On the other hand, the status of the teenage
consumer, as a separate category, was claimed to stem from the specificity and independent
character of their needs, desires, and interests. (Johnson 91)
3 7 Johnson 90.
3 8 Thus giving public visibility and a new emphasis to a defining set of feminine "tasks" which
had in the past been class differentiated and primarily conducted in the privacy of the home.
(Johnson 129)
3 9 Also, the growing levels of affluence throughout the population and the buoyancy of the
labor market for young people in the 1950s gave them increased independent spending
power.
4 0 Johnson 119.
4 1 Ibid. 133.
4 2 Ibid. 152.
4 3 Girls rule" emblazons midriff-baring and chest-enhancing baby T-shirts.
4 4 Los Angeles Times, November 19,1997
4 5 Since 1996, the campaign has partnered with nearly 300 organizations and 60 national
endorsers to promote the Girl Power! message.
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Chapter 2: The Media as Health Advisor to Teens
Adolescent Health
G. Stanley Hall, considered to be the founder of the scientific study of
adolescence, gave us the lasting image of adolescence as a time of unavoidable
"storm and stress." According to him, adolescence is a "turbulent stage in the life
course" (1904) and the adolescent is troubled and troubling, fickle, desperate for a
leader yet reactive against all authority, etc. Hall tells us that nothing can be done to
ease adolescents' pain or the pain they cause others because the maturational process
is controlled completely by biological factors and thus unaffected by sociocultural
factors. Sigmund Freud, too, made it clear that turmoil is an essential and
unavoidable component of adolescence. According or him, puberty brings on
psychosexual development. Furthermore, the formation of healthy sexual relations
and the independent functioning as an adult requires that an adolescent sever his or
her emotional dependence on parents which is likely to take the form of hostility and
conflict. (Freud, 1958). Erik Erikson (1950) also considers the physiological changes
of puberty as promoting a psychological crisis during adolescence.
These organismic and psychoanalytic explanations for adolescence are also
complemented by more mechanistic and contextual descriptions. For example, based
partly on the work of Margaret Mead (1950), Ruth Benedict (1950) argued that storm
and stress is more a cultural phenomenon due to the discontinuity in roles and
responsibilities between childhood, adolescence, and adulthood in m odem societies.
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Adolescence was characterized as "an ambiguous life space." The current image of
adolescence in the scientific literature is more variable-centered, focused more on
person-context interactions, more historically and culturally bound. With regard to
difficulties during adolescence, a common view now is that "adolescence is
characterized by change, and is challenging, b ut it need not be tumultuous and
problematic unless societal conditions prom pt it."1 How do social context and
biological factors interact to influence adolescent difficulties? Person-context
interactions also stress the cultural embeddedness of adolescent development.1 There
has been increasing emphasis on diversity of the adolescent experience within
cultures, particularly with understanding the embeddedness of social class, ethnicity,
and gender within the larger sociocultural context, and how these can shape health
and development during adolescence.2 This attention to diversity and similarity of
the adolescent experience between and within cultures not only will offer greater
understanding of person-context interactions, but will also provide the knowledge
base necessary to promote optimal development and health for all adolescents.
Individual development is shaped by one's physical and psychological selves
which in turn act on and are acted upon by the social and physical environment. The
nature of development itself originates in the interaction of physical maturational
processes, cultural influences and expectations, and personal values and goals. Thus
developmental processes are embedded in a sociocultural context and are likely to
vary with gender, class, culture, and historical period. The integral connection
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between adolescence and the societal context means that, despite universals such as
puberty and cognitive development, adolescents' experiences will vary across
cultures and over history.3 The settings in which young people develop, the skills
they are expected to acquire, and the ways in which their progress toward adulthood
is marked and celebrated depend on the cultural and historical contexts.
Richard MacKenzie, MD, director of the Division of Adolescent Medicine at
Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, describes the period of adolescence in all
cultures and societies as "a biologically driven, socially determined and largely a
psychologically and behaviorally expressed transition." He describes it as a second
birth- one which leads to biopsychosocial growth and development. Furthering this
analogy of adolescence to birth, he explains and advises:
To assure a healthy millennium we must now add to our
responsibility, the peri-adolescent birth issues- the issues that
include the amniosis of social environments, families, schools, peer
groups and media in order to assure a healthy product- the
adolescent and young adult. And we, as health care providers- must
become knowledgeable obstetricians to this second birth.
In the last twenty to thirty years, there has been an explosion of both scientific
and cultural interest in the adolescent years and adolescence is assuming a more
prominent place both in developmental research and national public policy.
Adolescent development is a time of transition involving significant physical,
biological, and cognitive changes in every aspect of individual development and in
all social contexts. These changes are the most dramatic biological changes since
infancy, but they also involve significant social and psychological responses as these
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changes are noticed by both the adolescent and others interacting with him or her.
These primary changes of puberty affect changes with family, peers, and self in a
variety of domains. And these interpersonal influences ultimately affect the youth's
health behaviors. Long-standing views of adolescence as a period of optimal
physical health and therefore a topic undeserving of research attention have been
challenged by recent empirical reports and expanded definitions of health (which
include mental health indicators as well as health risk behaviors, rather than focusing
strictly on mortality rates). Applying such an expanded definition, recent estimates
are that one in five adolescents aged 10-18 have at least one serious health problem.4
There is substantial evidence that health risks increase dramatically during
adolescence. Yet, health risks do not accrue automatically as part of the maturation
process, but instead as a function of the multiple social, psychological, and physical
transitions that occur during adolescence. Both externalizing (e.g. substance abuse
and alcohol) and internalizing (e.g. depressive episodes) problems tend to increase
over adolescence. (And as I will discuss later, girls have more internalizing problems
than boys.) In short, adolescence can clearly no longer be assumed to be the "good
health" age group. The increasing prevalence of STDs, the emergence of HIV and
AIDS, and the rapid rise in teen pregnancies make health care a central issue for
young people, especially for young women.
Health is more than the lack of illness. That is, in addition to surviving, it also
encompasses thriving. Consistent with the World Health Organization's (1986)
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conception of health, health may be defined as "the objective and subjective state of
well being that is present when the physical, psychological, and social development
of a person are in harmony with his or her ow n possibilities, goals, and prevailing
living conditions."5 Health refers to physical and emotional well-being. "Health
risk" refers to any threat to one's immediate or future health and well-being. This
constitutes a broad category that can include both health risk factors (e.g. poverty,
role strain, social isolation, hostile temperament) and health risk behaviors (e.g.
substance abuse, violence, delinquency, sedentary lifestyle or habits, unprotected
sexual intercourse, poor eating habits). "Health opportunities" include factors (e.g.,
supportive prosocial peers, academic achievement, emotional well-being) and health-
promoting behaviors (e.g., physical exercise, good nutrition) that serve to promote or
enhance health. When attempting to understand health during adolescence, there is
a need to appreciate the balance between health risks and opportunities.
As a result of both real and perceived increases in the prevalence of teenage
pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, drug use, violence, delinquency, school
dropout, and mental health problems, there has been a substantial increase in
research concerning adolescent health and well-being. Education, outreach, and
prevention are key components to adolescent health promotion because the major
threats to health in this age period are largely behaviorally based (e.g. suicide,
homicide, teen pregnancy, delinquency, alcohol and drug abuse, and HIV). These
health risky (as well as healthy) behaviors have been shown to be influenced by
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social factors including family situation, peer relations6 as well as the mass media.
Because of the pressing public health importance of adolescent health risks and the
behavioral bases of these risks, the adolescent health arena offers a challenge to
behavioral and social scientists as well as to cultural scholars and physicians to apply
innovations in theory and methodology to develop an understanding of adolescents'
health outcomes and to design and evaluate appropriate interventions to optimize
these outcomes.
Because adolescents rarely suffer from "serious" diseases, adults assume they
are in robust health. However, teens today have undiagnosed eating disorders,
depression, STDs, or are developing poor health habits, such as sedentary lifestyles
or smoking that will carry on into adulthood. The biggest risks to adolescents are
risks that they themselves take. Adolescents have only recently found a "niche" of
their own in health care having outgrown their pediatrician's ability to make them
feel comfortable and meet their needs but unwelcome by practicioners who treat
adults. Furthermore, one study published in 1999 in the journal Pediatrics found that
nearly one half of adolescent office visits included no counseling or education, and
only 3% of teens received counseling on such crucial issues as smoking cessation,
STD's and weight control. Perhaps the single most important component of
adolescent health care is that of prevention counseling. Much ill health in
adolescence results from adverse behavior patterns and is, therefore, avoidable.
Smoking, substance abuse, and unsafe sex are damaging not only to the individual's
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health, but to future generations as such behavior impairs their capacity to become
good parents. Adolescents must acquire constructive knowledge and skills, as well
as be motivated to act upon that knowledge and practice those skills. They must
develop dependable human relationships, feel that they belong to a valued group,
and believe that they are useful to others. This requires intervention strategies
focused on adolescents themselves as well as on the environments in which they live,
both the immediate environment of family and friends, and also the wider
environment created by policies, legislation, mass communications, and societal
values and norms.
An emerging trend in adolescent developmental research is the renewed
attention to context and the need to embed behavior in multiple interacting contexts.
This trend is advanced by the recognition that adolescent outcomes are influenced by
multiple contexts, including biological developmental processes, families,
neighborhoods, schools, subcultures, ethnic and racial groups, historical contexts,
and what I will be focusing on in this project- the mass media. However, it is the
interplay of all of these contexts that determines the individual's behavior.'
Adolescent health researchers (and practitioners) must also be mindful of the fact
that adolescents are active construers, choosers, and shapers of their environments
rather than simply passive recipients of environmental influences. As adolescents
make health-relevant behavioral decisions, these decisions will be considered in the
context of their values, goals, life plans, and self-definitions. Interventions designed
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to influence adolescents' health behaviors will have to consider these contexts.
Prevention and intervention programs must also be concerned with adolescents'
motivations to engage in health-compromising behaviors. For example, in relation to
peer influences, compromising one's own health, especially when the consequences
won't be manifest for years or decades, may be far less important to a teenager than
compromising relationships with peers.8
Finally, previous research in adolescent health has been overly focused on
negative health outcomes and behaviors. However, it is important to also realize that
important opportunities for health promotion occur during adolescence.
Adolescents' cognitive abilities, abilities for self-regulation, and increasing autonomy
offer the potential for positive health behaviors and for effective mastery of threats to
health. Such conditions as work roles, peer influences, cognitive development, and
even family adversity also offer opportunities for growth, even as they convey risk
for negative outcomes.9 Some scholars have also suggested that the contemporary
experience of extended economic dependence (with extended periods of schooling)
and exclusion from valued economic and social roles is alienating for youth.
Frustration may lead to a preoccupation with the superficial symbols of adulthood
such as alcohol use, sex, and material goods, and possibly to health-risking behaviors
such as drug use, unprotected sexual activity, and delinquency.1 0 Furthermore, lack
of a perceived connection between school achievement and future success may
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reduce adolescents' commitment to the social order and increase the likelihood of
problem behaviors such as substance abuse and delinquency.
In addition to shaping the adolescent social role, societal changes in the past
century have directly affected the health risks to which young people are exposed.
On the positive side, the past century has seen dramatic improvements in nutrition,
public health practices, and medical technology. These advances have significantly
reduced mortality among adolescents. The overall reduction in adolescent mortality
during this century is primarily attributable to a decline in adolescent deaths due to
natural causes. Improved public health practices reduced the incidence of infectious
diseases in the US and the mortality rate associated with these diseases. Improved
medical technology has also reduced mortality from noninfectious diseases. Against
this backdrop of improved physical health, however, are health risks associated with
violence, injury, drug use, and sexually transmitted diseases. Adolescents in the US
today come of age in a society in which these present ongoing threats to health.
These pervasive health risks, in conjunction with our ambivalent treatment of
adolescents, which involves inconsistent autonomy and inconsistent messages about
sex and substance abuse, may have increased the likelihood of some negative
outcomes. The current patterns of adolescent health risks needs to be considered in
the context of their expanding media environments, ongoing societal changes in the
family, and other developmental contexts. These may either mitigate or exacerbate
the health risks to which young people are exposed. Given that most adolescent
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63
health risks are linked to behavioral choices (e.g. sex and substance abuse) and to
violence, inadequate adult guidance and supervision might be expected to increase
the likelihood of negative health outcomes, especially for younger adolescents. The
issue of adequate education and guidance for youth is critical, as well as the need to
provide educational and occupational opportunities that increase young people's
motivation to avoid health-risking behavior. Health promotion is a process that
enables individuals to acquire a greater degree of autonomy and responsibility for
their own health. The aim of health promotion is to influence the social and natural
environment with respect to health and at the same time to develop individual
competence. To achieve a state of health and well-being, it is essential that
individuals and groups be able to fulfill their needs, be aware of and achieve their
hopes and wishes, and have an influence on their environments."
Adolescents are an important target audience preventive interventions, for
what they learn and habituate in this period can last a lifetime. Many health
problems of adulthood have their origin in behavioral patterns that are formed
during adolescence, such as smoking, exercise, and eating habits. In addition, during
adolescence and young adulthood, many consequential life decisions are made
concerning educational attainment, occupational choices, relationship and family
formation, and lifestyle options, making adolescence an important formative period
likely to yield long-term benefits of health-promoting efforts. However to develop
effective interventions for then requires a knowledge of their unique characteristics
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and of the processes that impact their health-relevant decisions. In adolescence as in
adulthood, behaviors that may compromise well-being are an integral and
pleasurable part of personal lifestyles. Risky behaviors such as smoking, drinking,
and sexual activity can fulfill certain essential functions for adolescents such as
identity exploration, coping with stress, gaining admission to or acceptance by
certain peer groups, opposing adult authority, or indicating a transition to a more
mature status.1 2 Leisure situations need to be re-created that offer adolescents
experiences and encounters that dissuade them from participating in health-
compromising behaviors. Adolescents today have access to many social and material
possibilities, but at the same time, they lack real challenges and means of satisfying
their interests and needs beyond the superficial satisfactions offered by the
consumer-oriented media and society. The challenge is to create “free space" that
allows adolescents to explore their potential and test their limits, but at the same time
does not encourage health-compromising behaviors, to utilize their physical abilities
and social competence in a constructive manner. Furthermore, the influence of the
extended family has become weakened in contemporary society by the technologies
of communication.1 3 Parents must maintain a communication of principles, values,
and beliefs that can be integrated into social change. And nowhere does this become
more important than in guiding the lives of young women as they face a social
experience where personal values and those of her peers are discordant with family
beliefs. This project shall explore the power of the media in influencing girls' health
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65
behaviors and the media's representations of girls' health issues. Insights for the
sake of intervention design may be gained by focusing on the link between health
risks and media portrayals of youth and health. This link, and especially the
individual and contextual conditions that moderate it, provide a basis for a unifying
framework for research and intervention in health and hum an development.
The Influence and Power of Contemporary Mass Media on Youth
It is clear that visual culture is important in constituting the subjectivity's of
youth. The media teach young people important messages that sometimes have very
real and adverse health consequences. The media also has a place in representing
society's "norms" and ideals. Media images may alter ideas of what is normative or
ideal or of w hat one thinks others believe is normative or ideal, while offering an
additional pervasive standard of comparison. Girls learn that the media's and
society's images of women promise acceptance and happiness if they strive to look
like them. In this way, the media and entertainment industries are visible
oppressors, but because of their pervasiveness, they may also be used to "educate"
people and to serve as a valuable tool for public health. We have learned that the
period of adolescence provides a critical window of opportunity to deliver
prevention messages and provide support for young people. Early adolescence,
especially, is the phase during which young people are just beginning to engage in
very risky behaviors, but before damaging patterns have become established. One of
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the aims of this project is to explore the complex and multiple ways in which the
subjectivity's, as well as the health behaviors, of young women are shaped in the
context of mass media culture and new technologies and to discuss the tensions and
difficulties which these representations of female subjectivity reveal. Both the news
and entertainment media have enormous power to set the agenda about how people
consider, react to, and accept women's changing roles and aspirations. The media
have helped instigate change for women while using a host of metaphors, such as
women and girls with magical powers, to contain and blunt that change.” Media
culture, for example, bombards girls with messages to stay thin, attract boys,
consume harmful drugs, and focus more on what others think of them than what
they think of themselves.
Of the many technological innovations the US has witnessed during the latter
half of the 20th century, arguably none has been more im portant in the lives of
children and adolescents than the emergence and evolution of the new
communication technologies. In a little over 50 years, w e have moved from a media
environment dominated by local newspapers and radio stations to one characterized
by an almost continual diet of highly vivid, audiovisual images, many with
interactive capabilities. Today's kids spend more time w ith more media than any
generation before them, and there is every reason to assume that their media use and
exposure will continue to increase.
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As I mentioned earlier, both girls and boys begin to redefine themselves as
they move from childhood to adolescence. Developing their identities as adults
requires them to challenge and reconstruct their childhood conceptions of
themselves, their relationships, and the ways in which they interact with the world
around them. During adolescence, teenagers develop their moral and ethical code,
learn to handle their emerging sexuality, refine their problem-solving skills, construct
a new self-image to conform to their changing bodies, formulate their gender role
conceptions, and prepare for their future occupational roles. Adolescents look to
many sources for guidance throughout this process. Parents, teachers, religious
leaders, and peers all play important roles.1 5
Research has shown that the media, particularly given its accessibility and
representations of reality, play a powerful role. Literally hundreds of empirical
studies conducted over the past half century leave little doubt that, given exposure,
media content can and does influence young people's beliefs, attitudes, and
behaviors. The evidence is so ample that few mass communication scholars hesitate
to list mass media as equal in importance to most other socialization agents (e.g.
parents, schools, churches) in the lives of contemporary US children. The media are
an important part of young teens' lives- they watch television, listen to music, and
read magazines practically every day. Young people, especially those between 10
and 15, are faced with the turmoil and changes of puberty and early adolescence.
Their bodies are changing, their faces are breaking out, they have mood swings, they
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68
have conflicts with their parents and others in authority roles, and sometimes they
wonder where they truly fit in. They often turn to each other and to the media to
find the answers to their questions about how they can solve problems, how they
should act, how they should behave with the opposite sex, w hat they should wear,
and what they should look like. The nineties was a decade of media specialization
and narrow casting. Adolescents, especially young teen and preteen, emerged as a
special advertiser-targeted audience. Special programming strategies both on
networks and cable channels have been designed to attract young viewers. Similarly,
other media including music videos and a new generation of teen-oriented
magazines are also specifically designed to target this special audience.
The adolescent world has been described as "an electronic community of rock
music, television, videos, and movies."1 6 The environment of today's youth- their
homes, their schools, the automobiles they ride in, and most of their other gathering
places- is filled with media of all kinds. Their bedrooms contain televisions, print
materials, radios and audio systems, gaming systems, and with growing frequency,
computers. They can choose from dozens of television channels and radio stations,
hundreds of print publications, thousands of videos, and virtually an unlimited
number of World Wide Web sites. They increasingly exercise the opportunity to
carry portable, even miniaturized, versions of most media with them wherever they
choose to go, and it is not unusual to see them use multiple media simultaneously.
From a very young age, girls are active participants in this community. Studies have
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shown that they watch over 20 hours of television a week, see 20,000 advertisements
a year, listen frequently to the radio and CDs, watch hours of music videos, read
fashion magazines and newspapers, and play video games.1 ' It is estimated that by
the time an 18 year old girl graduates from high school, she will have spent more
time watching television than in a classroom. Researchers have suggested that the
cumulative impact of this media may make it one of the most influential forces in this
adolescent community. Regardless of age, marital status, or income level, young
people are exposed to mass media images of sexuality, violence, and gender roles
that influence their values, material aspirations, and interactions w ith one another,
their families, and their communities. TV programs, radio stations, Internet sites,
and magazines which target adolescents are all potentially important methods of
getting the correct information across to girls and young women.
Research has also shown that media influences children's beliefs, attitudes,
and perceptions. Girls get messages from the media by seeing how and how often
women are portrayed. The media grant legitimacy to social groups (e.g. women or
minorities) through two aspects of its portrayals: recognition and respect. (For
example, it is important to explain to young women their sexual rights and their right
to express their sexuality as they wish.) In the mass media, recognition of social
groups occurs when they appear in programs, which signifies that the group has
value and is worthy of the viewers' attention. The media conveys respect for a social
group by showing its members in favorable and positive roles, enabling viewers to
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identify w ith them. Conversely, respect is denied when social groups are portrayed
in stereotyped or negatively valued roles. Media's power to increase recognition and
to confer or deny respect makes the portrayals it offers children particularly
important. UCLA professor Patricia Greenfield has reflected upon the media's
ability to influence behaviors and shape attitudes, "Television can do more than
reinforce stereotypes. It is so powerful a medium that, with careful planning, it can
also be used to break down social stereotypes."1 8 This influence gives media
enormous power and therefore tremendous potential. By using its power to break
down stereotypes, media can broaden young people's view of themselves, their
world, and their place in that world.
The Changing Media Landscape
Clearly, the kinds of media through which young people acquire information
has exploded. In the late 1950s and '60s, children's media use included television,
movies, radio, records, newspapers, magazines, and books. By the 1980s, the media
landscape expanded to include broadcast, cable, and satellite television, the TV
remote control, the VCR, a growing number of books and magazines aimed
specifically at children and adolescents, numerous audio media (e.g. radio, stereo
systems, portable radios, tape and CD players), video games, and the personal
computer. At the turn of the new century, the media environment continues to
change. Video games have become miniaturized and highly portable, the personal
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71
computer now includes CD-ROM capabilities and serves as a gateway to the Internet
and seemingly unlimited access to any and all human information. Portable phones
now merge with the World Wide Web and mainstream virtual reality media loom
just ahead. Not only have new media appeared, but older media have evolved,
offering more channels more vividly than ever before. In the mid-1950s, major
television markets typically boasted five or six broadcast channels; today, cable and
satellites make literally hundreds of channels a possibility in even the most isolated
locations.
Along with the rapid growth in media channels, digital technology is
dramatically altering media experiences, providing sights and sounds that equal
(some would argue surpass) reality. Also, the new interactive media have
transformed listening and viewing audiences into active participants. Children no
longer simply watch actors shoot at each other; they may take part in the action,
blasting anything onscreen that moves. There is also reason to believe that the
proliferation and miniaturization of communication devices themselves is changing
the social context of media use turning what was once a family experience into an
activity that, for many young people, is more and more private. For much of the
latter half of the twentieth century then, and particularly during the last two decades,
American children's media environment has undergone revolutionary change.
Today's youth have access to more media with more channels or outlets within each
medium, offering more (and more varied) content, more vividly than ever. And
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perhaps, most important, technological changes and contemporary social trends may
be combining to create a media environment in which youth use these media largely
independent of adult supervision or comment, absent adult awareness.
Youth and Media: A History of Concern
Over the ensuing half century, literally hundreds of studies have examined
how children and youth use and respond to mass media. The research has
demonstrated quite clearly that media messages can and do influence children's and
adolescents' beliefs, attitudes, and behavior across a wide range of topic areas; media
messages do play a significant role in the socialization of youth. Concern mounted
significantly with the introduction of electronic media, especially the introduction of
television in the 1950s. Electronic media gave young people both physical and
psychological access to a much wider array of content than ever before available.
Youth have entered a new world- new in terms of the amounts and kinds of
information, ideas, and images easily available, and in terms of their growing
"information independence"- that is, their ability to access and process such
information more free from adult supervision than in any previous period. Prior to
television, parents could exert at least some control over children's access to
messages. The seven or eight years it took most children to learn to read provided
time for parents to establish the "cognitive templates" which their offspring used to
interpret the meaning of print and audio symbols. Television was different. With its
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73
easily accessed, easily interpreted audio-visual symbols, it created a new kind of
symbolic environment. Once in the home, television was on much of the time. It
provided even very young children both physical and psychological access to
numerous stories from "outside" the home well before parents had time to establish
baseline definitions of the world. Television viewing still dominates children's
media diet, typically accounting for over 40% of all media exposure time.1 9
It is interesting to note, too, how in the context of juvenile delinquency
(considered a primary social disease in the post-war era), parents actually believed
that television would keep their children off the streets. Spigel describes, "Television
was particularly hailed for its ability to keep youngsters out of sinful public spaces,
away from the countless contaminations of everyday life."2 0 It w as promoted as a
way of limiting and controlling children's experiences, "keeping children away from
unsupervised, heterogeneous spaces."2 1 It is ironic that for the same reasons it was
thought to "contain" and to be "safe," so it would come to be portrayed as dangerous
and demonizing. Spigel describes its power to spread social diseases- "television's
antiseptic spaces were themselves subject to pollution as new social diseases spread
through the wires and into the citizen's home."2 2 And as I have described above,
people feared the unhealthy psychological and physical effects that television might
have on children. On one hand, it could keep children out of dangerous public
spaces, on the other, it was a threatening extension of the public sphere. It was
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believed (and still today) to cause passive, addictive, and therefore more aggressive
behavior. Television has thus always been both a cause for comfort and for concern.
Concern over the role of media in children's lives today has never been
higher: hardly a week goes by without a public debate about violent video games,
educational TV, depressed computer users, gender stereotypes in rap music, the
technology gap between the rich and poor, or the on-line dangers lurking behind the
computer screen. According to the Motherhood Project's Enola Aird, the only thing
that concerns parents more than the commercial exploitation of children is the impact
of technology. The powers of and fears about the media should be channeled more
than ever to use media proactively to reach young people with information or
positive messages. Children and adolescents also deserve their own separate,
commercial-free, educational channel- "a Children's Television Network."2 3
Furthermore, media literacy can exert a protective effect against unhealthy attitudes
learned from the media. Also, if the media can teach young people that violence is
acceptable or that drinking is normative behavior for teens, then they can also teach
them to respect their parents, to respect and take care of their minds and bodies, to
understand people of different racial or ethnic backgrounds, and to avoid violence.
Girls and the Media
Our collective history of interacting with and being shaped by the mass
media has engendered in many women a kind of cultural identity crisis.
We are ambivalent toward femininity on the one hand and feminism on the
other. Pulled in opposite directions- told we were equal, yet told we were
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subordinate; told lue could change history, yet told we were trapped by
history...2 4
Being a girl is full of contradictions because much of the media imagery we
grow up with is itself filled with mixed messages about what we should and should
not do, w hat we could or could not be. The fairy tales that I described earlier are just
the beginning of a lifetime of messages to a girl of what it means to be a "woman."
Girls' comics, women's magazines, romantic fiction, advertising, as well as film and
television aimed at female audiences may appear to have moved beyond the narrow
romantic script of fairy tales, providing a more sophisticated or complex view of
what it is to be a woman. Yet, if we look carefully, we can see that the legacy of
Cinderella and Snow White lives on. Femininity is still defined in terms of sexual
difference. It is to be consumed with (heterosexual) sex, romance, and beauty. The
difficult conflicts women and girls face on a daily basis, juxtaposed with the
salvation provided by the prince (or her continued suffering if she does not find
him), are still dominant themes. In looking at some representations of girls in current
television shows aimed at a "youth" audience, I will show how representations of
the strong, independent girl is still somewhat compromised with other characteristics
that fulfill the traditional discourses of femininity. Images of girls are often a
compromise between self-accommodation to and self-assertion against the
patriarchal culture.
The effect of the media in developing the self-concepts of young women
cannot be underestimated. Leisure activities for girls (such as watching TV, playing
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games, and magazines) often cany heavy ideological messages wrapped in the
context of and escape from limits. These activities often define girlhood in class-,
race-, and behavior-specific ways.2 5 Girls are often portrayed as white, very feminine,
and middle-class. Rather than an escape from limitations, these forms of popular
culture provide clear and limited definitions of w hat it means to be a girl.
Commercial texts have the potential to adversely affect readers /viewers by shaping
their behaviors. Media's portrayals contribute to girls' perceptions, helping them
define what it means to be a girl and later a woman. Adolescent girls form ideas
about their own lives by observing how girls and women in the media look and
behave, their motivations and their goals, what they do with their time and with
their lives. This power to influence children also gives media the potential to inspire
them. Media can offer girls strong female role models whose behavior, attitudes, and
goals broaden their concepts of future possibilities. Alternatively, media can
reinforce female stereotypes, limiting girls' perceptions about what they should look
like, what they should care about, and who they should strive to become. In an
interview w ith Time, Joan Brumberg expresses her belief that girls need their own
cultural icons, but is worried that celebrities inevitably reinforce the notion that
appearance is the only source of female power.
At the same time, the power of media texts is in their ability to provide a
discourse for girls which addresses them as valued individuals struggling with the
existential problems of being a girl in a patriarchal culture. Girls need to be given an
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unequivocal message that they are valued for who they are, what they do, and who
they want to become.2 6 Television clearly makes an impression on kids today,
whether its' what they think they should look like or the qualities they associate with
women and men. The media is a powerful tool that can either reinforce negative
stereotypes or present strong role models for young girls and boys today.
A national survey2 7 of kids (aged 10 to 17) which examined girls' and boys'
perceptions about gender roles in television shows found that 69% of girls and 40%
of boys say they have ever wanted to look like a character on television. About 31%
of girls and 22% of boys say they did change something about their appearance to be
more like a television character. A majority of children say that there are enough
good role models today for girls in television (52% of girls and 53% of boys).
However, a significant percentage- 44% of girls and 36% of boys- say there are too
few. As girls age, they are less likely to think there are enough good role m odels for
girls in television: 46% of 16 to 17 year old girls say there are enough as com pared to
56% of 10 to 12 year old girls. Children are aware of the emphasis on appearance,
especially for female characters, in television shows: 57% of girls and 59% of boys say
the female characters in the television shows they watch are "better looking" than the
women/girls they know in real life. Girls, in particular, also say female characters in
television shows are generally thinner than the women they know (61% say thinner)
or their girlfriends (42%). Older girls are most likely to feel this way (71% of 16 to 17
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year old girls as compared to 51% of 10 to 12 year old girls say female television
characters are generally thinner than women they know.)
As girls leave childhood, enter adolescence, and begin to develop into the
women they will become, they look to the media for ideas. In this period of change,
they will determine their goals and priorities as they set their sights on their futures.
However, the media sends mixed messages to girls. In many cases, media offer girls
strong role models to emulate- women who are independent, confident, honest, and
intelligent. By observing these women, girls are taught to depend on themselves,
take matters into their own hands and solve their own problems. These women are
not shown as being less intelligent or less capable than men; in fact, they are often
portrayed as more willing to use intelligence, honesty, and efficiency to achieve their
goals. Media can also send girls limiting messages, reinforcing stereotypes about
their priorities and their possibilities. Media often portray ideals of appearance and
stress the importance of this appearance to the lives of women and girls. In addition,
they see women in the media more concerned about relationships than about careers-
and these priorities can be observed across a range of media girls watch. Both
relationships and careers are important to girls' lives, but to present one as more
compelling than the other may limit a girl's perception of her own potential.
Research suggests that these messages may influence girls' ideas about their own
futures. One study concluded, "Images formed from mediated precepts become part
of a woman's conception of herself...Never seeing women in certain roles and seeing
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women play other roles poorly reduces the likelihood that a woman will attempt
such roles herself...Images shape her plans for life."2 8 Researchers found that some of
these limiting images are reinforced across the entire range of media to which girls
are exposed. This means that an adolescent girl cannot just change the channel, turn
off the TV, go to a different movie, or read another magazine. These messages sent
through the media do not stand alone. They become part of a larger sphere of
influence in girls' lives and thus have the power to reinforce, or the potential to
challenge, all other messages girls are sent. Hopefully, the recognition of media's
potential to offer girls role models will encourage the creation of more positive
female portrayals throughout the media.
Angela McRobbie's in-depth studies of British female youth and teen
magazines set the stage for what has become known as "girls' studies." Following in
McRobbie's footsteps, several other British scholars such as Valerie Walkerdine and
her analysis of girls' comics and the effects of a romantic ideology on female youth
and Elizabeth Frazer and her exploration of Jackie magazine's ideological effect on the
acquisition of gender and sexual identity and US scholars like Kate Peirce and her
examination of teen magazines like Seventeen from sociological and historical
perspectives to explore the magazine's effects on the formation of female adolescent
subjectivity. In the same way that these scholars argue that these texts must be
analyzed in relation to their unique participation in the construction of female
adolescence, so do I attempt to analyze television shows and other important media
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for their contributions to that construction in the context of girl health issues. Part II
will look at the ways in which various media texts mediate contemporary discourses
on female adolescence and concomitant health issues. But first, a brief look at three
of the most pervasive and ubiquitous media that girls are exposed to.
The Teen Magazine
Girls' magazines, like other media, are often part of (white) girls' peer culture
in school. They help girls to assess how well they fit into, or are similar to, their
reference group.2 9 The magazines give advice on girls' concerns about "fitting in"
and being accepted by others while also perpetuating pressure to conform to a
particular "norm" of adolescent femininity which focuses primarily on appearance
and romance. Information contained in these magazines pertain to conforming to the
"norm" of adolescent femininity. Hence, in many ways, these magazines and their
often idealized images contribute to making girls feel abnormal-
fat/ ugly/ethnic/misfitting/self-hating. On the other hand, the "problem page," in
particular, allows girls to assess their lives and problems in relation to their peers and
to realize that they are not the only one with "problems." They feel more "normal"
when reading about the problems and experiences of other girls their age. An
important feature of girls' enjoyment and interest is learning about themselves and
assessing their lives and their problems in relation to their peers. This is often done
in the form of quizzes that evaluate them on topics such as relationships (e.g. "How
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Good A Friend Are You?") These quizzes provide scores that categorize the reader
as a certain type of person and explain how she tends to act in situations in
comparison to others. Readers often learn about themselves through other girls'
problems and experiences discussed in the magazines, and thus about how they
compared with their peers on adolescent issues that are often troubling
developmental concerns such as sexuality. They evaluate their own behavior,
problems, emotions, and physical appearance, not only confirming/assessing
"normalcy," but also often feeling abnormal and inferior in relation to idealized
feminine images. This again reaffirms my argum ent that girls' health issues are
largely based on a concern with "normalcy" which is governed by peer approval and
media images, especially advertising in magazines.
Seventeen magazine played an important role in establishing the teenage girl
as a consumer. Making its debut in September 1944, the magazine not only described
the teenage girl consumer but also helped to create her through the use of a
campaign carefully designed to strengthen the power and influence of the teenage
girl marketplace. Moving beyond selling commodities. Seventeen also helped to tailor
an ideal image of who the teenage girl should strive to be. (It still publicizes itself as
the place "where the girl becomes the woman.") Teenagers wanted guidance in
fashion and dating etiquette, but also in becoming teenagers. Seventeen worked hard
to address these issues and to communicate w ith teenagers seriously about the
problems central to their lives (in a consumer-oriented package). The magazine
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cultivated concern about appearance, grooming, clothes, posture, figure, and weight,
and even offered products and advice as remedies. The primary emphasis was on
girls' consumption of goods in the quest for perfect beauty. By exacerbating feelings
of anxiety about physical appearance, it suggested that increased consumption is the
remedy. And in spite of over 50 years of considerable social and cultural
transformation since their introduction, teen magazines' emphasis on consumption
and beauty appears as strong as ever. Despite features on self-esteem, interpersonal
relations, self-reliance, independence, education, and career, contemporary
magazines for girls perpetuate a traditional ideology of womanhood.
Seventeen claimed to be the voice of the aggregate population of teenage girls
and declared itself the cultural mediatory between the "American teenage girl" and
advertisers, manufacturers, and mass media. But it was also designed to respect
teenage girls' concerns and intelligence and to encourage their self-awareness as a
group. The identity Seventeen magazine presented to the advertising and business
world was one of an intelligent, yet impressionable, consumption-oriented,
economically powerful, peer-dependent, teenage female consumer.3 0
Demographics reveal why teen magazines are important to consider. In 1997,
Teen Research Unlimited found that 84% of girls ages 12 to 19 read magazines. Thus
this industry that is based on informing the lives, chronicling the troubles, and
defining the desires of girls has flourished and is competitive. These magazines
demand increased self-scrutiny and exaggerate girls' "psychic schizophrenia."3 1 Teen
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Beat and Tiger Beat are examples of magazines for young teens and preteens.
Seventeen (which still holds the largest circulation among girls) competed historically
with YM, Teen, and Sassy. Now Teen People, Jump, and Twist have been growing in
popularity. Teen People (spawned from the established People with CosmoGIRL form
Cosmopolitan, No.l and No. 5 respectively on Barnes & Nobles' list of top ten teen
magazine sales) prides itself on featuring girls of different races with different body
types and is not focused on unrealistic images of beauty and thinness. Yet, launched
in 1998, its success is based on a "celebrity" approach. Selling celebrity works
because teens are willing to try a new magazine with their favorite face on the cover.
While teens might be fascinated by celebrities, there is nothing more fascinating to a
teenage girl than herself, hence the success of magazines like Seventeen and YM. YM
claims to also offer articles that help girls explore their inner lives and is heavy on
music because it helps express emotions. CosmoGIRL, a YM competitor, also speaks
to the "inner" girl, with opportunities for teenagers to voice their opinions, share a
page of their diaries, and rant about pet peeves. Unlike Seventeen and YM, CosmoGirl
as well as Teen Vogue feature regular sections devoted to girls' health. Jump ("for
girls who dare to be real") is for active girls and claims that they do not treat girls like
boy-crazy, fashion-crazed teens. Sassy, which began circulation in the '80s, featured
frank subjects and a slangy style. It was the first magazine for young women to
express equal amounts of enthusiasm for feminism and fashion. Features
consistently include articles on feminism (e.g. in the May 1996 issue: "Feminism 2000:
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What Does It Really Mean to You?" about how young women today must define
feminism for themselves), girls in sports, job-hunting, and building self-esteem.3 2
After troubles with advertisers over its sexual directness, it was sold to the owners of
‘Teen in late 1996 to the protest of many of its readers because its format came to
resemble the more traditional mags. (It later that year folded into Teen.)
There is also Latingirl for Latinas and Honey for African Americans.3 3 Much of
the 1950s teen magazine formula- beauty, body, and boys- are still popular topics of
focus, but magazines are also taking a turn towards self-acceptance. Teen People even
involves teens in the magazine production. It uses 9000 teens nationwide as "trend-
spotters" and has a 35-member teen news team that files reports in the magazine and
on-line.
Demographics are behind the teen magazine explosion.3 * What's more, teens
read magazines at the computer, in front of the TV, while listening to music, at
school, and with their friends as a social exercise. It is private, social, and
"multimediated" all at the same time. The Internet plays a role also in that teen mags
all have Web sites and readers can join in live chats with beauty and fashion editors,
download music, view articles, see photos from the latest celebrity shoot, and e-mail
editors.
Girls are critical, however, of how images of girls in such media are not
realistic and lack representation of "normal" girls. Many claim that the feminine
images in magazines present an unrealistic appearance both in the styles of clothing
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and in the perfection of their faces, hair, and bodies in comparison with generally
"imperfect" girls. And some are also critical about the lack of ethnic diversity or
representation. A recent survey whose results were published in the June 1999 issues
of Social Psychology Quarterly demonstrated that girls regard media images of
females, especially those in ads or fashion pages, as unrealistic and dislike the image
for this reason. They even consider them harmful to themselves or to others and
advocate that media producers should alter their products to include more "real,"
ordinary, or "normal" girls. It is interesting to consider this interplay between girls'
resistance and critical faculty and the anxiety that is still created from such images of
the ideal. Girls realize the need for more realistic and "healthy" representations of
themselves, yet it is often difficult to not "buy into" such pretty and seductive
images. Girls can be and often are simultaneously critical of, yet vulnerable to the
system. Such contradictions emphasize the importance of media literacy among
young people and the need for youth to recognize the power of the media and while
recognizing its idealism and anxiety-ridden potential, to hone their critical skills.
The Problem Page
The problem page in magazines provides a traditional structure upon which
female talk shows are based. The sex-obsessed problem pages provide a unique
narrative about the woes of "woman." They are marked out clearly as arenas for the
exposure and solution of feminine concerns. Advice appears in the voice of a big
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sister or aunt- older and experienced, yet friendly and concerned. Many girls pore
over the problem pages together, reading out the sad accounts and ridiculing the
"agony aunt's" advice. This is evidence of the shared positive function of mass
media imagery. The common experience of reading and criticizing, of laughing and
grimacing at what we see on the problem page is a reassuring process letting us
know that someone else is suffering the things we are or making us feel good about
ourselves because we don't have that terrible problem. At the same time, many
women and girls also read these problems on their own and take them seriously.
Angela McRobbie has argued that teenage problem pages serve to "initiate
girls into a closed world of suffering.'"5 This world is closed because the problems
are individualized, encouraging the girl to focus w ithin herself rather than on the
wider social factors which might underlie her difficulties. Problem pages also make
suffering both normal and private and encourage girls to accept the difficulties they
continually face. They may initially seem emancipatory, but they cover a narrow
range of concerns- the body and sex as the center of female existence which are thus
positioned as inherently problematic. At the same time, McRobbie points out that
the advice column provides an open forum for an audience with little or no access to
conventional therapeutic venues. She claims that the question and answer pages of
teenzines play an important social role. Advice columns are also a distinctly
feminine form because it is not only women's lot to suffer personal unhappiness in a
particularly acute form, but also their duty to try to alleviate the unhappiness of
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other people.3 4 This has furthered teenzines' role as a regulative, controlling
mechanism which operates along the terrain of the provision of knowledge in a
culturally specific way which addresses women /girls. It has also been argued that
"agony" columns can be a source of reading pleasure by providing relief in
confirming that other people's problems are worse than the reader's own. Teens may
turn to advice pages to "check out" other people's problems. Problem pages provide
an opportunity for readers to leam about the social world through other people's
problems as a reference point for the reader to assess the normalcy of her own
experiences. As a point of reference, advice pages define behavior that is both
normal and socially acceptable.
Based on this, others (McCracken, 1993) argue that advice columns are a
potential source of anxiety and self-doubt. She claims that the authoritative tone
which underlies answers to problems induces guilt and thus acts as a corrective to
the otherwise pleasurable transgressions offered by fantasy elements in the text.
Hence, McCracken maintains that although fantasy elements of magazines offer
temporary release from the normative mechanisms of social control, advice columns
guarantee ideological closure: while pleasurable inducements to consumption
challenge or disrupt the boundaries of everyday life, advice to readers about their
practical problems corrects any potential transgression of prescriptive femininity by
encouraging readers to conform to established behavioral codes and standards.3 7
Advice pages construct the subjectivity of the reader by offering goals and values
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which orient the reader towards traditional pursuits of beauty and heterosexual
romance.
The Girl TV Talk Show: The Ricki Lake Show
The Ricki Lake Show directly addresses contemporary issues of girlhood and
youth in a nostalgically traditional form of a private-yet-public girls' group or forum
in the form of a talk show. The show calls attention to issues that are of current
interest to young women (usually related to sex, relationships, body image)
including issues that women should be aware of and understand (e.g. date rape,
drugs). Over the past year (1999- 2000), I have noticed the show's interest in
girls'/teen health issues such as diet, drug abuse, and cosmetic surgery, showing the
growing relevance and concern over such issues today. The show is structured
somewhat like magazines and even includes on-line polls through its Web site at
www.ricki.com.
I have been interested in the recent burgeoning of talk shows targeted at and
about "female" youth such as shows hosted by Ricki Lake (and, which aired only
briefly, by "entertainment expatriates" Camie Wilson from the vocal trio Wilson-
Phillips and Tempestt Bledsoe- Bill Cosby's second-to-youngest TV daughter.) In
this section, I will take a look at The Ricki Lake Show, as it is the original in the genre,
the longest lasting, and thus the most successful, and how it was constructed around
a nostalgia for "girl culture," and to speculate on reasons for its appeal. In recent
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years, the show has changed somewhat in topics and audience demographic to
include more sensationalism, men and boys. The show essentially constructs an
imaginary "girl community." As I mentioned in the last section, the teen magazine
was a medium with which girls were able to form a distinctive culture of their own,
especially with the popularity of the "problem page." The intimate world of the
magazine marks the culture of femininity and is a means through which girls create
their own spaces. I will show how Ricki does the same as young people are also
increasingly turning towards television for answers, allowing television programs to
guide their choices in relation to education, sexuality, careers, health, and personal
relationships, and to serve as an arbiter of values and identity.
Ricki Lake and the Girl Talk Show
Talk shows are increasingly popular among young women because they are
constructed around "girl culture," while also producing that culture. The female talk
show signifies the power to define and defend a domain of privacy and may be
considered another object of feminist desire and struggle.3 8 Ricki's formula for
success is novelty and nostalgia- one where observable aspects of contemporary girl
culture are presented on the foundation of the older traditions of representing
youthful femininity. The show nostalgically revives elements of the private domain
of intimacy, [while] making public the private space where "feelings count."3 9 She is
clearly the most successful and popular youth talk show host as can be seen by her
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audience size and enthusiasm. For her fans, the show is an integral part of a
common sphere of cultural reference, a television subculture, especially for young
women (and others) with peer-group involvement. Her more recent move towards
topics including motherhood (after becoming a mother herself) further strengthens
and creates a female community. And the move towards sensationalism (with a
greater number of topics including cheating/ lying to a lover/friend, gangs, illicit
behavior, etc. and the fights on stage that have become a staple in talk shows) has
made the show not just one that mirrors a form of social contact and cohesion, but
also pure entertainment.
Ricki Lake has a novel and nostalgic style that attracts predominantly young
viewers, and presumably older ones (especially now that she can relate as a mom).
Since youth culture consists of ephemeral tastes, fads and trends, the best way to
design a show corresponding to the details of teenage life is to form a nostalgic
atmosphere where teens are allowed to represent themselves. The producers may
attract the lucrative teenage girl audience by actively involving them to appeal to
young women’ s narcissistic and identificatory desires, reconceiving the young girl as
spectator and as protagonist. It is still an illusionary community because it is not
absolutely representative of "girls" in this country. Nevertheless, girls can count on
Ricki to cheer them up, to entertain them, or to solve their problems. The show's
conversational format allows Ricki the ability to establish a bond with her audience.
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Further nostalgic characteristics of the show include its stage which has a
hospitable and attractive appearance. It is inviting and appealing, providing a
relaxing and cozy atmosphere- a "talk space." It is set up like a communal living
room or girls' room with stained glass, pretty colors, pink carpet, plants, flowers,
window seat, pillows, bookshelves and books, trinkets, picture frames and jukebox
(music). It is designed to make us feel "at home"- a place to live in, talk, relax. And
it's not just the stage. The whole studio is part of this atmosphere, maximizing
feelings of a joyous private affair among friends. Ricki welcomes us to share in this
private public space with a mass invitation to this private affair. The atmosphere
further emphasizes the importance and pleasure of female bonding. It is nostalgic
for a girl culture that operates within private places- the vicinity of the home, or the
friend's home, reflecting the more private, intimate focus of the female social world.
As Angela McRobbie describes, ” a great deal of the new teenage consumer culture
[took place] within the confines of the girls’ bedrooms".* The set nostalgically
attempts to negotiate a different leisure or personal space, a private space that marks
social exclusiveness- the safe space of a cohesive female culture based on all-female
friendship groups. Even the programming time- weekdays at 5 PM on KCOP (Ch.13)
(after w ork/ school), allows for both solo or group viewing in an "after school
gathering."
As hostess, Ricki is the role model for her community with her "perfect" hair
style, make-up, and fashionable clothes. She is careful to not be glamorous. Instead,
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she is more like the attractive "girl-next-door"- just enough for girls to pay attention
to her image and their own. She possesses a warm, enthusiastic, gregarious manner
of speaking, uses "hip" vocabulary, is young, cute, yet mature and intelligent. And
though she guides the discussion in a big-sisterly way, she is most like a friend who
may disapprove but never scolds and also self-discloses and positions herself with
the audience. As hostess, she m ust make people feel comfortable— her personality
and style play important roles in prompting intimate disclosure. She is deprived of
spatial authority as she runs place to place with her microphone in hand to give voice
to a position expressed by members of the audience.
The address and the enunciation of the show are presumably to females with
issues linked to females and the family, including deviances from and threats to this
norm. Ricki's role is one of intermediary, counselor, instigator— she serves to guide
the direction of the discussion as the guests tell their stories. She is a hybrid of MC,
good conversationalist, informed citizen, emotional surrogate, therapist, and final
authority. She is a superb listener, letting others be heard and allowing new
information to sway her. She greets all positions with the same decorum or value.
After staging and provoking dissent and difference, in the end, Ricki comes to a
benign understanding of all opinions, thereby endorsing humanity in all its foibles—
something everyone in the community should do. She is role model whose conduct
and actions an adolescent would respect and admire.
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Ricki and Girls' Problems
Surveys of teen habits show how adolescents may actually prefer listening to
the radio or to read specialist magazines over watching TV. Ricki's topics are
nostalgically set up like a magazine's "problem page" which addresses issues that are
important to girls and can bring them together as a community to argue or agree.
When girls are left without any real support or advice, they fall back on each other
and their "teen" magazines. Teens prefer media tailored to their specific interests.
The problem page is a public form which invites readers to seek help by promising
confidentiality and advice. It works on the assumption that many people experience
the same kinds of problems and will benefit from realizing they are not alone/' The
problem page itself depends on the dialogue of the readers for its impact. They are
invited to participate in a personal correspondence. Unlike the problem page, talk
shows take the personal problem and involve discussion between a group. For
"private" viewers at home, it sheds light on topics that girls may be afraid of or
embarrassed to discuss directly with friends and family (people they know). But
they have full access to Ricki on TV and may join this world and perhaps discover
some sort of enlightenment within the hour.
The problem page is a primarily feminine form. Traditionally, it is not only
women's lot to suffer personal unhappiness in a particularly acute form, it is also
their duty to try to alleviate the unhappiness of others. Caring and nurturing and
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attending to the "affects" are still women's work (which Ricki takes pride in serving).
As a result, women are more likely than men to seek help and to acknowledge
problems in their personal life— thus the popularity of the problem page in girls'
magazines and the form that Ricki adopts. The problem page serves a crucial
function for many who do not have access to the world of counselors or sex-
educationists, and who possibly don't have the kind of parents who are able to talk
openly to their daughters about the changes taking place in their bodies or about the
world of adolescent sexual encounters. It serves as an open forum (upon which talk
shows are based) for a section of the population for whom there is not a huge array
of therapeutic facilities available. The sharing allows other members of the
community to learn what to expect, how to feel, and how to make sense of his or her
own similar dilemmas. The show depends on problems and the generation of more
(collective) problems. Having the on-stage problems surrounded by and audience
composed of those familiar with or suffering from the problem suggests that the
dilemma is more widespread, of greater import, than initially imagined.
Traditionally, the topics that form this informal feminine sphere are
organized around the personal themes of identity (revising prior negative self-
images, discovering new abilities, or reaffirming a sense of worth), autonomy (the
achievement of mature, interdependent relationships), achievement (acceptance,
belonging), and intimacy (confusion in distinctions among love, intimacy, and
sexuality) - a sphere of prime importance to the teenage girl- romance, pop, fashion,
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beauty, and boys/2 It is here where we can find the strongest definitions of teenage
femininity. We have not deviated from these basic areas, but the categories have
expanded to include careers, health, family problems, homophobia, disclosures of
sexual abuse and incest among the myriad other "creative" ones that Ricki comes up
with. The topics are a cross-breed of gossip, group therapy (public testimonial), and
self-help. They often concern taboo or embarrassing areas of personal life. They
range from the aberrant made normal to the everyday made extraordinary.
The show is built around a topic (this is what attracts the community to
gather), and the topic becomes the headline of the show. The guests chosen to
represent these topics also strengthen the community by possessing similar
backgrounds or coming from a cultural and age group similar to the viewers.
Viewers want stories of young people who manage to survive in their peer groups
without losing their individuality. Young people want to see other young people
solving life-coping problems and opening new avenues of possibility emphasizing
the power of peers to influence personality development and to reshape negative
self-concepts.
One of the most popular and traditional topics of this community is style-
fashion and beauty (fashion makeovers). What does it mean to construct a "style" for
girls? It is not necessarily a style, but a standard for femininity, prescribed
expectations of gender, sociological imperatives to be a girl and the psychic ordering
which the girl needs in order to feel that she is a girl/3 It is very much based on
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vanity and what it means to be beautiful. Self-improvement and beautification have
been stereotyped as ideal hobbies for girls- the care, protection, improvement, and
embellishment of the body with the use of clothing and cosmetics. They aim for the
ability to look fixed and natural; the goal is for good health and good looks. The
beauty industry is itself predicated upon women's uncertainty about measuring up to
beauty standards; the market for beauty products helps anchor femininity while
unsettling and undermining it. Fashion depends on its consumers wanting to be up-
to-date and is predicated upon change and modernity. Females are notorious for
being subject to the seduction of buying- symbolic of self-love and self-gratification.
For those considered subversive to this standard and who claim to have their own
style Dick Hebdige describes a desire for "narcissistic differentiation" by which the
creation of self and a public identity is made manifest through the display of a
personal style. Under the category of looks and beauty comes the issues of
confidence vs. conceit, of self-esteem, self-image, self-concept. Topics may often be
hybrids as one example combines beauty and sibling rivalry in a show titled:
"Sister...You May Have Got All the Looks, but You Don't Have to be Such a Bitch
about It".
On the issue of sexuality, many talk shows today focus on transvestitism,
homosexuality and trans-sexuality. While Ricki's shows occasionally include these
issues, hers are still predominantly traditionally heterosexual, focusing on "love on
the rocks," precocious/promiscuousness- one night stands, teen pregnancy (e.g.
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"Promiscuous and Pregnant"). The focus on a sexual discourse appropriate to
adolescence requires teenage girls to describe their anxieties, fears, and sexual
insecurities so that they can participate in the discursive apparatus.
Relationships of all sorts constitute another traditional topic and are
discussed on shows involving boyfriends/husbands (abusive girlfriends), siblings,
parents, and gender and generational politics (attaining independence from,
rebelling against, or re-negotiating relationships with parents which is a major source
of strife as children vacillate between irresponsible childishness and unexpectedly
mature behavior expressed in challenging and abrasive interpersonal styles,
arguments, the adversary stance, and allegiance to peer group). Once again, we may
see hybridization in topics as one combines parental and sexual issues in "Mom, You
May Beg, Cry, Scream, but I Won't Stop Having One-Night Stands".
Confessional strategies are a trademark of much of the fiction centered
around young women. This whole discourse of confessions, diaries, and Ricki's
direct address to share her feelings with her guests and audience or shall we say,
viewer-confidants, represent the internal contradictions of teen femininity. The
topics and Ricki together help validate the female experience along with their
emotions.
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The Internet
For the first time, more women are on-line than men. In 1996, users consisted
of 62% men and 38% women. In 2000, we now have 49.6% men, 50.4% women.*1
Furthermore, the biggest jump comes from teen girls. Since 1999, the number of teen
girls on-line has more than doubled to 4.4 million. The increase from 1999 to 2000 for
women overall- 35%; for women 55 and up- 109%; for teenage girls- 126%/5 More
and more sites dedicated to teens ("teen entertainment networks") and girls are
popping up. Also, the World Wide Web is constantly expanding- offering more in
terms of news, information, services, consumer needs, and entertainment (games,
music, and movies). Which means there are more compelling reasons for them to log
on. Girls chat on sites like teen.com and cosmogirl.com. Alloy.com is a top teen site
with a 60% female audience that offers horoscopes and advice and message boards.
Chat rooms allow girls to discuss issues and problems openly and anonymously with
peers as well as adult counselors (such as "Scott", a mental health advisor on
dr.drew.com). Message boards allow girls to seek and give advice to their peers in a
comfortable, friendly, anonymous environment. It is empowering in the sense that
girls themselves have a voice by participating in advising and being able to help
others with their problems (interactive "problem page").
And when it comes to those sensitive health topics that teens aren't
comfortable discussing with their parents or sometimes even their peers, the Internet
can be invaluable. For example, ZapHealth (zaphealth.com) is a hip, friendly site
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targeted at older teens- a place to get answers "when you can't ask mom." The home
page even sends users information on how to safely and responsibly surf the Internet
for health information. The site provides candid and useful information on very
personal subjects: sexual orientation, losing your virginity, body odor, jock itch, and
visiting a gynecologist, for example. The advice is delivered in a friendly and helpful
voice, refreshingly void of condescending overtones. Questions may be sent directly
to ask@zaphealth.com. Site operators promise to respond within 48 hours. The site
even directs you to other resources in the community (school health clinic, guidance
office, local hospital). Linking kids directly to local resources can ensure that they get
the help they need.
Exemplar on the Internet: dr.Drew.com
The Internet is a powerful tool to reach and positively influence our
nation's most valuable asset- our youth...We have the content, financial
resources, and management talent to accelerate the growth of the best-
known youth on-line community.
-Curtis Giesen, CEO of dr. Dreio.com
Launched in October 1999, comprehensive and interactive health and lifestyle
web site dr.drew.com was co-founded by Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of the popular radio
and MTV program Loveline and his childhood friend, Curtis Giesen (founder of
happypuppy.com). Dr. Drew, a practicing internist and addictionologist, is dedicated
to assisting young people realize their potential through straight and honest
discussion of important issues. He is renowned for his relatively nonjudgmental
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attitude and frank discussion of sex, drugs, and other teen topics. Dr. Drew believes
the Internet is a powerful tool to reach and promote honest, safe, enjoyable talk
among 14-24 year olds who are interested in relationships, sex, entertainment, and
health. He recognizes that health issues for young people set the stage for a lifetime.
Dr. Drew explains, "The youth of America are in a health "crisis"- with incredible
incidences of teen pregnancy, STDs and HIV, abusive relationships, addictive
behavior, and the always difficult lack of communication between parents and their
children." dr.Drew.com is a place where kids can come to meet each other, start and
build strong healthy relationships and lives. It is a content-rich community that
draws teens and young adults seeking reassurance that they are "normal" through
discussions with Dr. Drew and with each other in a variety of "forums" (see below).
The site serves as a trusted comforting, reassuring, and engaging home away from
home for today's Internet generation. Dr. Drew strives to communicate w ith teens
on their terms, to meet them on their "turf." He points out, "...the strongest
modalities for delivering information to young people [isj through music, humor,
and peers."
The site's mission is simple but powerful- to provide a hard-to-reach audience
with a venue to explore a wide range of physical, mental, and emotional health topics
in a trusted, compassionate, and fun destination on the Web. The site has: original
features (health articles feature a wide range of topics- from depression and
relationships to disease and eating disorders); Dr. Drew's office which includes a
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comprehensive range of health resources including the NIH, support help-lines, and
information on volunteering in the local community; user polls, reviews of popular
media and events; profiles, interviews, chats, and Web casts4 6 with cutting-edge
celebrities; chats among users and with Dr. Drew, as well as forums, home pages,
instant messaging, and buddy lists. It combines fresh and provocative content with a
lively community which encourages users to share their experiences w ith their peer
group.
Dr. Drew has always been there for teens and young adults on the radio and
TV. As more and more young adults live on the Web, dr.drew.com is a natural way
for him to reach them with the information they need. With dr.Drew.com, they have
access to Dr. Drew any time and get every they need to have great relationships and
fun, healthy lives. The inclusion of music and TV celebrities who share personal
stories, address issues, and provide further insight and understanding is particularly
important in getting messages across to this age group- these are the voices of their
"idols" and role models, people they respect and admire, people who are important
and influential in their world. A variety of celebrities chat on-line and serves as
"peer counselors" Monday and Wednesday nights. Recent guests have included
Freaks and Geeks star Busy Phillips, comedian Andy Dick, Carmen Electra, ex-Motley
Crue drummer Tommy Lee, rappers Warren G and B-Real, and rock bands Blink 182
and Rage Against the Machine. Dr. Drew himself has become a celebrity to the teen
population for his ubiquitous presence in their favorite media. A dr.Dreio.com
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102
investor describes, "Each generation has its icons and Dr. Drew is an entertainment
and medical icon of the Internet generation....We leaped at the chance to work with
him because he has huge credibility with a much sought after and difficult-to-reach
demographic market." Dr. Drew's multimedia ties also ensure cross exposure of
dr.Drew.com via TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, and speaking appearances
nationwide. The Loveline radio show has been on the air 17 years, syndicated five
nights a week [Sun-Thurs] in over 60 cities to over 2 million listeners. Loveline on
MTV has survived four seasons as the top-rated show in the late-night [10 PM - 12
am PST] slot, but may be taken off the air this season. Loveline has gained an
enormous following of dedicated listeners who tune in either out of a voyeuristic
interest in hearing others ask questions about all the things no one is supposed to
talk about, or out of a desire to hear the answers.
Though its focus is primarily on sex and relationships, one of the more recent
additions to the site is an interactive Diet & Fitness Journal to help young people
achieve their fitness goals by keeping track of their weight, creating and exercise
routine, and calculating how much is eaten. Other resources in this new
"community" include health tips and in depth articles on a wide variety of health
topics, a Q & A section where Dr. Drew answers the most frequently asked
questions, recommended articles from outside sources, and links to chat rooms and
message boards where one can give and get support from peers. In a sense, the site
serves as a nationwide emotional support system. It attracts about 150,000 visitors
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each month. Not only does it provide links and toll-free numbers for just about
every support group a young person in trouble might need, including Overeaters
Anonymous, the National Depression Screening Project, and the American Suicide
Survival Line, but its HealthBriefs section has articles addressing a wide range of
subjects from surviving sexual abuse to interracial dating.
Product promotions (seen in sites such as tampax.com and Pimple Portal) and
minor glitches aside, these sites are helping meet the information needs of a growing,
inquisitive teenage population. Parents still need to talk and listen to their kids. But
the Internet can, at the very least, supplement that interaction and may be a starting
point for conversation.
Advertising
Advertising is an over $130 billion dollar a year industry and affects all of us
throughout our lives. We are each exposed to over 1500 ads a day, constituting
perhaps the most powerful educational force in society and having a serious
cumulative impact. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable because they are new
and inexperienced consumers and are the prime targets of many ads. They are also
in the process of learning their values and roles and developing their self-concepts.
Mass communication has made possible a kind of nationally distributed peer
pressure that erodes private and individual values and standards. But, the power of
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ads should also be harnessed to send out healthy, esteem-building, power-enhandng
messages to girls and people in general.
Women and girls leam from the media to overvalue looks. Television,
movies, and magazines repeatedly tell girl that in order to "succeed," one m ust
conform to a particular ideal. Though a healthy woman of normal weight has 22 to
25% body fat, the media presents actresses and models who have as little as 10%
body fat. The next message is that no m atter who you are, you cannot achieve this
ideal. Women's magazines constantly feature actresses and models complaining
about their flaws- Cindy Crawford worries about her thighs and Christie Brinkley
feels that she has "chipmunk cheeks." Olympic swimmer Janet Evans told Vogue that
she does not wear tank tops because she does not want to look like a weight lifter.
Not surprisingly, the AAUW (1991) found that a mere 12% of White high school girls
and 11% of Hispanic girls liked the way they looked; African-American girls were
generally more satisfied with their appearance. Creating self-disgust is crucial to
corporate America. An insecure person makes a much better consumer than a secure
person. And because American capitalism is based on an ever expanding economy,
creating insecurity is big business.
Young women are important targets for advertisers and for weakened self
esteem. The current emphasis on thinness for women is one of the clearest examples
of advertising's power to influence cultural standards and consequent individual
behavior. Body types, like clothing styles, go in and out of fashion, and are
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promoted by advertising (and by the w omen's magazines, whose editorial content is
in many ways indistinguishable from advertising.) Images in the mass media
constantly reinforce the ideal and the media indoctrinate us in these ideals. There are
ten times as many ads promoting dieting in magazines read by young females
compared to those read by young males. And since virtually every woman depicted
both in editorial and ad copy is thin, the entire magazine product serves as a
statement of a severe and unnatural norm. Even products with no apparent
connection to body size are advertised by appealing to girls' concern with weight.
For example, a Pantene Shampoo ad in a 1997 Teen magazine features the phrase,
"lose the weight, lose the frizzies."
Advertisers are increasingly targeting younger and younger girls. Girls’ Life,
a magazine targeted at elementary school girls, features fashion spreads with girls
with make-up and surrounded by products. Ads in Teen and YM magazines offer a
series of disturbing messages. Girls learn that important personal qualities and
school/career success are available through consuming products. Girls' legitimate
need for self-esteem and for economic and academic success is exploited through the
advertising of beauty products. An ad for Clearasil in the August 1997 issues of Teen
and YM magazines says, "Clearly I am confident. When your skin looks its best, you
get off to a good start." In this case, the good start appears to refer to a relationship
with a boy, as the girl pictured is rubbing her nose into a boy's face. Girls are told
they can "make their mark," an expression usually referring to having an influence in
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106
academics or a career, by purchasing liquid metallic nail polish. A Coty lipstick ad
offers a "stroke of genius." Makeup and academic success are similarly conflated in
Teen editorial copy describing "beauty loot that makes the grade." Girls are urged to
be "first in your class" by buying a hat and are encouraged to "rule your school with
this look via L'Oreal Highlights Softsheen Highlighting Powder." In the September
1996 Teen, an ad urging girls to send $5.95 for a set of product samples tells them if
they do, they will be a "gold star student." With these products, girls are told they
can be confident, successful, genius.
Ads also give girls inappropriate messages about relationships. A Maybelline
ad for mascara says, "even your hair will be jealous" alluding to competition among
women. Girls need to have positive relationships with other girls, and yet, products
are sold by encouraging girls to see themselves as winning a competition with their
peers. Popular culture offers young girls the message that beauty is a commodity
that women fight over in order to gain power. This message is present not just in
print media but is also available to young girls who cannot read, in films such as
Disney movies. These portray similar competition among women. For example,
Cinderella is at odds with her stepmother and stepsisters. In Peter Pan, both
Tinkerbell and the mermaids try to murder Wendy because she is their chief rival for
Peter. In Snow White, the evil queen tries to murder the more beautiful Snow White.
Advertising may even corrupt relationships (which are central to girls' lives
and health) by offering products as substitutes for intimate human connection. As
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we already know, advertising often turns people into objects. Women's and men's
bodies are dismembered, packaged, and used to sell things. And there are terrible
consequences when people become things. Self-image is affected and the self-esteem
of girls plummets as they reach adolescence and cannot escape the message that their
bodies are (imperfect) objects. (Furthermore, boys learn that masculinity requires a
kind of ruthlessness, even brutality. Violence becomes inevitable.) Advertising
encourages us not only to objectify each other but also to feel that our most
significant relationships are with the products we buy. Jean Kilboume describes, "It
turns lovers into things and things into lovers and encourages us to feel passion for
our products rather than our partners...Advertising reinforces these beliefs, so we are
twice seduced- by the ads and by the substances themselves."4 '
Females are also portrayed as having access to power primarily through men,
who are stronger. A popular Secret anti-perspirant ad says, "strong enough for those
who lift by day (shows a shirtless man carrying a log), but made for those feeling
swept away by night (shows a girl in a pink gown carried by a boy)." The messages
of such media can confound the attempts of girls to form supportive relationships
with friends and equitable relationships with boys based on mutual respect.
In the world of advertising, not only are young women valued only for their
sexuality, we see a culture arrested in adolescence, surrounded by teenage fantasies
of sex and romance, a culture that idealizes the very things that make real intimacy
impossible- impulsive gratification, narcissism, distance and disconnection,
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romanticism, and eternal youth. Sex in advertising is about a constant state of desire
and arousal- never about intimacy, or fidelity or commitment. This not only makes
intimacy impossible, it erodes real desire. Although the sexual sell, overt and
subliminal, is at fever pitch in most advertising, depictions of sex as an important
and profound human activity are absent. The notion that sexiness and sex appeal
come from without rather than within is one of advertising's most damaging
messages. Real sexiness has to do with a passion for life, individuality, uniqueness,
vitality. It doesn't have to do with products. We live in a culture that is sex-crazed
and sex-saturated, but strangely neurotic/8
The Media Texts
The media that I will be looking at are the ones that girls are most exposed to,
voluntarily and involuntarily, on a daily basis; and texts that are targeted to girl
viewership and readership. These media include visual, aural, interactive, and print
and will be discussed in further depth in Part II: television shows, teen magazines,
girls' fiction, radio shows, Web sites, commercials and ads in the above media, and
educational films and self-help books for girls and teens. Even though I will be
looking at general trends of representation in these media, specific texts that will be
examined in the context of girls' health issues include the following, divided
according to media:
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Television shows: Felicity (WB), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (WB), Charmed (WB), Clueless
(UPN), Popular (WB), Dawson's Creek (WB), Beverly Hills, 90210 (FOX), The Ricki Lake
Shoio (UPN, talk show), Loveline (MTV, talk show), Secret Cutting (USA special)
Teen magazines: Seventeen, YM, CosmoGirl, Teen Vogue, Honey, Latingirl
Girls" fiction: Are You There God, It’ s Me Margaret?, Forever, Deenie (Judy Blume)
Self-help books for girls: real girl, real world (Heather Gray/Samantha Phillips), M y
Body, M y Self for Girls and What's Happening to M y Body (Lynda and Area Madaras),
The Period Book (Karen and Jennifer Gravelle)
Educational films/videos: Some Things Are Special: The First Pelvic Exam (c/o
Children's Hospital of Los Angeles Division of Adolescent Medicine); Always
Changing (An Always Changing Program Video on Puberty & Development, 1992);
Always Changing, Always Growing (Procter & Gamble, 1997); Kids to Kids (Talking about
Puberty) (Tampax, 1995) and a dozen or so films from the USC Moving Images
Archives
Radio: Loveline (KROQ)
Web sites: Dr. Drew.com, femina.cybergrrl.com, teenwire.com, teenline.com,
girlsite.com, bodywise.com, ZapHealth, Tampax.com, Pimple Portal, ricki.com,
sxetc.org
Commercials/ Ads: beauty, cosmetic, hygiene, gynecological products; health
messages regarding smoking, drugs, pregnancy, milk ads with prominent media
figures as role models
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I have selected these particular texts as they address, both directly an d /o r
indirectly, health issues which I believe are most important to girls today and are
currently at the forefront of discussion and debate. I have chosen them also because
demographics show that these texts are widely popular among the age group of
"girls" I am interested in and are representative of "girl culture."
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I ll
Endnotes for C hapter 2
1 It is of great interest to me, yet not within the scope of this project, to explore the varying
experiences of girlhood and growing up and their impact on girls' health from an international
perspective. Obviously, girl culture, girlhood, and female adolescence here in the US, which
themselves are characterized by a diverse spectrum of racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, religious
variability, are very different from those of girls in Czechoslovakia or from those of girls in
China or India or Egypt!
2 Within stratified, heterogeneous societies, the experience of adolescence also differs among
subgroups of youth. Economic and social resources, as well as access to valued adult roles,
may differ for youth from distinct racial-ethnic groups, social classes, and geographic regions.
These factors may alter considerably the normative template of adolescent development, with
important implications for adolescents' current health and future life course.
3 Cultures structure the adolescent experience in part by ascribing social significance to
particular developmental cues such as menarche, physical size, or acquired skills. In a sense,
cultures co-opt developmental cues, imbue them with social significance, and in this way
create social milestones around which young people's activities and expectations are
organized. These milestones serve as landmarks along the path to adulthood, defining the
normative course of adolescent development. They become developmental goals to be
attained and celebrated. (Crockett, Lisa, "Cultural, Historical, and Subcultural Contexts of
Adolescence: Implications for Health and Development" from Schulenberg et al. 24)
4 Chassin, Laurie, "Foreword" from Schulenberg et al. xiii.
5 Schulenberg et al. 6-7.
6 Features of peer relations may moderate the influence of other agents or institutions, such as
the family, the media, or schools; these agents and institutions may in turn moderate the
effects of peers. Citing substantial correlation between adolescents and their close friends in
delinquent activities, illicit drug use (tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, etc.), and sexual attitudes
and behavior, many investigators argue that friendships are a primary source of health-
compromising behavior among adolescents. (Brown, B. Bradford, M. Margaret Dolcini & Amy
Leventhal, "Transformations in Peer Relationships at Adolescence: Implications for Health-
Related Behavior" from Schulenberg et al. 164)
7 The problems of contemporary American children and youth were not produced by a single
event or from a single cause. Neither poor parenting, poverty, inappropriate media
influences, inadequate health care, problems of the local, state, and federal economies, a failed
educational system, racism, nor inadequate state and federal policies alone produced the
problems faced by America's children. All these phenomena are part of the developmental
system within which America's children are embedded and it is this system that has produced
many problems of our nation's youth. (Lemer, Richard M., Charles W. Ostrom & Melissa A.
Freel, "Preventing Health-Compromising Behaviors Among Youth and Promoting Their
Positive Development: A Developmental Contextual Perspective" from Schulenberg et al. 506)
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112
8 In general, the key principles for the design of successful prevention programs should be the
realization that there is no one solution to a problem of childhood or adolescence, that high-
risk behaviors are interrelated, and that the timing of interventions is critical, integration of
services is required (think holistically and contextually), interventions should be aimed at
changing the developmental system in which people are embedded rather than at changing
individuals, and that evaluation and continuity of care must be maintained across
development. (Ibid. 508)
9 Chassin xv.
1 0 Crockett 32.
1 1 Maggs, Jennifer, John Schulenberg & Klaus Hurrelman, "Developmental Transitions During
Adolescence: Health Promotion Implications" from Schulenberg et al. 522.
1 2 Ibid. 523.
1 3 This often results in a decreased articulation of young people with the traditional rituals and
institutions of the culture.
1 4 It is interesting to begin by briefly noting the critiques against an increasingly technological
and mass-mediated society in the 1950's and '60s. In The Lonely Crcnvd (1950), David Riesman
argues that an "other-directed" character was becoming increasingly dominant in modem,
metropolitan America. This personality type is characterized by the way in which "their
contemporaries are the source of direction for the individual- either those known to him or
those with whom he is indirectly acquainted, through friends and through the mass media."
(22) He argued that the resulting loss of inner confidence in the face of massive changes
occurring in the technological orientation of society, as well as its system of values, left youth
vulnerable and confused.
1 5 For a long time, the family and community have been held responsible for providing young
people with a coherent sense of self and a meaningful set of values. The family, however, is
under increasing scrutiny as an effective agency for the transmission of "family values." The
family's diminished effectiveness in transmitting values is theorized to be the result of
decreases in the amount of "quality time" parents are able to spend with their children,
accompanied by the increasing strength that forces outside of the family have in socializing
children. Furthermore, few families are able to control the information environment of their
children. Though some parents may limit or even prevent kids from watching television,
reading certain publications, and listening to certain music, modem culture is so inundated
with media messages that they will still be affected.
1 6 Pipher, Mary Bray, Reviving Ophelia (Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls), New York:
Putnam, 1994,82.
1 7 The Media Project
1 8 Greenfield, Patricia M., Mind and Media: The Effects of Television. Video Games, and
Computers. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1984,39.
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1 9 Percent of home with more than one TV set in 1970:35%; Percent of homes with more than
one TV set in 1999:88% (Kaiser Family Foundation) Other statistics: The television is on about
7 hours per day in the average home; About one third of American's free time is spent
watching television; Most children spend more time with TV than they do in school. (Brown 4)
2 0 Spigel, Lynn "The Suburban Home Companion: Television and the Neighborhood Ideal in
Post-War America" from Brunsdon, Charlotte, Julie D'Acci & Lynn Spigel, (eds.). The
Feminist Television Reader. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997,215.
2 1 Ibid.
2 2 Ibid. 217.
2 3 Strasburger, Victor C., Adolescents and the Media (Medical and Psychological Impact),
Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1995,95.
2 4 Douglas, Susan, Where the Girls Are (Growing Up Female with Mass Media), New York:
Random House, 1994,8-9.
2 5 Scanlon, Jennifer, "Boys-R-Us" from Inness, Sherrie (ed.). Delinquents and Debutantes
(Twentieth-Century American Girls' Cultures), New York: New York University Press, 1998,
188.
2 6 Adolescent females may be selling themselves short based on what they see on TV. A 1988
report that examined more than 200 episodes of programs containing adolescent characters
found that teenage girls' looks are portrayed as more important than their brains, that
intelligent girls are sometimes depicted as social misfits, that teenage girls are generally more
passive than their male counterparts on TV, that TV frequently portrays teenage girls as being
obsessed with shopping, grooming, and dating and incapable of having serious conversations
about academic interests or career goals, and that 94% of teenage girls on TV are middle class
or wealthy. Recent youth shows on television stress "girl power" and heroines consist of girls
who are strong, beautiful, and smart. On the one hand, they show girls that they can be
talented and save the world, yet they are also "fantastic" and may not be realistic role models.
^conducted by Children Now and the Kaiser Family Foundation (1997)
2 8 Children N ow / Kaiser Family Foundation '97
2 9 See Currie, 1997
3 0 See Schrum, Kelly, "'Teena Means Business'" in Inness 1998. McRobbie identifies the codes
of "teenzine" discourse which act as the discursive mechanisms (visual and narrative) through
which the meaning of adolescent femininity is constructed. She identifies four codes in
popular adolescent magazines of the 1970s: romance, personal an d /o r domestic life, fashion
and beauty, and pop music. During the 1980s, the romance code was being displaced by a
new realism highlighting the problems and difficulties of heterosexual relationships. Pop
music, fashion, and beauty remain important. McRobbie concludes that contemporary
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114
teenzines concentrate on their readers as potentially sophisticated and discerning young
consumers.
3 1 Douglas 100.
3 2 The May 1996 issues also featured a "summer gig" guide which offered info and tips from
film and music biz internships to planet-saving employment and an article on peer pressure
("The Urge to Belong Vs. The Urge to Be Strong") and being oneself while still "hanging" with
the crowd.
3 3 A study by Melissa Milkie (1999) shows that many black girls largely regard mainstream
girls' magazines as something they do not want to or should not orient themselves toward
because they view the magazines as for and about white girls. Lakoff and Scherr (1984)
suggest that ethnic minority women, although evaluated by whites as inferior in relation to a
model of white beauty which is impossible for them to achieve, currently may consider a
wider range of looks as beautiful or normal within their subculture. For example, although
black women's magazines advertise hair straighteners (for a more mainstream model of
beauty), they also show a wide variety of African facial features when demonstrating hair
styles, as well as a range of body types, with information about how to "get bigger" as well as
smaller. The "black" media promotes a more inclusive beauty ideal. Essence, for example,
received a media award for its more realistic portrayal of females, including its depiction of a
wider variety of body shapes.
^Nearly one in ten Americans, 23 million, is a teenager, growing 7% in the past five years.
Expected to grow by 1.7 million over the next 10 years, the group will be the only age group to
experience a boom. Teenagers spent $98 billion of their own money and their parents' money
in 1999. (Teen Research, Unlimited)
3 5 McRobbie, Angela, Feminism and Youth Culture. Boston: Unwin Hyman, 1991,160.
” Ibid. 158.
3 7 Currie 164.
3 8 Robbins, Bruce (ed.). The Phantom Public Sphere. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press, 1993, xvi.
3 9 Munson, Wayne, All Talk (The Talk Show in Media Culture), Philadelphia: Temple
University Press, 1993,153.
* McRobbie 1991,6.
« Ibid 155.
« Ibid. 51.
« Ibid. 177.
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**Time, August 21,2000
4 5 Ibid.
4 6 A live venue where the audience can call in or chat with Dr. Drew and a guest about sex,
health, and relationships via a streaming audio and video broadcast from a studio. The
dr.Dreio.com show features a street-level, glass-front studio allowing passersby to watch the
show being filmed.
4 7 Kilboume, Jean, Deadly Persuasion (Why Women and Girls Must Fight the Addictive Power
of Advertising), New York: The Free Press, 1999, 27.
4 8 Ibid. 263.
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116
Part II: Girls' Health
Even though I have divided the following chapters into separate girls' health
issues, it is important to recognize that there is an interfacing among all problems of
youth, such as depression, substance abuse, health problems such as AIDS, and other
sexually transmitted diseases, learning disabilities, street violence, and pregnancy, as
well as dating violence. I have divided "girls' health" into the following categories:
sexual health, body im age/beauty (including eating disorders and self-mutilation),
and addiction behaviors (specifically drug and alcohol abuse). As I will argue, the
primary concern for young people regarding these issues and often as a source of
issues is an overriding concern with normalcy. This "normalcy," as I will show, is
governed largely by media images (especially on television and in advertising as well
as the growing popularity of younger pop stars and pornography) and peer
approval. Young people use media images as the "standard" by which they rate
themselves and aspire to be. This can be as damaging to them as it can be healthy
and inspiring. I will look at this dualism and such "mediated" strictures of
"normalcy" for girls.
Chapter 3: Sexual Health Issues
Public attitudes about sex changed in the 20th century US, becoming more
permissive, even glamorized by the media. And in the absence of widespread,
effective sex education at home or in schools, television and other media have
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become the leading source of sex education in the US today. This is disheartening
considering that on television each year, American children and teens view nearly
14,000 sexual references, innuendoes, and behaviors, few of which involve the use of
birth control, self-control, abstinence, or responsibility.1 Teens are growing up in an
extraordinarily complex and difficult world, facing a range of pressures to smoke
cigarettes, drink, experiment with drugs, get involved in gangs, and have sex. A
joint 1998 Kaiser Family Foundation /YM survey found that teens today, even those
as young as 13 and 14 years old, struggle with complex sexual situations involving
pressure, drinking and drug use, or relationships that are moving too fast which they
are often not prepared to handle. More than a third of all teens say they have done
something sexual or felt pressure to do something sexual that they did not feel they
were ready to do. Moreover, teenage girls are more likely to have these experiences
than boys.
The increase in adolescent sexual activity in the US has been accompanied by
an increased incidence of sexually transmitted diseases. It is estimated that one in
four sexually active adolescents will contract an STD before they graduate from high
school.2 In addition, HIV has become a serious threat- one in four Americans newly
infected with HTV is under 22 years old. The increased prevalence of adolescent
sexual activity is also reflected in pregnancy rates. An estimated 1 million teenage
girls in the US become pregnant each year, premaritally, and about half a million
give birth. In this chapter, I will consider girls' and sexuality in more depth, looking
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at media portrayals of menarche and menstruation, teen sex and promiscuity, safe
sex and STDs, teen pregnancy and birth control, and abortion and rape.
Adolescent Sexuality and Sex in the Media: Selling Fantasy
Messages are constantly conveyed to young people through the mass media.
It has long been recognized that the media help shape the attitude of the public,
particularly young people, on a myriad of topics. They serve as windows on
mainstream cultural norms, values, and mores. The media play a major role in
educating Americans about sexuality, gender roles, and sexual behaviors and should
be considered an intrinsic part of the sexual development of Americans. Although
they are not the only source of sexual information available to Americans, the mass
media is a compelling one...and they often create a climate which encourages a very
cavalier attitude toward sex. Mass media channels are already numerous and
expanding rapidly, thanks to cable, satellite, the Internet, laser, and CD-ROM
technologies. Television, movies3 , music (lyrics) and music videos, and magazines
capitalize on topics considered taboo in other social situations, thus making sexual
media fare more attractive, especially for younger consumers. Although a majority
of teens rank parents and friends as their most important sex educators, almost one
in five say they have learned the most about sex from entertainment.3 And the
ubiquitous, consistent, and increasingly explicit depictions of frequent and
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consequence-free sexual behavior in all forms of mass media do affect Americans'
sexual beliefs and behaviors.
Popular music has been almost synonymous with sex. Especially appealing
to youth, popular music and now music videos contain frequent references to
relationships, romance, and sexual behavior- much of w hat young people are most
interested in as they construct a sense of who they are and what they value. Music
videos, now available on at least five major cable networks, may be especially
influential sources of sexual information for adolescents because they combine
visuals of adolescents' favorite musicians with music. Many of the visual elements
are sexual. Adolescent girls, in particular, use music lyrics to come to terms with
their own sexuality. Rap music is particularly explicit about both sex and violence.
Salt 'n' Pepa's "Let's Talk About Sex" is about the pleasures and responsibilities of
sex. (It even ends w ith a dramatic vignette "I've Got AIDS," by a Boston teen
outreach group.)5
When it comes to sex, many young people are left to struggle through choices
alone or with questionable information. We are supposed to be "responsible" about
sex, but then we turn on the TV and see a lot of irresponsibility about it. And if girls
are lesbian or bisexual, they rarely get to see themselves represented at all.
(Representations include TV's Ellen which starred openly gay Ellen De Generes as
herself and mild representations of homo- and bi-sexuality in certain youth shows
such as Popular and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) We encounter the "glamorous" side of
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sex in movies, m agazines, TV show s, rom ance novels, rap m usic, an d love songs.
Soap operas constantly refer to sex and music videos flash images of sexy people
gyrating to thumping beats. In the real world, sex is not something that just
"happens." There are awkward moments, conversations about using protection, fears
of catching diseases or getting pregnant, and fumbling with condoms. It is hard for
young people to know w hat to think of their ow n experiences when there is so little
frank talk about the realities of sex. What they think about sex is tied to many things
including what their friends are doing, romantic ideas about love, the family's
viewpoint, and mixed messages from society. Sexuality is shaped by books and
magazines, movies, music, and conversations.
Evidence from a number of research studies shows that heavy exposure to
sexually oriented media content can influence the ways viewers feel about
themselves, their relationships, and what is "normal" sexual behavior. Media
depictions of (supposedly) real-life situations often serve as reference points for
heavy media users to evaluate their own experiences. Media messages also provide
attractive models for viewers to imitate. When characters are shown as powerful,
prestigious, and rewarded for their behaviors, viewers, especially younger ones, are
more likely to learn and imitate the behaviors. Because of this, media consumed by
adolescents and others w ho are beginning their sexual lives is of special concern.
While some media are important resources for young people about sexual health
issues, these sexual messages may also influence teens in a negative way. For
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121
example, often times in advertising, girls are not depicted as having sexual agency-
they are supposed to be passive, swept away, overpowered. This contributes to the
strange and damaging concept of the "good girl" as the one who is swept away,
unprepared for sex, versus the "bad girl" as the one who plans for sex, uses
contraception, and is generally responsible. A young woman can manage to have
sex and yet in some sense maintain her virginity by being "out of control," drunk, or
deep in denial about the entire experience. In their 1997 and 1998 Sister-to-Sister
summits (all-girl forums), the AAUW (American Association of University Women)
Educational Foundation reports that girls claim that childhood has been replaced for
them by a disorienting mixture of adulthood, sexual innocence, and sexual maturity
that constitutes the social script of female adolescence. Girls describe their awareness
that the femininity ideal seems paradoxical and inconsistent, that there is a tension
between the vestiges of older gender conventions and contemporary realities. Girls
even express their wishes to be able to enforce change in media depictions of what
girls are and can do. They characterize society and the media as pervasive but
"disembodied" outside forces that impact their lives, but which they feel powerless
to shape.
Furthermore, popular media are investing more time in sexual themes that
are increasingly more explicit. One study discovered a 20-fold increase in the
amount of sexual content on television from the 1950s to the 1990s. (Hetero)Sexual
interactions during prime time are frequently set in humorous contexts (except in
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action/adventure programs and music videos in which sexual interaction frequently
is accompanied by displays of power or violence), occur primarily in the context of
casual relationships, and rarely include discussion or depiction of contraception,
prevention of STDs or STD transmission. Discussion of potentially harmful health
outcomes of sex has not kept pace with the increase in sexual activity on television.
Frank discussions about sex from Loveline's Dr. Drew's6 and Adam Carolla's on-air
counseling to the sexual banter of DJs hired to attract young adult and teen audiences
are common on the radio. And the Internet has become an important new source of
sexual information.
Music is important in helping teens define important social and subcultural
boundaries. As television viewing begins to wane during mid- to late adolescence,
listening to rock music increases. Music helps adolescents socialize by helping them
identify with a peer group or serve as an important symbol of antiestablishment
rebellion. The performers of popular music also have a significant role in adolescent
development as potential role models. (For example, on KROQ's Loveline whose
guests consist largely of popular musicians, what female role models say may greatly
impact female adolescent listeners. This is part of the strategy of bringing these
guests onto an advice talk show such as Loveline.) Romantic love is still the most
prevalent theme in rock music despite the fact that the lyrics have become more
explicit and the treatment of love is less romantic and more physical. And whereas
adults frequently identify themes such as sex, drugs, violence, and even satanism,
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123
teens tend to interpret that their favorite songs are about love, friendship, growing
up, life's struggles, having fun, cars, religion, and other topics that relate to teenage
life.7
As mentioned above, music videos are compelling as a visual medium. The
power of the music and lyrics become magnified when glamorous visual images are
added to them. They are uniquely impressionistic, stylized, and nonlinear and seem
capable of influencing teen ideas about adult behavior and could potentially modify
their own behavior. Although adolescents seem to appreciate primarily the music,
the addition of sexual or violent images seems to increase their appeal.9 MTV and
VH-1 are composed largely of performance videos, concept videos, and advertising.
Concept videos especially have attracted much criticism for promoting violence,
sexual promiscuity, and sexism. They are largely male-oriented and women
(including the star performer) are frequently portrayed and worshipped as sex
objects. Common themes in music videos include visual abstraction/special effects
(videos consist largely of attractive people and in many ways function as a style
show), sexual intimacy, dance, violence, crime, nihilistic images such as destruction,
death, ridicule of social institutions, and aggression against authority. They often
seem to play on the presumably rebellious nature of the adolescent audience. (Both
cognitive development and social background may play a role in how teens process
music videos.) Most of the violent videos also contain sexual imagery, usually
involving violence against women. At a time when an estimated 25% of American
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124
college women report having been raped or sexually assaulted, such imagery seems
unwise and unhealthy, even if direct behavioral consequences cannot be
demonstrated scientifically.9 Occasionally, public service announcements discuss
drugs or AIDS, but they are heavily outnumbered by beer commercials and ads that
exploit female sexuality. Music videos have become a pervasive and influential form
of consumer culture and have altered the television-viewing, music-listening, and
record-buying habits of the young people who constitute its audience.
Magazines are another important source of relationship and sexual
information, especially for women and adolescent girls. Contemporary magazines
reflect the same trend as seen in television and movies- a shift away from naive or
innocent romantic love in the 1950s and 1960s to increasingly clinical concerns about
sexual functioning. Accompanying this change was a shift from discussion of sexual
"morality" to a concern about sexual "quality" and a liberalized view of extramarital
sex. At the same time, print media are also far more likely to discuss contraception
and advertise birth control products. Teen girls' magazine, Sassy, was dedicated to
providing young girls w ith responsible, direct information about sex with early
issues including articles such as "Losing Your Virginity," "Getting Turned On," and
"My Girlfriend Got Pregnant." Despite readers' overwhelmingly appreciative
response, the magazine was forced to remove the "controversial" content in order to
stay in business.1 0 YM ("Young and Modem") has more than doubled its circulation
over the past four years, putting it within 100,000 copies of Seventeen, the previously
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125
unchallenged leader in the teen girls category by capitalizing on a sexier, sleeker
image. One particular issue demonstrated its "sophistication" with a special sealed
section. Titled "Getting Intimate," the section feature eight pages of factual and
anecdotal information about sex. One page was devoted to sexually transmitted
diseases- who gets them, how they are spread, what the symptoms are, and how they
are treated. Another page contained first-person accounts, professional advice and
"surprising sex stats" to help readers answer the question, "Sex: Ready or Not?" The
combination of peer talk and solid data about sexual issues in girls' magazines has
proven successful."
Ironically, many of the same advertisers who have exerted pressure to keep
responsible sex information out of the media often use sex appeals to sell their
products. Although most ads do not directly model sexual intercourse, they help set
the stage for sexual behavior by promoting the importance of beautiful bodies and
products that enhance attractiveness to the opposite sex. Advertisers like Calvin
Klein, Guess jeans, and Benetton have pushed the limits of sexual suggestiveness
with their use of bared flesh, childlike models, and intertwined limbs. Furthermore,
the frequent portrayal of wom en as interested only in attracting men or as prizes to
be won, may lead indirectly to the disempowerment of women in sexual
relationships. If a woman does all she can to attract a man, can she say no when he
wants the sex she supposedly has been offering? And if she says no, should a man
believe her? Such mixed messages may also indirectly lead to increased sexual
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126
violence and date rape.1 2 In considering the particular case of advertising, we must
keep in mind the role of economics in the media. Advertisers, publishers, movie and
television producers, and investors in the huge media conglomerates are ultimately
interested in making money. In such a context, what are the ethical implications of
their programming and business decisions?
Even news media may be considered sex educators. We are frequently faced
with news stories about abandoned babies, abortion clinic violence, and
controversies over the distribution of condoms. The news get people thinking and
talking about specific issues while keeping other issues from the public eye. HIV is a
good example of the power of the media to keep a sexually-related topic off the
agendas of both the public and policy makers. Because the disease was thought to
affect only homosexuals and intravenous drug users, groups deemed to be outside of
the "mainstream" by many editors and reporters, very few stories on HIV/AIDS
appeared until mid-1985, four years after the CDC had reported more than 350
deaths.1 3
Sexual images and references may be common place in the media, but
sexuality is much broader than the media typically portray. Human sexuality
encompasses the sexual knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviors of
individuals. Sexual health encompasses sexual development and reproductive
health, as well as characteristics such as the ability to develop and maintain
meaningful interpersonal relationships, to appreciate one's ow n body, to interact
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127
w ith both genders in respectful and appropriate ways, and to express affection, love,
and intimacy in ways consistent with one's own values. Becoming a sexually healthy
adult is a key developmental task of adolescence. Sex sells and mass media
producers know it. But, w hat effect, beyond attracting audiences or selling products,
does the media's portrayals of sex and romance have on young people who watch
and listen? Does the talk about and the images of love, sex, and relationships
promote irresponsible sexual behavior? Do they encourage unplanned and
unwanted pregnancy? Are the media responsible for teenagers having sex earlier,
more frequently, and outside of marriage? In most media, sexual behavior is
frequent, often with unm arried partners, and rarely with any concern for
consequences or use of contraceptives. Women in the media rarely get pregnant, and
when they do, they either have the baby or a convenient miscarriage, but almost
never an abortion. We m ight expect that exposure to such content contributes to the
patterns of sexual behavior we see in society: early and unprotected sexual
intercourse with multiple partners and high rates of unintended pregnancies. By
focusing on the negative effects such portrayals of sexuality m ay have, it is easy to
cast the media as villains. However, it is also important to realize that the ubiquity
and outreach of the media makes them potential allies in the cause for responsible
sexuality.
A research study by the Kaiser Family Foundation (1999) found that more
than half (56%) of all shows contain sexual content and that of all shows with sexual
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128
content, 8% featured teens and just 9% include any mention of the possible risks or
responsibilities of sexual activity, or any reference to contraception, protection, or
safer sex. 83% of the scenes involving teens and sex were limited to talk about sex,
while 17% included sexual behavior, most frequently kissing. 18% of all shows
featuring teenage sexual content also included some reference to the possible risks or
responsibilities of sexual activity.
Girls are often seduced by the ideally dramatic, romantic and passionate
portrayals of sex in the media, especially the glamorization of (often dangerous) one-
night stands. One of the main messages from soap operas is that adults do not use
contraception and, in fact, do not plan for sex at all. Being "swept away" is the
natural way to have sex. This furthers adolescents' ambivalence about sex and helps
to explain that the leading reasons sexually active teens give for not using
contraception are that sex "just happens" and there was "no time to prepare." They
need to understand that sex is not always that way and that it takes a certain degree
of maturity and experience to achieve that. Regular exposure to sexy TV might also
alter teens' self-perceptions; they might be less satisfied with their own sex lives or
have higher expectations of their prospective partners. In a way, TV functions as a
kind of "peer." Heavy doses of television may accentuate their feelings that
everyone is "doing it" except them and may contribute to the gradual but steadily
decreasing age when both males and females first have intercourse.1 4 Also, because
girls enter puberty at younger ages than boys, they often direct their romantic
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129
interests toward older males. Early-maturing girls, whose romantic inclinations are
especially precocious, often become associated with deviantly older males, who
promote early entry into sexual activity with all its attendant health risks. This calls
attention to the fact that media effects are not uniform across audiences.
Developmental, lifestyle, and cultural issues must also be considered. For example, it
is reasonable to expect that more sexually active teens or teen anticipating having sex
will seek out sexual media content because it is relevant to them. Individuals who
are interested in sex will notice sexual messages in the media, may be influenced and
act on them, and then may look for more of the same in the future. One study
showed that girls who had not yet begun menstruating were much less interested in
sex or sexual content in the media than girls who were more sexually mature. At the
same time, girls who were interested in sex sought sexual content in the media and
frequently surrounded themselves with images of media males they found
attractive.1 5
Sex and TV
Discussion and debate about the impact of television programming on young
people has focused mainly on violent content. Yet television also includes a
substantial amount of sexual content and TV's sexual messages are clearly an
important part of adolescent sexual socialization. Teenagers themselves rank
television as the fourth most im portant source of their information on both sex and
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130
birth control (out of 11 possible sources). Their reliance on television is of concern
because the survey shows that many teenagers believe that TV gives a realistic
picture of such topics as STDs (45%), pregnancy and the consequences of sex (41%),
family planning to prevent pregnancy (28%), and people making love (24%).1 6
Television may have significant potential for influencing adolescents' sexual
attitudes and behaviors because they receive relatively little information from other
sources. Studies have shown that television can affect older adolescents' beliefs
about sexual attractiveness and the frequency and acceptability of sexual behaviors.
Researchers found that watching sexually explicit, nonviolent films increased young
people's acceptance of promiscuity and sexual infidelity.1 7 Studies have found
correlations between watching higher doses of "sexy" television and early initiation
of sexual intercourse and that heavy television viewing is predictive of negative
attitudes toward virginity.
Furthermore, parents and academics argue that increasingly explicit sexual
and violent lyrics and images seen and heard since the introduction of music videos
in 1980 seen in contemporary rock music (especially heavy metal and rap) are
contributing to an increase in adolescent health problems such as teen pregnancy,
sexual assault, drug abuse, depression, and suicide."’ Popular songs in the 1950s and
early 1960s tended toward the romantic, but now songs emphasize the more physical
side of sex. Music videos, especially those shown on MTV, reflect the shift in
emphasis and often portray sexual encounters in a violent context. (75% of MTV
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131
videos that tell a story, "concept videos," involve sexual imagery, more than half
involve violence, and 80% of the time the two are combined: violence against
women.1 9 ) In a large sample of 14- to 16-year-olds, those who engaged in more risky
health-related behaviors (such as sexual intercourse, drinking, and smoking
cigarettes) listened to the radio and watched music videos more frequently than
those who had engaged in fewer risky behaviors regardless of their race, gender, or
parents' education.2 0 A study of 326 Cleveland teens showed that those with a
preference for MTV had increased amounts of sexual experience in their mid-teen
years.2 1 This is why it is important that birth control and protection against STDs be
featured prominently in programming popular with teens and advertising for such
products be accepted. (It would be interesting to do further content analyses of
health-related behaviors in music videos.)
A comparative study of specific sexual behaviors during prime time on the
major broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox) found an average of 10
instances of sexual behavior per hour.2 2 Television is an effective medium for
communicating valuable information about reproductive health, adolescence, and
sexuality. Given the unprecedented AIDS epidemic in this country as well as the
spread of other STDs and the more than one million teenage pregnancies each year, it
is probably safe to say that the social and public health relevance of analyzing TV
portrayals of sex, contraception, and STDs is greater now than at any time in history.
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To give one an idea of the powerful impact of television on teens and their
behaviors: the average teenager will have watched 22,000 hours of television by the
time he/she graduates from high school, more time than spent in the classroom;
teens list television as one of the primary sources for information about sex; 78% of
parents think that TV can play a positive role in helping their children make
responsible decisions about sex; while teens may learn about the mechanics of sex
from their parents an d /o r in the classroom, they often learn sexual behavior from the
media. And the adolescent health crisis includes the following statistics: In the US,
one teenager contracts HTV every hour; half of all new HIV infections occur in young
people aged 13 to 24; The US continues to have the highest teen birth rate in the
industrialized world, nearly 7 times that of the Netherlands and twice that of
Canada; every year, there are one million pregnancies in the US among teens aged 15
to 19- 85% of these pregnancies are unintended; internationally, desperate teenagers
seek at least 2 million illegal and unsafe abortions each year; unsafe abortions cause
at least 76,000 deaths annually; more than 12 million Americans, including 3 million
teens, are infected with a sexually transmitted disease each year; many lesbian and
gay youth face rejection from parents, families, and friends because of their sexual
orientation- many of them end up living on the streets where they are at high risk for
infection with HIV and other STDs; and infertility among 20 to 24 year old women
has tripled since the 1960s due mainly to the consequences of sexually transmitted
diseases.2 3
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133
Given the rates of STDs and unplanned pregnancy, it is alarming that few
programs ever mention the adverse consequences that may result from having sex.
The networks have been charged for presenting a constant barrage of titillating
sexual imagery and innuendo, but seldom portray the possible consequences of
sexual behavior. In this sense, then, network TV presentation of sexual behaviors is
more a disinformation campaign than a realistic source of information that could
possibly help slow the national epidemics of unintended teenage pregnancies and
sexually transmitted diseases. Studies show that a typical viewer could see about 25
instances of sexual behavior for every one instance of preventive behavior or
comment (which is often delivered in a joking context). Other studies show that 40%
of the sexual behaviors observed in prime-time comedies fit the legal definition of
sexual harassment. And typically, the recipient ignored or quietly rejected the
unwelcome sexual advances. In three weeks of programming studied, only 2 of 10
shows- Beverly Hills, 90210 and Blossom included messages about sexual
responsibility.2 4
In my review of some of the more popular teen shows over the past year
(1999-2000), I have noticed increasing effort to insert responsible sexual behavior into
teen shows that involve sex. Besides Felicity (which has dealt with readiness for sex,
safe sex, date rape, birth control and emergency contraception) and Beverly Hills,
90210, Dawson's Creek devotes episodes to such issues.2 5 One of this season's recent
episodes (11/1/00) focuses on Joey visiting a health clinic and learning about safe,
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134
responsible sex as she prepares herself for "the next step" in her increasingly physical
relationship with her boyfriend Pacey. We see the people around Joey encouraging
her to be prepared for sex: in the school cafeteria with her friend discussing
"responsible sexual gratification;" being lectured about being ready by her sister who
discovers the condoms Joey receives at the health clinic in her dresser; and receiving
advice from a housemate- "If you're not ready to be prepared for sex, then you're not
ready for sex." Joey takes the steps to be prepared- talking to a doctor who warns
her about the emotional and physical risks of becoming involved in a sexual
relationship, receiving literature on birth control and STDs, and stocking up on
protection- but decides that she is not quite ready and likes the way things are with
her boyfriend- intimate without needing to have sex.
One of the key findings of the 1985 Guttmacher report was that the US's high
teen pregnancy rate partially resulted from inadequate access to birth control
information and products. It seems odd, even hypocritical, that as American culture
has become increasingly sexualized in the past 20 years, the one taboo remaining is
the public mention of birth control. Network executives still claim that public service
announcements or advertisements for birth control products would offend many
viewers. Yet no evidence supports this assertion. Would advertising condoms and
birth control pills have an impact on the rates of teen pregnancy or HTV acquisition?
Guttmacher data seem to indicate that the answer is yes for teen pregnancy because
European countries have far lower rates of teen pregnancy and far more widespread
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135
media discussion and advertising of birth control products. There is also no evidence
that indicates that allowing freer access to birth control encourages teens to become
sexually active at a younger age. Currently, contraceptive advertising remains
banned from national network programming and is subject to the discretion of local
station managers. Thus, a major potential solution to a significant American health
problem is being thwarted by a few very powerful but fearful executives.3 6
Since so much concern has been raised about TV's role as a "teacher" about
sexuality, a 1995 study explored the specific content and common themes of sexual
messages on prime-time TV programs children and adolescents view most. The
study looked at the then most popular prime-time TV programs among children
aged 2-11 and those among adolescents aged 12-17 for a segment in the 1992-93
season. (The list includes Blossom and Beverly Hills, 90210). Although prime time
programs are not generally visually explicit, their content is nonetheless informative
about the dominant cultural scripts concerning the nature and context of adult
sexuality. Socially constructed sexual scripts establish norms and expectations
concerning how to be sexual, why to have sex, whom to have it with, and w hat the
appropriate sequence of activities is. Through its themes, story lines,
characterizations, and dialogue, television provides insight into these sexual scripts,
depicting various aspects about attracting and selecting partners, dating, and sexual
decision making. Children and teens watch with little experience of their ow n and
minimal input from other sources to which they can compare these portrayals. These
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136
images thus may play a prominent role in adolescents' developing views of sexual
reality. Young viewers are exposed to cultural ideals of masculinity, femininity, and
physical attractiveness. For those already involved in relationships, some programs
highlight positive and helpful elements about maintaining a successful relationship
and also illustrate that problems, anxiety, and pain are to be expected. Hence, some
messages in these programs can be informative. This is important considering that,
for example, girls who are just beginning to gain sexual and romantic experience are
especially fascinated by media depictions of male-female relationships and will select
such shows to watch. (Likewise, the increase in sexual content in these shows may be
a result of the notion that sexual themes and discourses are popular with young
audiences- as always, sex sells.) Therefore, given that adolescents typically receive
little formal instruction about sexuality, it is very likely that they may be turning to
television for some insight. As mentioned in previous studies, the most common
type of sexual activity is typically verbal innuendo, followed by erotic touching,
hugging, or kissing; the bulk of sexual action and language occurs between
unmarried characters; and references to STD's, contraception, and abortion are rare.2 7
In general, a superficial, recreational orientation towards sex was more emphasized
than a procreational orientation (i.e. sexual relations are portrayed as a fun and
natural amusement enjoyed by everyone with rare mention of relationships,
commitment, or responsibility). Sexual relations were often depicted as competition
in which men commented on women's bodies and physical appearance (i.e. males
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137
are sexual competitors and females are sexual objects). This emphasis on physical
appearance and on sex as sport appears to fit in well with adolescents' enjoyment of
momentary high-sensation pleasures. On the one hand, frank discussions of
sexuality on television seem liberal and progressive, yet the content of these
discussions is still traditional, especially concerning the importance of appearance for
women and of "scoring" for men.
There is a range of sexual activity represented on televised soap operas
(popular among teen girls as well as adult women), and most of its occurs within the
context of committed, unmarried (extramarital), heterosexual relationships. Yet there
are few references to contraception, "safe sex," or AIDS/HTV and other sexually
transmitted infections relative to the high rate of sexual activity on the programs.
And despite the fact that the mention or use of contraception is extremely rare,
women seldom get pregnant and no one gets an STD unless they are a prostitute or
gay. Homosexuals are rarely portrayed or are stereotyped as victims or villains.
Daytime soap operas have received substantial research attention because of their
strong appeal for women and adolescent females. (The sexiest soaps, All M y Children
and General Hospital also command the largest teenage audience.)2 * Furthermore,
most researchers agree that soap operas represent the most sensational, inaccurate,
and addictive view of adult sexuality. Top-rated soap operas now average 6.6 sexual
incidents per hour. Soaps particularly popular with teenager have increased their
sexual content by 21% since 1982 and by 103% since 1980. In a study of 75 adolescent
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138
girls, half pregnant and half nonpregnant, the pregnant girls watched more soap
operas before becoming pregnant and were less likely to think that their favorite soap
opera characters would use birth control.2 9
According to a 1996 KFF analysis of 10 network television soap operas (Young
and Restless (CBS), Days of Our Lives (NBC), Bold & Beautiful (CBS), All My Children
(ABC), General Hospital (ABC), As the World Turns (CBS), One Life to Live (ABC),
Guiding Light (CBS), Another World (NBC), The City (ABC)), there has been a shift
from talk about sex to more visual depictions of sexual behaviors. (Most of the
depictions, however, were of modest sexual behaviors such as kissing and caressing.)
And with some exception, sex on soap operas during the study period was generally
not portrayed as either "casual" or predatory. Most sexual interactions, whether
kissing or sexual intercourse, involved participants who were in established
(married, engaged or monogamous long-term) relationships.3 0 Talk about safe sex
and contraception is still relatively rare- 6 references in 50 episodes against a
backdrop of 15 different story lines about pregnancy over a 2 month period.3 1
Overall, approximately one out of every ten sexual behaviors involved planning for
sexual activity, such as the use of contraception or a discussion about "safer sex," or
the possible consequences of sexual activity, such as planned and unplanned
pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS.3 2 Most of the
planning/ consequence discussions or depictions involved pregnancy (planned).
There were comparatively fewer references to unplanned pregnancies and STD's.
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Committed couples are more likely than uncommitted couples to engage in
discussions about planning for and consequences of sexual activity, and they are
shown engaging in the most intimate activities. Finally, most sexual activity is
shown to have had a positive effect on the participants' relationships. It is not
unreasonable to speculate then, that the high incidence of beneficial outcomes could
increase viewers' willingness to imitate the depicted behaviors. The infrequent
inclusion of discussion/depiction of planning an d /o r consequences within the
context of sexual intercourse might also give viewers the impression that these
behaviors are primarily spontaneous and w ithout negative consequences- "The
transcending message on soap operas concerning sex is that it is primarily for
unmarried partners. Yet, though contraception is seldom mentioned, pregnancy is
rare. Even though life on most of the soap operas takes place in the sexually fast
lane, no one ever comes down with a sexually transmitted disease."3 3 By pairing
discussion of planning and depictions of responsible sexual activity with beneficial
outcomes, it is not inconceivable that viewers could become willing to imitate these
behaviors. The discussion and depiction of planning an d /o r consequences of sexual
activity in more programs can increase viewers' knowledge about STDs and
contraception as well as provide models for engaging in such discussions in their
own relationships.
Episodes in this study that included teens are one from All M y Children in
which a teenage girl who contemplates having sex with her boyfriend discusses
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pregnancy prevention with him. Although they are never shown engaging in sexual
intercourse, a condom is displayed while they engage in preliminary sexual activity
(i.e. kissing, petting). Another episode focuses on a teenage mother's decision to
fight for the custody of a child she had previously given up for adoption. An older
friend of the teen reveals that she, too, had an unplanned pregnancy as a teen and
had given her baby up for adoption. This storyline allowed for discussions about the
consequences of unplanned and unprotected sexual activity, and about the
importance of waiting until one is ready before engaging in sexual intercourse. An
episode from Another World includes extensive discussions between a teenaged
couple about whether or not to wait before having sexual intercourse. In general,
most sex act participants are in their 20s and 30s (59%). Most (56%) characters have
never been married. Adolescents (ages<18) make up 12% (including rape storylines)
and adults (ages 18-35) make up 50% of the participants of sexual interactions in the
soap episodes studied.3 4
Talk shows are also increasingly sex-focused. One of the most successful and
popular "girl" talk shows is The Ricki Lake Show whose topics include young teens
who want to have babies, teens who engage in unsafe sexual behaviors, and girls
who think it is cool to party, have sex, etc. Ricki Lake's own experience with
pregnancy and motherhood has fueled useful discussions on such topics. Talk shows
in general compete for guests willing to make public confessions about their intimate
sex lives and feelings. Catfights and showdowns keep viewers timed in (even if just
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141
to ridicule the show's content), so producers shop for controversy and on-air
confrontations. Furthermore, the showcasing of the abnormal allows girls to feel
more "normal" about themselves.
At a time when we are facing a sexual health crisis among young people, we
need to pay special attention to those media depictions that could influence how
young people develop their attitudes and beliefs about sex. Recognizing the
importance of entertainment media in shaping people's awareness of health issues,
non-profit organizations such as the Kaiser Family Foundation, Advocates for Youth,
and the Media Project have established programs on entertainment media and public
health to work with entertainment media writers, producer, and executives to help
them convey important health messages to the public. These programs emphasize
building constructive relationships with the many people in the entertainment
industry who want to play a positive role, and who understand that it is possible to
entertain, educate, and succeed in the entertainment industry at the same time. The
Media Project works specifically with the entertainment industry on issues of
adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
In February of 1999, the Media Project conducted an on-line survey and
interviews on TV's WB college youth drama, Felicity, in order to follow up on an
episode in which Felicity decides she is ready to have sex with her boyfriend, Noel.
Starring Kerri Russell, the show follows the life altering choices of Felicity Porter,
from opting for art school at a New York University instead of the Stanford medical
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career her father desired for her to deciding whether or not to have sex. The survey
was motivated by questions regarding whether this popular character's decision
would have any influence on the show's viewers. Because teens consistently d te
television as one of their primary resources for information about sex and sexual
behavior, The Media Project designed a short on-line survey to explore the effect the
show might have in that regard. The questionnaire was offered through three
unofficial, teen created Felicity Web sites over a period of 3 weeks. In the episode in
question, Felicity visits a health clinic to get information on birth control and safe sex.
177 individuals responded to the on-line questions, the majority (103) being girls
between 12-21 years of age. About half of the respondents said that teens get helpful
information about sex and birth control from TV. 34% said they felt the
demonstration of the correct way to use a condom was informative. 15% said they
personally learned something new about birth control or safer sex from the "condom
demonstration" episode. Nearly 40% believed that showing condoms on TV is good
because it make it easier for teens to use condoms if they are going to have sex.
About the same num ber also said that seeing Felicity ask Noel to get tested for HIV
makes it easier for other teens to ask their boy/girl friends to do the sam e thing. 50%
of the respondents said that Felicity was smart to get information about sex and birth
control before having sex. (Ultimately, she decides not to have sex.)
Important insights into the influence of television's sexual content on teens'
(sexual) behavior were also gained through some of the open responses. Teens
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themselves recognize that people on television have sex with no precautions or
consequences. For example, "...condoms are never talked about. They just do it."
And they recognize the danger that kids will think, "They're cool and d idn't use a
condom, so why should I?" Also, "...on TV whenever they have unprotected sex
they always have a pregnancy or HTV scare but nothing ends up happening to the
character." Others even express how they wish relationships on television were
defined in a less sexual way; they feel that such a large number of sex-focused shows
on TV makes teens think that it is OK to have sex before marriage and that sex will
always go smoothly because that's how it is on TV. Others describe how seeing so
many young TV show characters having sex puts pressure on them to have sex too.
(Having sex is another way to be "normal.")
Sex = Delinquency
In the 1950s, the term "juvenile delinquency" registered a set of concerns
about the activities of young people and their supervision by institutions or
individuals representing the social order. It was viewed as a result of insecurity
experienced early in life resulting in the young person being unable to successfully
make the transition through the difficult and turbulent emotional years of
adolescence. The normal development of the adolescent required that parents
provide the correct amounts of both security and freedom. Adolescence was
identified as a particular stage of a young person's life, a stage when they w ere "at
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risk" and in need of careful monitoring and attention.3 5 During this time, girls who
deviated from what was considered the social norm were potential delinquents:
Women in their new freedom ceased to be educated as women.
They seized upon the subject matter of male education and strove to
equal or beat the male in his own field, without pausing to consider
when or what form of education was desirable or valuable for their
sex.3 6
Nevertheless, historically girls have presented lower delinquency figures than
boys. Girls are less likely to be involved in gangs and riots, and confrontations
between them and the formal state apparatus of law and order occur less often. It is
not only that girls are less insurrectionary than boys, they simply do not occupy
public spaces to the same extent. Traditionally, girls are less of a problem on the
streets because they are predominantly and more scrupulously regulated in the home
(so-called "bedroom culture"). Their leisure time is far more likely to be spent in
their own house or their friend's, in contrast to boys whose spare time is more likely
to be spent in public places. Working-class girls are also expected to take on a larger
share of the labor and responsibility in the domestic sphere.3 7
Demonizing the "bad girl" is a method society has used to contain the danger
of girls who seem uncontrollable. The gendering of juvenile delinquency suggested
that it was young men who were more susceptible to the problems of being an
adolescent.3 8 They were the ones who, in the absence of the correct combination of
supervision, freedom and love, would be most likely to break out, go "out of
control," as the "natural" male aggressive instincts rose to the surface. At the same
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145
time, it was also somehow masculinity which enabled them to be adolescent and to
take on the tasks of becoming an independent individual. The prominent adolescent
specialist, G. Stanley Hall understood adolescence as masculine and delinquent.
According to him, every young man was a potential delinquent as he negotiated this
difficult period of his life. But young women, he claimed, simply remained children
(or retained in the world of childhood dependency!) and hence in need of protection.
Hall declared women too emotionally and physically weak to be able or allowed to
make the journey of adolescence!3 9
Teenage girls now preoccupy the public consciousness the way teenage boys
did in the 1950s. Today, 25 percent of all juvenile arrests nationwide are females.
This reflects a 32 percent increase since 1984.4 0 There are notable differences in types
of offenses for which boys and girls are detained. Juvenile crime statistics reflect and
perhaps reinforce social myths regarding gender and crime- males are violent,
females are sexy. Trouble for girls is more often linked to emotional stress, physical
and sexual abuse, negative body image, risk of eating disorders, pregnancy, and
suicide. For boys, common risk factors are alcohol and drug use, accidental injury,
and delinquency. More young men are arrested for violent offenses than young
women. Girls run away from home (57 percent of juvenile arrests for running away
are girls) and are arrested for curfew and loitering violations more often than boys-
suggesting that girls are processed in the juvenile system for being where they are
not supposed to be more often than boys.4 1
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Girls come to the attention of juvenile probation for varying, but often
gendered and sexually related troubles. Schaffner argues that the sexualized
discourse that surrounds delinquent girls controls them and their desires. For
example, getting an older boyfriend is one way that delinquent girls can escape
domestic problems. These offenses are also commonly linked to behaving in an
oppositional, defiant, incorrigible manner; behaving in a promiscuous or sexually
precocious manner; dropping out of school due to family-related problems and
pregnancies; running away from home to escape emotional neglect and sexual
assault; or participating in prostitution or other sex work. It should be understood
that a disproportionate number of girls come into the juvenile system from family
histories of physical and sexual abuse and emotional neglect. In order to understand
the nature of sexualized female juvenile delinquency, we must understand how
emotional reactions to sexualized trauma unconsciously guide girls' behavior.
The context of girls' lives is sexualized and some girls are encouraged to focus
on narrow framings of their sexuality and sexual expressions. By choosing to be
sexy, girls participated in the "sexification" of their own lives. In what ways are
sexual trauma (which includes sexism) and female delinquency related? According
to Schaffner's study, for girls, rather than being the problem, some delinquent
behavior may in fact be a solution to other larger life problems. Girls respond to
sexism and trauma in ways they are socialized to respond- in sexual ways. However,
when they employ such solutions, they are then penalized by a patriarchal state.4 2
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Growing up female includes sorting out and facing delicate sexual dilemmas.
Pubescent and adolescent girls must learn to navigate the world of being feminine
and attractive without being sexually abused or harassed. The sexualization of
female life is a process that takes many forms, including the sexual objectification
and devaluation of girls' bodies and the sexualization of their awareness. Girls leam
gender norms- sexual norms, beauty norms, maternity norms- as part of their
socialization into mainstream dominant society. Gendered sexualizations may occur
in the process of dealing with nonsexual problems- school trouble, trouble with
peers, parents, family- with sexual solutions (getting a boyfriend). Additionally,
girls' selves, their lives, and their concerns are sexualized by their immersion in
gender-stereotypical media images, consumer messages, and popular youth culture
(music videos, teen magazines, cosmetic ads, TV shows). Schaffner believes that this
gendered "oversexualizing" influences girls' sense of self and their decision-making
behavior and may explain some female delinquency involvement.4 3
Even historically, court records from the turn of the (20th) century show that
adolescent girls' entrance into the juvenile probation system often came by way of an
adult identifying them as having "morally dubious behavior" or as being "sex
delinquents."4 4 A sexual double standard permeates girls' lives. This double
standard rewards male adventure and punishes girls' sexual exploration. In many
cases, girls' delinquency is often a result of a "criminalization of girls' survival
strategies."4 5 Schaffner identifies four patterns of gendered sexualization for
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delinquent girls. The first is oppositional resistance of angry girls; some girls
respond with uncertainty, anxiety, or anger to oncoming gendered expectations.
When girls express anger, are hard to handle, openly express and act on sexual
desire, self-authorize their own behavior, use offensive or confrontational language,
or behave with valor and frankness (too often, girls report that they do not feel heard
until or unless there is an emotionally dramatic scene), they tend to come to the
attention of school and juvenile authorities. This resistance may be reframed as sex-
role defiance and an "incipient feminist refusal of adult female stereotypes."4 6
Another form of gendered sexualization of delinquent girls that Schaffner
describes can be seen in the pattern of an empty family life leading to involvement
with older boyfriends. When the lack of nurturing and adult guidance drives girls to
seek attention elsewhere and school personnel are not available to meet their
emotional needs, adolescent girls turn to sexual solutions for their emotional and
psychological needs. It is the troubles with boyfriends which often leads to troubles
with the law for girls whose families are not available to them. The notion of sexual
solutions for girls is reinforced and exacerbate by media images that devalue women
by presenting them as sex objects and by showing unrealistic images of sexual
relations. Schaffner argues that girls are encouraged to leam and internalize the
notion of a sexual-romantic fix for their unmet educational, familial, economic, and
developmental needs.4 ' In many ways, various (adult-constructed) mass-media
images teach young women that physical sensuality and romance can replace
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intimacy, emotional literacy, and mutual respect. In the overtly sexualized
representations of young females in American youth culture, girls leam that love,
happiness, and acceptance are tied up in sexiness and romance. So girls get caught
between two paradigms: On the one hand, be sexy and get a boyfriend. On the
other, be good, don't be sexy, and stay away from boys.
According to Schaffner, the experiences of queer girls and homophobia can be
seen as a third pattern of the gendered sexualization of the lives of "delinquent"
girls. When young women get caught exploring lesbian desire, the social exclusion
and marginalization arising from homophobia may lead them to behaviors that lead
them to troubles with the juvenile justice system.4 8 Sexual identity is a complex
developmental process during puberty and adolescence. Rarely are girls given open
social and cultural permission to explore lesbian sexuality and identity as a
normative option. They may even suffer vilification at home or in school because of
their sexual orientation. A mainstream society-wide homophobia provokes a
disproportionate number of lesbian teens to face many difficulties and exhibit
"defiant" behaviors such as dropping out of school, running away from home, living
on the streets, medicating with street drugs and alcohol, performing sex and
prostitution to survive, and attempting suicide.
Finally, Schaffner explores the association between sexual injury and female
delinquency. About 70 percent of victims of sexual abuse are girls. Sexual abuse of
girls results in psychological problems such as depression and suicide and problems
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w ith the criminal justice system resulting in incarceration. Survivors of sexual injury
develop common psychological effects such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem,
loss of trust, difficulty establishing intimacy, complex posttraumatic stress disorder,
feelings of hopelessness, feelings of angry aggression, disassodative behaviors, and
self-mutilation. Sexual abuse has been linked to substance abuse, pregnancy
resulting in abortion, bulimia, anorexia, and self-loathing due to emotional neglect.
Sexual assault amounts to a sexualization of girls' awareness, their psyche. Early
sexual abuse may force a premature introduction to a sexual sensibility, giving girls a
sexualized lens through which they begin to view other social interactions.
Researchers have noticed correlation between sexual activity with delinquency,
truancy, use of tobacco and alcohol, and other "risky behaviors." To some injured
girls, these decisions seem to them to actually solve their sexual abuse legacy or to
heal the prior hurt and injury. Their impetuous, "quick-fix," youthful solutions
(emotional and psychological survival strategies) sometimes involve sexual
behaviors and are judged "offensive" by the juvenile justice system/9 It is important
for us to realize that w hen women and girls feel heard, respected as individuals, and
connected with others w ho care about their well-being, negative behaviors decrease.
It is interesting to note how the "bad girls, " the "delinquents" on teen shows
are the ones who are more sexually experienced or w ho carry themselves "sexually."
On Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Buffy's rival slayer, Faith, is always depicted wearing
tight, black, leather, revealing outfits with a lot of dark makeup. She walks and talks
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"street smart" and has a flirtatious and (sexually) aggressive personality. The same
applies to Beverly Hills, 90210's Valerie Mallone, w ho moves in with Brandon and
Brenda, and is portrayed as backstabbing and evil. She, too, is obviously sexually
experienced, attempts to seduce practically every male on the show and wears
revealing clothes. On Felicity, Felicity's roommate, Meghan, who appears
"delinquent" w ith her dark, "punk" style, drugs, alcohol, and secrets, stands in sharp
contrast to Felicity in practically every way- her aggression, brashness, and
"forwardness" relative to Felicity's politeness and propriety; her punk style versus
Felicity's conservative preppiness; her sexual experience compared to Felicity's
"virginity."
Girls and Sexuality
Sexuality in the US is structured as part of a socialization process into the
adult world rather than as part of the individual exploration of one's own body.
Traditionally, girls were warned not to have emotional involvements during their
teenage years and not to be active sexually. In the 1980s, Sue Lees conducted a study
of young women and men in which she focused on the ways in which power
relations between girls and boys limit girls' material experiences. In particular, Lees
examined the ways definitions of female sexuality operated within various spheres of
girls' lives to reinforce the female sex role and perpetuate inequality. Regardless of
the actual sexual behavior of young women, any behavior that failed to conform to
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traditional femininity was negatively sanctioned through the application of the label
"slag," which reinforced passivity and acting as strict form of control in relation to
girls' bodies, their behavior, and their relationships with boys and other girls. Girls
who were "slags" were consequently disqualified from legitimate "femininity" by
both girls and boys. Lees argues that despite the awareness of the sexual double
standard, young women had no way of reversing or challenging it because there was
no language or alternative model of female/male sexuality available to them. One
consequence of this lack of a positive model was that young women were not able to
define their sexual boundaries in situations where they were being pressured to
engage in unpleasurable or risky sexual practices. Lees concluded that the
construction of sexuality acted as the primary mechanism by which girls'
subordinate status is maintained.
Traditionally, a girl had to leam to offer enough, sexually, to get dates, and at
the same time to withhold enough to maintain a boy's interest long enough through
dating and "going steady" to engagement and finally marriage. In other words, girls
have learned to use sex instrumentally: "doling out just enough to seem popular with
the boys and never enough to lose the esteem of the 'right kind of kids."'5 0 Also,
It seems that half the time of our adolescent girls is spent trying to
meet their new responsibilities to be sexy, glamorous and attractive,
while the other half is spent meeting their old responsibility to be
virtuous by holding off the advances which testify to their success.5 '
"Drawing the line" for most teenage girls fell short of intercourse. Advice givers
tried hard to impress the calamitous results of premarital sex to teens- the obvious
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danger of pregnancy (especially since information on birth control was not freely
available) and the psychological effects of intercourse- such as destroying a budding
relationship (a young man may lose interest while the young woman may become
slavishly dependent) and possibly "poisoning" future marriage. Good girls were
described as never giving in, never abandoning themselves to impulse or emotion,
and never initiating escalation on the scale of physical intimacy; they "saved
themselves" for marriage while bad girls were "cheap."5 2 It was (and also is today)
believed that a man will go as far as a woman will let him. The girl must set the
standard.
However, other researchers have found that girls have created their own
alternative models to resist such double standards for female sexual behavior. The
alternative model is based on the right to self-determination, the right to occupy the
position of subject instead of object, and the right to feel good about oneself. (The
issue of fandom, for example, opened up sexual possibilities to women and girls in
the '50s and '60s.) Today, the relationship between girl power and sexuality is still
not unproblematic. These complexities are not lost to young women. Their ideal
woman and the characteristics demonstrated by their role models are fundamentally
about valuing the self and the right to self-determination, a self-defined and
"owned" sexuality. Part of the problem in "Puritan" American culture is the fact that
girls are taught more to be "ashamed" of their bodies rather than to celebrate their
femininity and sexuality. Traditionally, femininity is equated with weakness and
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sexuality with dubious moral standing. Teaching girls to be proud of their bodies, to
recognize awakening sexual feelings and desires as normal and not "dirty," to feel
comfortable in their developing sexuality is important for both their sexual and
psychological health. A girl who is not ashamed of her sexuality will have more self
esteem and self-confidence and will more likely make decisions and engage in
behaviors with better judgment and emotional maturity. The various pathways to
healthy sexuality still stand as "practicing sexual abstinence but having positive
feelings about one's body; not engaging in sexual intercourse with another but
engaging in self-exploration; engagement in sexual behavior with another in the
context of a committed relationship in middle or late adolescence and using safe sex
practices..."5 3
The inadequacy of sex education classes also stems from the fact that they
don't explain sexuality, u> /zy girls would w ant to do it. When adolescent girls leam
about sex, they leam about danger and disease, pregnancy and rape, and what to do
to protect oneself from these things. But the issue of sexuality in the context of desire
is equally important. Giving girls their own sense of agency when it comes to sex
will help them be more responsible and understanding of their own feelings and
desires. It is true that sex education classes rarely talk about female desire, though
male desire is presumed and discussed as something that girls have to leam to resist
or accommodate. Michelle Fine describes how sex ed often uses the "language of
victimization" when it comes to girls and sex. It is important to discuss feelings so
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girls have a language with which to talk about their own desire whether they are
actually having sex or not. It is unfair, inaccurate, and ultimately unhelpful to talk as
through female sexual development is only about learning to cope with male
sexuality.
Sexuality consists of more than the act of sex. Girls need to also leam how to
be comfortable w ith their own feelings of desire. It is perhaps true that the general
reluctance to discuss sexual desire with young people comes from a general
discomfort w ith the topic and from the way that the whole concept gets confused
with issues of safety. We are afraid to tell girls that it is OK to have sexual feelings
and to delight in them because we are afraid that if they do, they will be leaving
themselves vulnerable to rape, exploitation, or disease. It is a complicated and
necessary message that sexual feelings are natural and wonderful, yet also that the
world is not fully safe for women. Girls then need to leam how to balance desire
with safety. Girls who are not encouraged to think of themselves as "sexual agents,"
as active, in control, and aware, are the ones most vulnerable to the dangers we are
trying to protect them from. Sexual subjectivity and responsibility work hand in
hand. Girls need to be connected with their bodies; it is girls who feel dissociated
from their sexual selves who often get into abusive or even simply unsatisfying
situations, who go through unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. Girls' connection
with themselves, their bodies, their sexual feelings is another form of girl power-
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they will feel their own agency, their own power in their sexuality and in other parts
of their lives.
Although American girls have generally profited from the historic exchange
between the disappearance of the ideal of virginity and the right to sexual
expression, their early-maturing bodies face greater risks than ever before. Hence,
progress for sexually maturing girls is fraught with ambiguities. American girls are
the beneficiaries and victims of a variety of changes in sexual mores and behaviors.
America does not have clearly defined and universally accepted rules about
sexuality. We live in a pluralistic culture with contradictory sexual paradigms. We
hear diverse messages from our families, our churches, our schools, and the media,
which we must integrate and arrive at some value system that makes sense to us.
Girls are raised to value themselves as whole people, and the media reduces them to
bodies. We are taught by movies and television that sophisticated people are free
and spontaneous while we are being warned that casual sex can kill us: "We're
trapped by double binds and impossible expectations."5 4 As girls come of age
sexually, the culture gives them impossibly contradictory messages. As a Seventeen
ad says, "She wants to be outrageous. And accepted." Somehow girls are supposed
to be both innocent and seductive, virginal and experienced, all at the same time.
Girls are promised fulfillment through being innocent and virginal and through wild
and impulsive sex.
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Judy Blume has rightfully earned a reputation as one of the most popular
authors for and about teenage girls while I was growing up. Her fiction ranges from
tales about girls in grade school struggling with weight issues (Blubber) to girls in
junior high who are anxious about puberty and the changes that come with it (Are
You There God? It's Me, Margaret), including seeking the acceptance of peers and
trying to be normal pre-teen with scoliosis (Deenie). Her ability to realistically
portray these girls as well as to describe and explore their concerns with sensitivity,
accuracy, and understanding have made her a popular read through this day. The
first novel Blume wrote for young adults, Forever (1975), deals with the issues of a
high school girl's first love, her sexual awakening, loss of virginity, and the
development and ending of her first serious relationship. The poignancy with which
Blume portrays the protagonist's (Katherine's) feelings, emotions, confusion, anxiety,
worries has made this a classic for female teen readers. (I found that the multiple
copies available at local public libraries were missing, stolen, or checked out).
Though it was written and is about a teens in the '70s, it is just as much an
appropriate read today. It goes so far to describe the couple's (Katherine and
Michael) feelings for each other and their first sexual encounter. The novel openly
describes the intimate conversations that couples in sexual relationships have,
intercourse, and orgasm. Blume does not deny Katherine sexual agency- it
realistically portrays her initial anxiety and apprehension, but does not deny her her
sexual desires and later open enjoyment of sex. She does not portray Katherine as a
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victim in any way and is careful to mention the use of condoms and to describe the
visit to the clinic to get birth control pills. Blume successfully writes about desire
AND responsibility as naturally interconnected. There are also an increasing number
of non-fictional books about sex for girls (and boys). Examples are: Am I the Last
Virgin? (Tara Roberts, 1997), Sex and Sense: A Contemporary Guide for Teenagers (Gary
F. Kelly, 1993), The Underground Guide to Teenage Sexuality (Michael J. Bosso, 1997),
What Every Teenager Really Wants to Know About Sex (Sylvia S. Hacker, 1993), You're In
Charge: A Teenage Girl's Guide to Sex and Her Body (Niels H. Lauersen, 1993), and How
Sex Works: A Clear, Comprehensive Guide for Teenagers to Emotional, Physical and Sexual
Maturity (Elizabeth Fenwick, 1994).
As I mentioned earlier, girls face two major sexual issues in America today.
One is the old issue of coming to terms with their own sexuality, defining a sexual
self, making sexual choices, and learning to enjoy sex. The other issue concerns the
dangers girls face of being sexually assaulted. By late adolescence, most girls today
either have been traumatized or know girls who have. Girls also receive two kinds of
sex education in their schools: one in the classroom and the other in the halls.
Classroom education tends to be about anatomy, procreation, and birth. Students
watch films on sperm and eggs or the miracle of life. Some schools offer information
about sex, birth control, and STDs, but most schools' efforts are woefully inadequate.
(On average, secondary schools offer only six and a half hours a hear of sex
education, and fewer than two of those hours focus on contraception and the
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prevention of sexually transmitted disease.)5 5 Most do not help students with what
they need most- a sense of meaning regarding their sexuality, ways to make sense of
all the messages, and guidelines on decent behavior in sexual relationships.
It is interesting to consider sex ed films that have been provided for youth in
the past few decades and to consider the evolution (if any) of the presentation of such
material. The moving images archives at Norris Cinema Theatre (USC) is a great
resource for some excellent "sex ed" films from the '60s and '70s. I found a number
of films (35 mm) about sex, menstruation, puberty, adolescence, premarital
pregnancy, teenage drinking and drug abuse which provided some historical context
for my study of sex ed films. The McGraw-Hill text films on Physical Aspects of
Puberty (18 min) and Your Body During Adolescence (12 min), both black and white
and from the '60s, take a very conservative and scientific approach to teenage
development and sexuality. Both films are part of the "Adolescent Development
Series" regarding "Health and Safety for You" and feature an authoritative male
narrator. Your Body During Adolescence defines adolescence as the transitional period
between childhood and adulthood. Puberty for females is described to occur
between the ages of 12-13 and for males between the ages of 14-15. In a very
scientific manner, the narrator talks about the hormones produced in the endocrine
glands (including the pituitary, the thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, pancreas, and sex
glands) and how they instigate an adolescent's bodily changes. The biologically
graphic narration is accompanied by obscure visuals that consist of cartoon pictures
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of unformed bodies with no faces. Various parts of the body (such as the breasts,
armpits, and pubic region) are indicated on these trunk-like figures by a circling of
particular regions of the body as if it is taboo to show real bodies with real parts. A
discussion of sex consists of the formation of sperm and eggs, menstruation,
fertilization, and pregnancy in a very scientific and methodic manner. Sex is not
discussed in the slightest as involving relations and relationships. McGraw-Hill
teaches that sex is strictly scientific.
Physical Aspects of Puberty addresses puberty and adolescence with narrative
inserts about a young couple named "Johnny and Janie." Puberty is defined as a
stage involving physical growth and changes to achieve sexual maturity. Once
again, cartoon figures are used to describe the body and a scientific narrator
describes the biology in even more detail- the endocrine glands, the growth hormone
from the pituitary, the effect of the gonadotropic hormones on primary sex
characteristics (testes, penis, uterus, ovary, vagina), a description of reproductive
mechanisms, the secondary sex characteristics which help distinguish between male
and female but are not directly related to reproduction (pubic hair, body odor,
increased musculature for males, breasts and hips for females), and menstruation
(including the possible physical discomfort). The narrator authoritatively explains
the importance of "glandular balance" in order to be "normal" and that an imbalance
may lead to early or retarded maturity, emotional disturbances, or feeling abnormal.
Teens are studied as scientific specimens in the McGraw-Hill films. The narrator
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prescribes teens (as well as their parents and other caregivers who watch this film)
ways in which to achieve maximum "normalcy" which includes physical activity to
alleviate nervous tension. Also, rapid growth spurts may result in uneven ratios of
bone to muscle resulting in lack of coordination and increased feelings of
inadequacy. He talks about the importance of hygiene and diet as hormonal activity
increases and how the adjustment of the glandular system leads to emotional
instability. The primary prescriptions are: plenty of sleep, fresh air, exercise and a
healthy diet. Adolescence is about physical, mental, and emotional growth and the
expansion of one's "social horizon."
Sex Mis-Education (The Little Red Filmhouse, 7 min, 1970) is a great film
which addresses the inadequacy of sex ed. It is also ironic to consider how sex ed
today is still relatively inadequate. The film features an ethnically diverse group of
ten to twelve young people who participate in a very candid and informal discussion
about sex- whether or not to do it, pregnancy scares, etc. The primary topic,
however, is a critique of sex ed and how it is a "farce." Various members of the
group (led by a black male) make fun of media depictions of sex and representations
of sex in sex and health education courses. They point out institutional "fear" of
representing sex organs and "those" parts of the body. They note how even biology
books depict bodies with missing sex organs. This film calls attention to the fact that
young people themselves are aware of the "taboo" nature of talking about sex and
how they are not receiving information they want and need. They complain about
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parental silence regarding sex. So, they talk about it in this film- they share tales of
masturbation and try to dispel myths about masturbation such as doing it too much
will lead to one being confined in a wheelchair, how it is shameful. They share with
each other (and with viewers of the film) that masturbation and wet dreams are
normal for sexually maturing young people.
The most valuable (and entertaining) sex ed film that I discovered in the
archives is one from the Los Angeles Public Library called About Sex (22min, color,
1975) produced by the Family Planning and Population Information Center at
Syracuse University. The film opens up with images of young people having fun.
Then it moves into a great, very candid, very open discussion among an ethnically
diverse group of teens and led by a very "hip"-looking Latino named Angelo.
Considering the fact that the discussion is about sex, Angelo's appearance
contributes a humorous vibe to the film. He is very handsome and well-dressed in
distinct '70s style clothes- tight bell-bottom pants, a halfway unbuttoned button
down shirt, and a sleeveless vest. He also has the "big" hair, the little moustache, a
lot of energy and enthusiasm for talking about sex, and a personable manner of
speaking. Looking like a "ladies' man," it is ironic and appropriate that he is
"teaching sex;" he is clearly popular, extremely frank, and fully engaged with the
young people around him which makes him an effective and attractive "educator."
He reminds me of a "hipper" version of our contemporary and more conservative-
appearing Dr. Drew (even though Dr. Drew is obviously more qualified and more
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intelligent). The first topic of discussion is what happens w ith unprotected sex
which, unfortunately, focuses solely on pregnancy with no mention of STDs. Angelo
dispels myths about crude forms of and attempts at contraception- the use of
toothpaste, Coke, and foil. The film serves to answer questions that young people
have that they may be too afraid to ask and to show that these questions are shared
by young people in general. The teens ask great questions which he responds to
honestly and forthrightly. He warns them that there is always a risk of getting
pregnant if one is having sex, even during a woman's period. The group talks
openly about "coming," ejaculation, and the "potency" of even pre-ejaculatory fluid.
The sensitive and "taboo" topic of masturbation is also addressed candidly.
Angelo begins by emphasizing how it is OK, natural, and normal for both males and
females. He dispels myths that masturbation will make one's arm or hand fall off, or
that one will lose their hair, or run out of sperm, or get zits, etc. He then addresses
"venereal" disease (I guess this was the more popular term in the '70s)- how it is
serious, must be treated to prevent further health problems, and is not just based on
hygiene. They also discuss the use of drugs with sex and aphrodisiacs such as
Spanish Fly. Angelo teaches them that a normal, healthy person should not need
drugs for sex. The group then talks about parents and sex (whether they do it).
After the discussion (Part I) ends, Angelo addresses the viewer and reviews
the basic components of sex and sexuality. This section opens with images of nude
bodies, strippers, and couples in intimate situations and having sex. The first
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element that is described is that of sexual thoughts and fantasies as natural and
normal. Second is body types and growth. It is stressed that people grow at different
rates and that penis and breast size is not related to the enjoyment of sex. Unlike
other sex ed films, this one acknowledges the fact that sex is pleasurable, enjoyable,
and based on desires that are not merely procreative. Third, masturbation is
described again as normal and is accompanied visually with images of infants
touching themselves playfully. Fourth, homosexuality is acknowledged as an
alternative form of sexuality, a sexual preference, and should not be stigmatized.
Fifth, the issue of birth control is addressed. Angelo describes some of the basic
methods such as the diaphragm, the IUD, the Pill, and contraceptive jellies and foam.
Condoms are described as being both a means of contraception as well as a way to
protect oneself from STDs. There is also a candid description (with graphic diagram
visual) of how to use a condom. Finally, it is stressed that safe sex- contraception and
protection from STDs- should not be confused with female hygiene. Of course, it
helps to be clean, but that is not all that is required to be safe. Sixth, abortion is
discussed with a female physician who assures the audience that it is a safe
procedure and easy if performed early. Last but not least, sexuality is discussed in
term of male-female relationships. The film is impressively diverse and ethnically
aware with depictions of interracial couples. Overall, I believe that the film does a
fairly thorough job of addressing issues from sexual pleasure to sexual safety, even
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more so than educational videos today. Sex ed today should borrow the format of
About Sex and deal with issues just as candidly.
I also reviewed a handful of educational videotapes produced recently for
grade school sex ed and learned that they are relatively conservative even compared
to some of the archived films from the '70s and continue to assure kids that they are
developing normally. Feminine hygiene product companies such as Always (Procter
& Gamble) and Tampax gladly produce and distribute such tapes for educational
purposes but also as a means of advertising their products. The Always Changing
Program Video on Puberty & Development (1992) targets a 4th to 5th grade audience
(just as kids are entering puberty) and is constructed around personal anecdotes from
boys and girls who are experiencing or who have recently experienced the changes of
puberty. The video is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on "Girls'
Growth and Development." It gives an overview of the female reproductive organs
and the process of menstruation (including PMS and mood swings!) which also
promotes the use of sanitary pads (ad for the Always brand) and warns against the
use of tampons (toxic shock syndrome). Most importantly, the video encourages
girls to turn to their families, doctors, and school nurse for further advice and
support. In Part II ("Looking & Feeling Great"- Hygiene), the narrator and "subjects"
talk about zits, hair and skin care, weight gain/control, exercise, and gender
relations. Part III focuses on "Boys' Growth and Development." It addresses issues
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that boys may normally be embarrassed to inquire about such as wet dreams,
nocturnal emissions, involuntary erections, the biology of ejaculation, and penis size.
The more recent (1997) version of Always Changing, Always Growing is also a
Puberty Education video and consists more of a narrative plot structure. We see
grade school kids in their sex ed class and participating in projects that help teach
themselves and their peers. The first part of the video also focuses on Girls' Growth
and Development ("Growing Up to Be a Woman") which includes personal hygiene
(body odor, skin and hair, oral hygiene, diet, exercise, relationships (male-female
dynamics), puberty, the female reproductive system, menstruation, and body
changes. Embedded within the narrative of female development and the anxiety of
menarche is an ad for choosing the right pad products. The video also makes the
important point that the onset of menstruation signals a young woman's physical
ability to bear children, but does not mean that she is emotionally and
psychologically prepared for such. Like its earlier version, the video also contains a
"boys only" part that focuses on male growth and development and the male
reproductive system ("Growing Up to Be a Man"). The final section combines edited
versions of the above two parts in a "co-ed" component. Sex ed today realizes the
importance of having everyone know about everyone else- girls should understand
their own development as well as that of boys' and vice versa.
Tampax's Kids to Kids: Talking about Puberty (1995) for 5th to 6th graders is a
co-ed discussion/forum on the teen years- w hat are they? and how are they? The
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video makes sure to address the emotional and physical changes that take place
during those years and recognizes the importance of having kids talk about their
own personal experiences with these issues. Kids relate best when hearing peers talk
about similar experiences. Like the other videos, the first part focuses on girls'- their
reproductive system, menstruation, ovulation, raging hormones, the pituitary gland,
new responsibilities, menstruation and feminine hygiene (embedded ad for the use
of Tampax tampons and other brands of pads), the pad versus the tampon (with a
bias for the tampon), tampon use pros and cons (including TSS), and the importance
of a mother figure. The key to this video is that other kids do the "teaching" and
advising. Part II focuses on the male reproductive system, testosterone, wet dreams,
etc. and a final section focuses on health, hygiene, and happiness (primarily for girls).
This final section is dedicated to subjective tales of the experiences of having periods,
cramps, mood swings, and answers questions such as how long does a period last? It
also addresses body odor, zits, and shaving. These topics are also focused on
assuring young people that they are developing normally and how to take care of
themselves. The union of an outside narrator and the voices of teens themselves
makes it both pleasantly didactic and realistically informative. Teens talk about how
the teen years are both the best and worst years and the changes that come with
being older and more mature, the emotional changes and the increase in
responsibility.
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In the halls of junior high, girls are pressured to be sexual regardless of the
quality of relationships. Losing virginity is considered a rite of passage into
maturity. At the same time, adolescent girls approach their first sexual experience
with a complicated set of feelings. Sex seems confusing, dangerous, exciting,
embarrassing, and full of promise. They are interested in boys and eager to be liked
by them. Sex is associated with freedom, adulthood, and sophistication. And the
movies make sexual encounters look exciting and fun. But sex is also scary— Girls are
worried that they will be judged harshly for their bodies and lack of experience.
They are worried about getting caught by their parents or going to hell. They fear
pregnancy and STDs. They worry about getting a bad reputation, rejection, and
pleasing partners. They have seen sex associated with female degradation and
humiliation, and they have heard words describing sex as having more to do with
aggression than with love. They are afraid of being physically and emotionally hurt.
Today, more adolescent girls are sexually active earlier and with more partners.
More than half of all young women ages 15 to 19 have had sex, nearly double the
rates of 1970. Five times as many 15-year-olds are sexually active now as in 1970.
Twice as m any sexually active girls had multiple partners in 1990.“
Statistics on girls' sexual behavior indicated that 6.5% of 9th grade girls first
had sexual intercourse before age 13. The percentage of 15- to 19-year old girls who
have had sex declined from 62% in 1991 to 51% in 1998. More than 4 out of 10 young
women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20. The overall
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US teenage pregnancy rate declined 17% between 1990 and 1996. Even though the
teen pregnancy rate in the US is declining, it is still the highest rate for teen
pregnancies in the industrialized world. Furthermore, the 1998 National Campaign
to Prevent Teen Pregnancy report shows that 80% of US teen birth mothers are
unwed.
Joan Jacobs Brumberg suggests that sexual ethics- "a coherent philosophy
about what is fair and equitable in the realm of the intimate"- is what girls need in a
society that treats women's bodies in a sexually brutal and commercially rapacious
way. Instead of "shock talk" television, the vehicle American now use to explore the
most lurid, flamboyant side of the sexual revolution, Brumberg recommends that
professionals- particularly social workers, psychologists, nurses, doctors, and
teachers- create a national forum for developing a code of sexual ethics for adolescent
girls. This discussion should include girls themselves, and the goals should be
safety, reciprocity, and responsibility in all forms of hum an intimacy. What young
people need is a code of personal ethics that helps them make sense of their own
emotions as well as the social pressures that are part of contemporary society.
One of the first things girls m ust leam and be comfortable with is their
bodies- their biology, their functions, and how to take care of them. Despite much
controversy, sex education has proven itself to be a worthy cause to implement in
schools and in the media, before young people attain sexual maturity and engage in
sexual relationships. There has been a common misperception that sex education
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will lead to increased promiscuity. On the contrary, research indicates that it serves
both to delay the age of first intercourse and to increase the responsible use of
protective methods. A 1983 study on sex ed on commercial television showed that
such shows do influence the attitudes of preteen girls. Also, these programs were
effective in disseminating a modest am ount of additional knowledge in the short run,
but no claims can be made for long-term retention.5 7 The study was based on CBS'
special series of science programs on The Body Human in 1981. Two of these, Facts for
Girls and Facts for Boys were designed to provide accurate, straightforward
information about sexual facts and feelings. These half-hour programs were
broadcast on two afternoons. Each discussed primary and secondary sexual
characteristics, dating, intercourse and conception, and each described anatomical
and psychological changes in the lives of 10,12, and 14 year old girls and boys
respectively. Facts for Girls introduced the terminology, location, and function of the
labia, urethra, clitoris, vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. What happens
during menstruation, myths about menstruation, how an egg is fertilized, and how
female sex hormones cause changes in both primary and secondary sex
characteristics were also presented. Young girls' changing feelings toward boys,
dating, and having babies were discussed among 10,12, and 14 year old girls and the
show's hostess, Mario Thomas.5 8
As opposed to what they leam from the media, girls need to be told that most
of w hat happens in relationships is not sexual. Relationships primarily mean
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working together, talking, laughing, arguing, having mutual friends, and enjoying
time together. Girls want to be sexy and respected, cool and sophisticated, yet not
jaded and promiscuous. Girls thus need to be encouraged to be the sexual subjects
of their own lives, not the objects of others. Furthermore, the rate of premarital
coitus soared in the 1960s and '70s and in the interest of establishing trust and
rapport with a new breed of patient (sexually active adolescent), physicians
cultivated a clinical style that put special emphasis on appearing nonjudgmental no
matter how young the patient or how flamboyant the sexual behavior. Traditional
moral pronouncements against sexuality in the young were not only ineffective but
off-putting, and they drove young women away from medical services.5 9 Although it
was hard for some people to accept, the behavior of teenagers was forcing medicine
to rethink its traditional allegiance to parents, and their right to control the bodies of
unmarried adolescent daughters. Parents were losing their authority as adolescents
in this era pushed for greater sexual autonomy.
Menarche & Menstruation
Hygiene, not sexuality or reproductive biology, is the focus of most maternal
discussions with girls who have just started their periods. Menstruation has become
a "cultural" process that involves mothers, doctors, and the producers of new
technologies, all of whom have "collaborated over the past hundred years to produce
a distinctly American menstrual experience that stresses personal hygiene over
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1 7 2
information about adult womanhood or female sexuality."6 0 Especially from the
perspective of consumer culture, from what we see in ads and commercials,
menstruation is associated strictly with feminine hygiene and the "ideology of
freshness."6 1 Ads for douching products often show young women running through
fields of daisies. It is another way of controlling women's bodies and implicating
them in consumer culture. In the 1990s, the sanitary products industry was a more
than $2 billion-a-year business, built on scientific and popular beliefs about personal
cleanliness as well as changes in contemporary women's lives: earlier menarche,
fewer pregnancies, and later menopause- all of which foster more periods and more
sales. Hence, the way girls and women menstruate in America affects the economy
and contributes to the self-consciousness of the adolescent girl- her body requires
constant scrutiny and personal control. Clinical studies have demonstrated that in
the US today, both pre- and post-menarcheal girls regard menarche as a hygienic
crisis rather than as a maturational event.6 2 In contemporary American society,
menarche has become more of an economic, commercial, hygienic ritual than a social,
biological one. The adolescent's concerns about spotting, staining, and smelling
during menstruation translate into purchases of sanitary products, learning how to
keep the menstruating body under control. At menarche, then, contemporary
American girls establish a bond with the marketplace, facilitated by ads and
commercials, as well as their mothers, friends, sisters, etc.
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Historically, many families relied on health and hygiene guides to teach their
daughters about the "private and special time of the month." Many learned about
menstruation and reproduction through health and hygiene manuals and
educational pamphlets (such as "You're a Young Lady Now" (1952, Kotex) or "Very
Personally Yours" (1948-1981, Kotex))6 3 that were given to them by their mothers, or
via medical books read surreptitiously in libraries. In the early twentieth century, the
Girl Scouts of America was one of the first groups to systematically teach
menstruation to girls. In the effort to sell products, menstruation was finally publicly
acknowledged in the 1920s in popular magazines such as the Ladies' Home Journal
and Good Housekeeping which began to run ads for Kotex.6 1 These ads typically
showed either the idealized mother-daughter conversation or a pensive young
woman with unanswered questions. The ad was given authority by the personal
signature of a professional nurse who was available to answer letters and send free
samples. In the 1930s and '40s, newly established educational divisions within the
personal products industry (e.g. Kimberly-Clark, Tampax, Inc.) began to supply
mothers, teachers, Girl Scouts, school nurses with free, ready-made programs of
instruction on "menstrual health."
In 1946, in conjunction with W alt Disney, the industry developed the first
corporate-sponsored film on the subject- The Story of Menstruation, an animated
cartoon that has been seen by approximately 93 million American women (mostly at
school).6 5 A critique may be made about this form of informing being abstracted
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from real-life experience and perhaps also less personal in the hope of reducing
embarrassment Furthermore, menstruation is reduced to an animation which does
not mention either sexuality or reproduction. Mothers and daughters may watch the
film together without ever engaging in the kind of frank, intimate talk about sex and
reproduction that girls need.
An entertaining, and perhaps at the same time more educational film, is
Menstruation (20 min, color 1973) from the Los Angeles Public Library and now kept
at USC Norris' Moving Images Archives. The narrative opens with a girl (Judy) who
wants to tell us a story of her experience with menarche and menstruation and a boy
(Judy's boyfriend Johnny) who want to tell his story of his experience with Judy's
experience. In a comedic story line, we see the young couple bowling and eating
pizza when Judy (who is 15 years old) announces to Johnny that she has just gotten
her period for the first time. They then go home and settle down to watch TV and
happen to come across a televised sex ed film. The TV program consists of a cartoon
about pregnancy and describes the female reproductive organs. It talks about sex
and contraception, ovulation, fertilization, and menstruation. As Johnny tries to
change channels, it seems that everything is on "menstruation." Within the film's
narrative are interspersed street interviews with women and girls talking about their
experience with menstruation- the cramps, the use of tampons, how to use tampons,
even a cartoon about how to insert a tampon. The next episode shows Judy and
Johnny going to the beach while Judy is on her period and how she can still swim
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because she uses a tampon. (This narrative is obviously trying to teach girls that they
can still participate in their normal, everyday activities and have fun while on their
period. Nothing has to change.) The next episode about "Judy's nightmare" serves
to dispel any myths about period "taboos." We see Judy involved in a panel for a
question and answer session about ancient menstrual myths and taboos. A female
social anthropologist answers the panel's questions with fairly helpful answers. The
next episode shows Judy going to the pharmacy to buy menstruation "supplies" and
helps girls to recognize the products and perhaps, what to buy. The film ends with a
final episode of the couple's trip to the Statue of Liberty which Johnny describes as
appearing "pregnant" and "bloated." The film consists of photographs, cartoons,
and film. Humorously, texts emphasizing particular comments are interspersed
throughout the narrative. The film opens and closes with interviews with adult
women (and men) about their experiences with menstruation. I believe that it is
effective an informative piece because of the enjoyable and humorous plot as well as
the interviews with adults, and an actual discussion amongst teens.
Through the influence of ads, the sanitary products industry came to
dominate the experience of sexual maturation in America. This furthers the cultural
logic of girls coming of age in a society where female identity is so closely linked to
purchases in the marketplace. By creating a profit-making enterprise from
adolescent self-consciousness, the sanitary products industry paved the way for the
commercialization of other areas of the body such as skin, hair, breasts- all of great
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concern to developing girls. The fact that hygiene (external) is prioritized over
discussions of menstruation in terms of reproduction (internal) also attests to
society's privileging of they w ay we look, the way we appear. Kotex and other
manufacturers constantly emphasized the concealment of their products and of
menstruation itself. A 1932 ad featured the "Phantom Kotex-" "designed to fit so
perfectly it leaves no telltale lines or wrinkles under the thinnest, smoothest-fitting
frocks."
Ads for sanitary protection stimulated angst and played to adolescent
awkwardness, concern about peers, and the embarrassing possibility of visible
staining. For young girls who were already self-conscious and uncertain about their
maturing bodies, the right sanitary product, used correctly, was promoted as the
most important form of social insurance.'’ 6 Seventeen featured both articles and ads
about how to cope with the stress of "special" days and how to handle physiological
side effects such as bloating, headaches, mood swings and heavy flow while
remaining active and attractive. Today we have no problem talking about PMS, the
fact that we are currently experiencing a period toother women and girls and even to
male friends, boyfriends, husbands, etc. In fact, PMS and "being on the rag" are
terms that are used relatively casually and loosely in our society to explain female
mood swings, irritability, and discomfort. Girls are encouraged to talk about
menstruation, even graphically. In a 1989 issue of Sassy (formerly a popular
irreverently lively magazine for adolescent girls), the editors shared "nightmare"
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stories about menarche and menstruation.6 7 They recreated the nostalgic atmosphere
of girls having a private "bedroom /slum ber party" discussion. Their stories of
embarrassing personal moments were honest and funny, but always focused on
issues of personal hygiene, reaffirming the way we "read" and generally understand
menstruation in our society. Questions and advice about menstruation are still a
"staple" topic in the health, sexuality, and beauty sections of teen magazines. And
concerns do revolve around w hether certain aspects of this personal phenomenon is
normal.
Ads also featured TV stars, models, and athletes (gymnasts, of course). Cheryl
Tiegs, a '70s model whose photos ranged from high fashion to "sexy," did ads as the
"Carefree Girl" in the '70s for Carefree tampons. Susan Dey, a TV (LA Law, The
Partridge Family) and movie actress, was a teen model and appeared in a 1970 ad for
Tampax. Sports have usually meant freedom of movement in advertising for
menstrual hygiene and the American Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby personified that
in many ads for Stayfree pads in the 1980s. She was also featured on the May 1972
cover of Life magazine and described as one of the two best women gymnasts in the
world. Rigby was also bold to pose nude in a photograph for an article about her in
the August 1972 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine, the same year of her
disappointing Olympic performance. Rigby contended in the article that two
Olympic sports- diving and gymnastics- should be performed nude, for aesthetic
reasons. (She thus made statements in terms of girls and sports, body image, and
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menstruation.) Rigby has had a colorful career- performing Peter Pan on the stage in
1999 and in the past (Broadway, 1989) to rave reviews, marrying a pro football
player, and being famously bulimic (this ironically allows us to question whether she
really needed the Stayfree products she helped advertise considering how many
women with eating disorders stop menstruating). She has continued to be featured
in advertising for exercise equipment and has made videos about anorexia.
An even more successful Olympic gymnast (she was the first American to
win the all-around gymnastics title in the Olympics, scoring perfect 10s in the vault
and floor exercise in 1984), Mary Lou Retton, like Rigsby, married a football player,
earned a lot of money in advertising (she chose tampons), and made some movies
(not about eating disorders). In 1986, she was featured in ads for "Petal Soft"
Tampax. She also scored covers and photographs in magazines, including the covers
of the August and December 1984 issues of Sports Illustrated.
One of girls' favorite books in my generation is one of a series of Judy Blume
novels for teen girls that focus on girlhood and growing up, including pubescent and
adolescent sexual awakening- Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (1970). Blume is
known for her success in writing books for young people that deal with sensitive
topics such as divorce, death, sex, and in the case of the above novel, menarche and
menstruation. It is now considered a coming-of-age classic for girls. (By 1996, the
book had sold over 6 million copies.) The novel is about 12-year-old Margaret who is
growing up in New Jersey and who repeatedly asks God for two biological favors:
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bigger breasts and periods, two of the primary signifiers of adult femininity. At her
new school, Margaret befriends a group of equally "undeveloped" girls who share
her preoccupations. In their secret club meetings, they exercise together to develop
their chests (chanting, "I must, I must increase my bust!") and they are ever vigilant
(and sometimes dishonest) about getting their periods. It is both light-hearted and
humorous and includes a parody of the experience of watching a movie about
menstruation in sixth grade. The book's popularity is premised on the fact that it is
about a girl adjusting to her sexually maturing body and is described and treated so
realistically, that girls and women can identity with it. Just like Margaret, I worried
about the pace of my own development and giggled with my friends through the
infamous "movie" in sex ed class. (It is interesting that just five years before, in 1965,
the publication of a novel by Louise Fitzhugh, entitled The Long Secret, prompted
debate about the appropriateness of even mentioning menstruation in fiction for
girls. This novel, a sequel to the popular adventure story Harriet the Spy, focused on
Harriet's efforts to solve a local mystery by being brash and ingenious. Critics,
however, were disturbed by the fact that Harriet's friend got her period and that the
two girls talk about it. They felt that it was inappropriate to include the subject in
juvenile books.6 8 ) The novel’s discourse focuses on the issue of girls being concerned
that they are progressing in their development "normally." Furthermore, the
narrative is constructed in the manner of Margaret confiding in the reader, furthering
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the readers' ability to sympathize with and to engage in the same issues and
concerns.
The availability of so much free, corporate-sponsored teaching material meant
that many mothers and teachers simply gave out pamphlets and samples rather than
provided individual advice and counsel about growing up female. In these cases, the
media serves as a surrogate "mother," "doctor," and "teacher" to provide
information about an uncomfortable topic. The provision of knowledge is good; the
impersonal and perhaps incomplete nature of it, bad. In preparing girls for
menarche, we still tend to emphasize selecting a sanitary product rather than the
meaning or the responsibility that menstruation implies. We also know now that
merely handing out pamphlets or showing movies is not satisfying to girls (as Judy
Blume insightfully and successfully portrays in her parody of school instruction on
menstruation). They want and need more meaningful exchanges about female
sexuality as well as the best techniques for coping with menstruation. Several books
have been published in the last few years that try to personalize this natural "crisis"
and to help mothers help their daughters through it. This includes titles such as The
Care & Keeping of You by Valorie Schaefer; My Body, My Self for Girls and What's
Happening to My Body? by Lynda and Area Madaras; Before She Gets Her Period by
Jessica Gillooly; and The Period Book by Karen and Jennifer Gravelle. Girls are
primarily concerned whether the changes of their bodies are normal and parents are
important guides in this process. Young girls want their mothers to be their main
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source of information about puberty- they appreciate mother's stories about their
own experiences and need to hear the same information again and again. It is
important that the media address issues in such a way that girls realize that there is
much variety to being "normal."
These books do a good job in targeting a girl readership and making clear that
no matter what one's race and physical type, there are many variations to being
normal. The Period Book (Everything You Don't Want to Ask, but Need to Know)
especially has fun cartoon illustrations and is written in a down-to-earth language
and with a sense of humor that is appealing to girls. The book has a whole chapter
devoted to "normality" and focuses on both the internal and external changes of
puberty, the process and biology of menstruation, feminine hygiene, seeing a
gynecologist, and how to deal w ith "period" problems, embarrassing situations, and
parents. It is also comforting to know that the co-author (Jennifer Gravelle) who
helped her aunt write the book, is a 15-year-old high school student herself. The tone
of the book is girl-to-girl. The book helps guide girls through all the physical,
emotional, and social changes that come with having one's period, as well as related
issues such as dealing with zits, mood swings, and new expectations from friends
and family. It is an example of a much-needed source of easing the confusion and
exasperation girls often times feel and to help them celebrate a new sense of power
and maturity.
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The Madaras series of books also focus on making the transitional of periods
of puberty and adolescence comfortable and fun. The What's Happening to My Body?
Book for Girls (A Growing Up Guide for Parents and Daughters) is rich with
information and offers candid answers to questions of concern regarding a range of
topics such as puberty, weight, body image, eating right, exercise, sex, AIDS, STDs,
birth control, masturbation, menstruation, breasts and first bras, sexual harassment,
body and pubic hair, the reproductive organs, growth spurts, body odor, pimples,
boys, and even offers a list of resources for further concerns and questions. Sparse,
but key illustrations make the explanations easier to visualize. As w ith The Period
Book, the key author co-wrote the book with her teenage daughter which makes the
tone a bit more casual despite its more scientific language. An accompanying
workbook (My Body, M y Self for Girls), full of information as well as opportunities for
girls to apply the knowledge to themselves through games, quizzes, illustrations,
personal stories, checklists and journal pages, makes learning about their bodies and
selves a fun and engaging activity. It allows girls to think about and to come up with
answers to their growing-up concerns, experiences, and feelings in an understanding
and accepting way. Once again, the tone is reassuring, down-to-earth, comforting,
honest, sensitive, non-judgmental "straight talk" focus is on helping girls realize that
they are not alone in their concerns, to reassure them of what is normal as they go
through the transition to womanhood. In a way, these books offer better sex and
health ed than many of the "videos" that classes still show kids today. Other books
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include It's a Girl Thing: How to Stay Healthy, Safe and In Charge (1996) by Mavis Jukes
and It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health (1994)
by Robie Harris. Another fun and informative resource regarding menstruation is
Washington D.C.'s Museum of Menstruation. It is the only museum in the world
devoted to women's health and is the place to find the latest info on menstrual caps,
an in-depth history of sanitary products, humorous anecdotes, art, and more. (On
line, www.mum.org)
As tampons became available (they were introduced to the public in 1936),
many teenage girls began to try them and in the process, learned more about their
own genitalia. Alone in the bathroom, or in venues such as school or camp,
wherever "girl culture" flourished, postwar teens experimented with tampons in the
hope that they could eliminate soggy napkins and uncomfortable sanitary belts.6 9 In
fact, tampons and pads, the whole biological phenomenon of menstruation, became
something cultural, a part of girl culture. Tampons, like petting, widened the
twentieth-century adolescent girl's experience of the body and ultimately, made it
easier to have both internal exams and intercourse. Adolescent girls began to form a
growing segment of gynecology's clinical practice because of their newfound
experience with internal sanitary protection and increased sexual activity.
American girls today are more knowledgeable about their bodies than ever
thanks to a clinical vocabulary and medical information learned from parents, from
lessons at school, and from discussions in magazines. Children w ho grow up in an
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environment without shame are better prepared in adolescence for changes in their
own bodies and for making distinctions among the barrage of sexual stimuli that
popular culture directs at adolescents. And while information is better than silence,
we need to think about how girls leam about their bodies and whose interests inform
the presentation of this critical information. The Internet also provides useful
information for girls on such sensitive, personal health topics. Tampax.com
(http://www.tam pax.com ) does more than hawk the company's products. Through
its "body matters" and "beinggirl.com" sections, it provides education and
"infotainment" for and about girls and young women. "Body matters" includes
basic information about puberty (for girls and boys), menstruation, and the human
reproductive system. It is also full of reliable content on tampons (including how to
insert them), sanitary pads, menstrual flow, and premenstrual syndrome. The
"beinggirl.com" section is full of colors, spunky graphics, blinking buttons, and
flying tampons and provides serious, reliable content on topics such as dating
customs, drug use, and attention deficit disorder. The "fun and games" section is a
bit shallow. The flash animations of airborne SuperFem products and a game called
Ms. Period Face (something akin to Mr. Potato Head) indicate the site is
underestimating the sophistication of today's teenagers. And as I mentioned above,
the Museum of Menstruation's on-line site, www.mum.org, provides a complete and
in-depth "database" on menstruation and women's health.
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Television even makes fun of the female phenomenon of menstruation. We
are always hearing about the monstrous PMS'ing female. We even see it clearly and
unabashedly depicted in an episode of the WB's teen parody, Popular. In many ways,
Popular (WB, Friday 9 p.m.) exaggerates and parodies stereotypical notions of the
teenage girl. And in a sense, the obnoxiously unruly girls make spectacles of
themselves- diegetically and to the television viewing audience. In her essay
"Female Grotesques," Mary Russo suggests that "the parodic excesses of the unruly
woman and the comic conventions surrounding her provide a space to act out the
dilemmas of femininity, to make visible and laughable what Mary Ann Doane describes
as the 'tropes of femininity.'"7 0 These girls can turn their highly exaggerated and
stereotypical "girl" behavior into something powerful and even meaningful and
useful. Differing from Laura Mulvey's idea of spectacle, this suggests that the
position of spectacle is not entirely one of weakness. (We must remember that
because public power is predicated largely on visibility, men have traditionally
understood the need to secure their power no only be looking but by being seen- by
fashioning a spectacle of themselves.) An entertaining episode has been devoted to
menstruating girls who become excessively violent and hysterical- overreacting to
and making problems over the slightest things, screaming at each other and other
people, craving violently for chocolate7 1 , instigating catfights including setting up a
parking lot brawl. The boy group is portrayed as desperately trying to make peace
between the girls, trying to deal with the stereotypical hyperirrationality of the
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menstruating female. Even though this depiction of menstruation is as parodic as the
show itself and it is funny, it is important for the media to offer accurate portrayals of
sexuality. The more girls know about their bodies, the more they can love them and
feel proud of female forms and functions.
Teen Sex & the "Promiscuous Girl"
Many teens ages 13 to 18, particularly teen girls, believe their experience with
sex is not typical. Many think they are less experienced than their friends, and less
experienced than their sexual partners. Teen girls say they are generally motivated
to engage in sexual intercourse mainly because they are in love or plan to get
married. Nevertheless, as discussed above, premarital sex for girls' has often been
associated with delinquency. The promiscuous girl was seen by social workers in
stereotypical terms of "seeking affection where she can find it," of loneliness and
dependency. Promiscuity was seen as an indication of failure to form relationships, a
lack of self-confidence which leads girls to offer sex as a way of trying to keep the
one boy they can get or to try to attract more, of having no faith in the drawing
power of one's own personality, so that sex has to be offered as well as the pleasure
of one's company. The conflict here is that in matters of sexuality, the discourse of
adolescence is one of shifting allegiances, rapidly changing friendships, whereas
femininity involves the skill to make lasting relationships, with the ability to care
very deeply for a few people.7 2
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Girls' sexuality is subjected to far greater parental scrutiny and vigilance, and
girls with protective parents are frequently just not allowed to go out. Where girls do
rebel against the confines of girlhood, this is likely to take the form of overt
expression of sexuality and can include pregnancy and motherhood. It may be a
form of subversive behavior which unlike other forms of adolescent resistance does
not jeopardize femininity. In a way, this form of rebellion serves only to bind girls
more tightly to their subordination as women. Traditionally, laboring in the home,
pleasing and serving others, girlhood merges with womanhood. This state of
prolonged dependency may be disturbed in early adulthood only to be recomposed
at the moment of marriage.
Women in general have had to live with the conundrum of contradictory
visions of feminine sexuality- the fact that representations of "woman" seethe with
sexuality yet for centuries women have been condemned for exploring their own
sexual desires.7 3 The problem page in magazines defines, navigates, and regulates the
sexual experience of women and girls. In the '50s the question was "How far should
you go?" (A: nowhere before marriage); in the '70s, "How do you reconcile the new
sexual freedom promised by the advent of the Pill w ith the fact that the old rules still
apply?" (A: serial monogamy). Today, sex with boys is natural and open rather than
secret or repressed. Sex is now positioned as a sign of independence, an expression
of inner desires. The primary concern regarding sex in many women's magazines is
how good you are at it rather than whether or not to do it.
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Furthermore, since the mid-1980s, the sexual abuse education m ovement has
fundamentally altered the ways in which Americans react to erotic images of young
girls. Not only have the revelations of widespread child molestation, incest, and
pornography made old cultural fantasies about sexed-up nymphets seem disturbing
and harmful, but they have changed the ways in which preteen girls perceive
themselves. No one can pretend any longer that girlhood automatically equals dewy
innocence. The transition from child to woman isn't really about a loss of carnal
innocence- it is about a new and relentless awareness of how other people see you.
But, girls' bodies are a contested turf in a battle over the "correct" feminine image.
Eating disorders (which are said to affect 17% of teenage girls) are one w ay young
women make the conflict visible. "Cutting" and other means of self-mutilation are
even more emblematic. According to current statistics, nearly two million
Americans, mostly girls, have found a mutely eloquent way of pointing out just how
much suffering lies beneath the dewy-skinned surface of adolescence. As I described
earlier, teen magazines have long capitalized on these feelings of inadequacy and
imperfection. Even though they now pay lip service to "girl power," it often takes
the form of a Spice Girls' pep talk or coed sports and always involving a pretty face.
Adding athletic prowess and sexual assertiveness to a girl's "must-have" list can pile
even more expectations on her already burdened psyche. Girl power slogans may
encourage girls to dismiss adult fantasies, stand up to boys, and accept their bodies,
but for them sexuality is still much about self-conscious appearance.
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Girls live in a world of powerful images created by adults (mostly male)-
images reeking of sexual fantasies on the one hand, and pious concern on the other.
Pop culture has taken to exploiting the tension between titillation and outrage. Erotic
images of troubled teens are seen in the media from advertising to music videos.
And all the changes in sexual mores over the past three decades have not erased the
belief that a girl starts out pure, and that sex dirties and defiles her. (Consider
Nabokov's Lolita who simultaneously caused outrage and brought attention to
pedophilia as real.) In a way, this notion has remained because it turns adults on,
makes the idea of adolescent sex so much scarier and naughtier than the "mundane"
couplings of grown-ups, and is used for profit in pornography from magazines such
as Barely Legal to films and Internet sites. Promiscuity is also associated with
precocity. For example, being an early-maturing girl is associated with having sexual
intercourse, with smoking, and with drinking early. Indeed, maturing early
sometimes results in a cascade of events (such as dating earlier, having older friends,
being pursued by older males, demanding more autonomy from parents, spending
more time in activities unsupervised by parents or other adults) which may lead to
risky behaviors.
Some girls even choose pornography as something they want and defend
such sexual displays as fulfilling and empowering. Grace Quek, USC Fine Arts
graduate, takes the stage name "Annabel Chong" in her pornographic portrayals of
Oriental exotica and schoolgirl innocence and has come to be considered somewhat
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of a cultural phenomenon (particularly in terms of sex and pornography, Asian
(American) identity, and even "girl culture"). In her documentary, Sex: The Annabel
Chong Story, she argues that her decision to be involved in pornography, including
starring in The World's Biggest Gangbang, is premised upon her lifelong struggle with
the issue of control; specifically, how to take back control (after being gang-raped
when she was younger). She describes a repressive and "controlled" upbringing in
Singapore- private school, church, etc. and how, as a teenager, she began to feel
confused about her sexual impulses after being taught to believe that her body
belonged to God. In an interview with the Trojan Horse (April '00), she explains, "I
just felt this need to take over my own body. A body politic thing and I found that
very liberating-.when I did The World’ s Biggest Gangbang, it was a way of taking back
control, of saying, 'this is something I want to do.' I'm in control; I now have
negotiating power." She also talks about being inspired into the industry by classical
works, particularly by a Messalina from /, Claudius, who challenged the most
"productive" prostitute in Rome. She claims that more than being just about sex, her
motivations are inspired as much by ego. She read the story of Messalina as about a
(an imperial) female ego raging out of control which led her to realize that sexual
aggression is not merely a male prerogative- "Given enough power and money,
women can be just as audacious and egotistical as men are believed to be.'"4 She also
feels that she has contributed to the greater presence of Asians in the media.
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Many argue that Annabel Chong, as gangbang celebrity, is the ultimate
embodiment of the backlash against feminism. How dare (what they perceive as)
this psychologically disturbed young woman reduce a host of issues for and against
which real feminists have been fighting for years into a simple equation that
feminism is about having power over men! Her significance is premised more on the
issues that she raises. Hearing her views in the documentary and reading them in
interviews, it is clear that despite whatever "personal issues" she may have, she is
remarkably intelligent and articulate. She is not necessarily reducing feminism to
having a singular goal of having power over men. She is most interested in the
power she is able to wield over her own body. Her struggle is to regain control of
her body and her sexuality which at earlier times in her life belonged to God or men.
As other pro-sex feminists argue, she seems to say that one thing feminism should be
about is that it should be up to a woman herself to decide what she wants sexually.
It is not simply about the "No" to unwanted sexual advances, but should also allow
for the "Yes" to a diverse range of sexual practices. Many women today do not
believe that sex has to be solely an expression of intimacy, but it might also be about
pleasure, self-exploration, or physical recreation. The issues Quek/Chong raises are
not so much being for or against her, her gangbang videos, or pornography but to
consider w hat sort of possibilities she opens up and to explore the limits of those
ways of thinking and inhabiting the world. In a way, she is ultimately a reaction to
the orthodoxies of previous generations of feminists. It is a reaction against simple
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answers, a reaction to the feminist "activism-as-therapy." In opposition to what she
sees as the "coddling" of "campus feminism," Quek, like Camille Paglia and Katie
Roiphe, proposes a new self-reliant and "real world" feminism. It is also important
to notice the pain and struggling that Quek experiences. We see this particularly in
the disturbing scene where she repeatedly cuts her arm with a knife. She explains
that in surviving the "real world," her skin has become so tough, she has to cut it to
make sure she can still feel. In the documentary, she also describes the pain of
having to be a "good girl." Quek talks about the trauma of having to be separated
from her mother on the first day of school as a young child. While the other children
cried, Quek was able to hold in her tears because her mother asked her to- "Mommy
needs you not to cry." Holding in feelings becomes an accomplishment.
The sexual nature of her identity and what she represents in terms of female
sexuality today aside, what I find particularly interesting about Quek is the way her
experience growing up in a conservative Asian society has informed the everyday
decisions she has made. She describes coming from a line of strong, determined
Asian women- her grandmother refused to have her feet bound (as required by
upper-middle class tradition) and her mother refused an arranged marriage. She has
been inspired by women who made their own decisions, who did what they wanted
and not what was dictated to them by family, culture, tradition, or society. And this
is consistent with what I have been arguing for in terms of girlhood today- not being
afraid to be oneself and making one's own decisions.
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As we can see, at the turn of the new millennium, American girls are more
sophisticated about sex than ever. (A 1992 survey by the Centers for Disease Control
found that by ninth grade, 40% of girls in the US have had sexual intercourse.) This
precocity is driven by earlier sexual maturation and also by the nature of
contemporary American (esp. media) culture. Young people are increasingly
exposed to pornography through cable TV, print media, and the Internet. And the
questions that I have noticed young people ask in advice columns in teen magazines,
on radio shows such as Loveline, and on teen Web sites such as Dr.Dreio.com are
increasingly premised upon seeing sexuality in pornography as the "norm."
Questions often refer to sexual performance and appearance and function of sexual
anatomy.
Because we live in a world that is less inhibited and more dangerous than
before, the best sex ed books today are forthright about issues that earlier generations
were afraid to bring up, such as sexual abuse and STDs. These books acknowledge
sexual behaviors that were once forbidden such as masturbation, premarital coitus,
and homosexuality, all of which are becoming standard fare in such books. (See for
example, Peter Mayle, What's Happening to Me (New York, 1989) and Mavis Jukes, It's
A Girl Thing (New York, 1996).) Hence girls today are socialized into a world where
sexuality is regarded as normal but also perilous.
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Safe Sex & Sex-Related Diseases (STD's): From VD to AIDS
In traditional societies, marriage is often linked to sexual maturity and first
marriage occurs during the teenage years. However, in more industrialized societies
like ours, with the need for more formal educational skills, first marriages occur in
young adulthood. This later age of marriage has resulted in an increase in the period
between reproductive maturity (menarche) and marriage. First marriage today
generally occurs in the middle to late 20s, and now even extends into the 30s as more
women pursue career goals first. 12+ years may seem very long to a teenager or
young adult experiencing sexual arousal. Thus, with delayed marriage, often
associated with increased educational experience, the personal and social advantage
of this delay is often accompanied by an increased likelihood that she will begin to
have sexual relationships during adolescence. And those who do decide to engage in
premarital sexual relations have an increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases
and other sexual health issues with serious, negative physical as well as social and
emotional consequences (unwanted pregnancy, abortion, STD's may go undetected
and untreated, infertility, heightened risk of some cancers, HIV infection may rim its
natural course with premature death).
Early unprotected sex coupled with basic female physiology combine to make
adolescent girls vulnerable to STDs. The percentages of sexually active teenagers
have been rising for both boys and girls. Just over 25% of US girls who turned
eighteen between 1967 and 1969 had had sex. By the end of the 80s, 75% of boys and
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60% of girls reported having had intercourse by age 18.7 5 Additionally, of those
youth who are sexually active, intercourse is being experienced earlier. For example,
22% of 14-year-olds, 30% of 15-year-olds, 42% of 16-year-olds and 59% of 17-year-
olds were sexually active.'6 Today, 80% of young people will start having sex before
they finish high school, yet less than 10% of schools teach responsible sex ed.
Sexually transmitted infections, including HTV, are spreading faster among people
(15-24 year olds) than any other age group. One out of every six (nearly 4 million)
teenagers contracts a sexually transmitted disease every year. Current information
indicates that youth between 15 and 19 years account for 25% of STD cases each year.
Moreover, 6.4% of adolescent runaways (of whom there are between 750,000 and
1,000,000 each year in America) have positive serum tests for the AIDS virus. These
runaway youth often engage in unsafe sex, prostitution, and intravenous drug use.7 7
The impetus for strictures against youthful sexuality in earlier historical
epochs was usually thought to be the control, timing, and context of child-bearing.
Today, the ensurance of physical health (absence of STDs) is also a reason to be
concerned about adolescent sexuality or at least the practice of safe sex. On a more
emotional level, concern is also raised about the ability of the young to engage in
sexual intercourse in a way that respects both individuals, such that neither is being
manipulated or coerced. These concerns coexist w ith sexual desire that is part of
becoming a man or a woman. No matter how much adults might like to ignore it,
sex has great meaning in the lives of youth, whether they have had any sexual
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experience or not. A sexual identity or identities have to be formed; sexual
exploration (be it kissing, intercourse, or just dreaming) will occur during the
adolescent years; and the negotiation of autonomy and intimacy will take place
within sexual situations. Sex may have meaning as an act of exchange,
interdependence, intimacy, love, commitment, or self-disclosure (for the
development of the relationship) and may also serve identity and autonomy needs
(for the development of the individual).7 8 The meaning of relationships further
develops during this time as well. Girls may be prone to construct the meaning of
relationships through emotional closeness, intimacy, and sharing of feelings, whereas
boys may be more familiar with the development of intimacy through time spent
together in shared activities.
Youth are expected to take on increasing responsibility for their own behavior
and decisions due to physical and cognitive maturity as well as social-relational
changes (e.g. increase in the importance of and time spent with peers, decrease in
direct monitoring by parents). Concern has been expressed over the choices made by
adolescents with regard to health-compromising risk behaviors such as drinking and
driving, substance use, and unprotected intercourse. The problem is that sexual
choices are often made in social situations, where time is limited and the youth is
sexually aroused. Ideally, an adolescent must anticipate, plan for, and recognize
sexual situations in advance; indeed, these principles form the basis for many of the
skill-training programs aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy and sexually
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transmitted disease.7 9 Yet, in order to benefit from such anticipatory planning or
strategizing the adolescent needs to have knowledge regarding the links between
behavioral choices and sexual outcomes, as well as compelling motivation to avoid
certain outcomes (intercourse or unsafe sex). We need to recognize that simply
providing clear-cut, visually interesting materials about contraception or "safe sex" is
not the same as helping young women develop a sense of what is a fair, pleasurable,
and responsible use of their bodies. In the 1980s, even the advice columns in such
teenage magazines as Seventeen began to allow that protected sex (intercourse with
contraceptives) might be an appropriate personal decision in adolescence, so long as
a young woman felt safe and comfortable sharing her body in this intimate way.
Adolescent girls are subject to more sexual pressure than ever before; they are
more likely to become sexually active before they are sixteen and all of this activity
makes them more vulnerable to multiple medical risks. STDs can have long term
effects on the health of women and teenage girls. In addition to the possibility of
AIDS, they are exposed to a wide range of venereal diseases- gonorrhea, chlamydia,
herpes, warts, syphilis, and human papillomavirus, all of which are linked to
increased sexual activity. Pelvic inflammatory disease, as well-known cause for
infertility, is ten times more likely to appear in the adolescent than in the adult
population. Also, the earlier a girl begins to have intercourse and the more sexual
partners she has, the greater her risk for cervical cancer.
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According to 1998 Kaiser Family Foundation survey findings, two out of five
teens report turning to outlets such as Teen People and MTV for information about
STDs. The majority of girls surveyed claim that they are very concerned about the
risks associated with intercourse- especially HIV and unplanned pregnancy- and half
say they are very concerned about other STDs. Nevertheless, only 38% of the
sexually experienced girls interviewed say they have used birth control every time
they had intercourse. The Foundation conducts an ongoing media campaign with
MTV on sexual health issues, including STDs. Under this partnership, the
Foundation has worked with MTV to produce a series of public service messages to
inform viewers about sexual health issues and to encourage safer sex behaviors.
They also helped develop special programming on unintended pregnancy,
HIV/AIDS, and STDs. Even though teens rate STDs with pregnancy and drug use as
among the most urgent issues facing young people today, teens underestimate the
national incidence of STDs and many are misinformed or uninformed about
treatment options and health consequences.
What teens know about STDs is learned largely in school. They claim that sex
ed classes are their number one source of STD information. In addition to their
parents and other general information sources, such as books or health brochures,
many turn to the entertainment media. As I discussed in Part I, the media can affect
sexual attitudes and behaviors. The media can be used effectively to increase the
public's awareness and knowledge about sexual health issues and possibly to change
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behavior toward reducing unplanned pregnancy and HIV and other STD infection
rates. Teens in the KFF survey rate television shows, movies, the Internet, and teen
magazines high, equal to or above health care providers. Girls, especially, list teen
magazines as a primary source of STD information.
Collectively, magazines reach a broad cross-section of the American public.
Traditionally, women's and teen's magazines have focused their editorial content on
fashion, beauty, and entertainment. Today, these magazines, as well as many
newcomers to the market, regularly cover a range of other topics, including nutrition,
health and fitness, career, sex and relationships, and reproductive and sexual health.
The top four teen magazines- YM, Seventeen, Sassy, and Teen, have a readership of
over 6 million girls 12-19 years old monthly. These magazines are an important
resource for teens on sexual health issues. For three consecutive years, YM has
published a special pull-out guide in its February issue that has provided "the facts"
on a number of important sexual health topics including gynecological exams, birth
control, and STDs. Recent surveys indicate that magazines are considered important
communicators of sexual and reproductive health information by many people
today. In a 1997 KFF survey, out of seven in ten teen girls who report reading
magazines regularly, half say they use magazines (content and ads) for information
on sex, contraception, and ways to prevent STDs. And most of these magazine
readers say this is information that they don't get from other sources. Teen girls also
listed the Teen Chat and Seventeen Chat Rooms on the Internet.
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Magazines have been shown to not only have the potential to influence
behavior, but also to be an important source of information on sexual health issues.
A 1997 KFF study found that women, men, and teens use magazines for information
on sexual health, especially to seek information confidentially. These readers learn
about HTV/AIDS, condom use, breast cancer, birth control, pregnancy, prostate
cancer, and STDs, but w ant more coverage of abstinence, sexually transmitted
disease prevention, condom negotiation, and personal empowerment. Over the last
ten years, both women's and teen magazines significantly increased the am ount of
coverage devoted to sexual issues. Teen magazines focus on the potential adverse
outcomes of sexual activity, such as unintended pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and other
STDs. They have also continued to work mentions of sexual health issues- especially
related to contraceptives and STDs- into articles not specifically about sexual health.
A 1995/96 KFF survey found that 34% of all articles on sexual issues in
women's magazines focused on sexual health. 42% of articles about sexual issues in
teen magazines focused on sexual health. More than half of sexual coverage
included mention of contraception, pregnancy (planned or unintended, including
personal concerns such as health risks or emotional consequences), abortion,
emergency contraception, STDs, a n d /o r HIV/AIDS. Condom use is the most
frequently stressed form of contraception mentioned in articles about contraception
(72%). After condoms, teen magazines were most likely to include information about
birth control pills (42% of articles mentioning contraception) and spermicides (25%).
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The rhythm method and abstinence were also mentioned. Coverage of birth control
pills declined perhaps reflecting the greater attention to protection from STDs,
especially HIV/AIDS. The health benefits of contraceptive use- such as protection
against unintended pregnancy or STD- were discussed more often (25%) than health
risks (less than 1%) in most teen magazine coverage of contraception. 17% of articles
discussed contraceptive effectiveness. Teen magazines also included information
about where to get contraception in about 17% of articles including any mention of
contraception. In the past decade, coverage on unintended pregnancy appears to
have shifted from emphasizing "pregnancy scares" to discussing actual unintended
pregnancy outcomes, including birth, miscarriage, adoption, abortion, and the
emotional, financial, and social consequences of such decisions. As teen magazines
began to discuss abortion in the 1990s, coverage focused on decision-making, female
responsibility, and the social and emotional consequences of abortion decisions.
Magazines (especially the Q & A and "problem page" sections) offer a
confidential means for teens to leam about sexual health if they do not feel
comfortable talking to friends and family members. Magazine coverage also raises
questions for readers about their own health that encourage them to talk to their
doctors. Girls in the 1997 KFF survey expressed their appreciation for the magazines'
"interesting tips," and "little information things." Many felt that they learned from
the life stories of everyday teens presented in magazines. Teens also felt that some
articles could be more realistic so they can relate to them- portraying normal teenage
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life. They often have difficulty relating to the couple portrayed in the "perfect
relationship" and to the "perfect teen" who has the perfect life. Information about
sexual health needs should be presented not only realistically, but must also be
relevant to teens' lives, to their age, or to a current issue in their lives (i.e. weight loss,
pregnancy prevention, family illness). Teens also reported finding personal account
stories (25% of sexual health articles) as the most compelling and helpful. Readers
want to be able to sympathize with or relate to a person or a story- it becomes more
readable if it is more emotional and can be tied to a lived experience. These stories
often have parts on how a problem can be prevented or how to get help. Teen
magazines often included additional resources and referrals (e.g. outside expert
organizations such as Planned Parenthood including phone number an d /o r address)
fairly frequently with sexual health coverage. Some also encouraged seeking expert
medical opinion or talking to a parent or another adult mentor.
Teens also expressed appreciation for easy-to-read formats, pictures, eye
catching headlines, and "little boxes of facts" that are quick to look at. Some
(especially younger teens) wanted more in-depth and straightforward answers.
They also suggested that magazines emphasize source credibility. Especially for
health issues, mainstream teen and women's magazines are seen as less credible than
other media outlets due to perceived advertiser sponsorship and perceived lack of
qualified authors, such as medical doctors, producing the articles. Magazines should
thus enhance credibility by incorporating and stressing medical sources with
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credentials in the area of the issue being covered. Coverage that is credible and
relatable, addressing relevant issues in a realistic way, is most salient to readers.
Teens also suggest wanting more articles about how to go about talking to parents
and to see more articles for parents about how to talk to their kids. They also
suggested the need for increased coverage of abstinence issues. For girls especially,
remaining a virgin is a difficult choice in the peer pressure world of adolescence and
they feel that the media compounds the problem through heavy "selling" of sex.
Girls and women both expressed a desire to see magazines address the issue
of personal empowerment, on how to empower themselves by making good health
decisions. They also suggest less emphasis on sex, the need for sexual relationships,
and the "pleasing your man syndrome." (Do you hear that, Ms. Helen Gurley
Brown?) Girls and women themselves claim to want to see more articles
empowering females to look to themselves as a source of fulfillment and satisfaction.
The ironic thing is that considering the fate of Sassy (initially popular for taking a
more girl empowerment, feminist stance, but ultimately folded over due to lost
sponsors to the disappointment of its loyal readers), it appears that the traditional sex
and beauty discourse of these magazines is what sells. An interesting issue that teens
are interested in getting more information on is that of how to protect themselves
during sexual encounters; for example, information on how to deal w ith issues
surrounding condom negotiation (i.e. w hat if a guy refuses to wear a condom?) A
mention about the responsibilities and potential consequences and risks that are
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associated with sexual activity can be especially effective messages in the context of
articles that are about a broad range of sexual topics.
A recent review of the literature on adolescent depression suggests that 7% of
adolescents are identified with clinical depression, 15% with depressive syndrome,
and about 33% with depressed mood.8 0 Increases in depression are more pronounced
in girls than in boys. As I discussed earlier, negative self-feelings may be associated
with sexual choices. A 19-year old girl expresses in an interview: '"If you're like
really down and you know you're with this person it's just when they say things to
you that like make you feel good or you know "I like being with you" it just makes
you feel like you're ten times bigger than everything else in life.'"8 1 Depressive
symptoms may involve pervasive feelings of lack of control, as well as confusion
regarding life choices. The danger is that depression and other aspects of negative
affect such as low self-esteem may result in lowered motivation to make health-
promoting choices. Yet it may also be the case that some adolescents experiencing
relatively high levels of negative affect and depression are less likely to wind up in
sexual situations due to noninvolvement in peer activities.
One of the first groundbreaking efforts to offer a program of education about
sexuality and health to a wide female audience took place in the US War
Department's campaign against venereal disease during World War I. The End of the
Road1 8 2 was a film warning women about syphilis using a moralistic good girl/bad
girl narrative. Alarmed by reports of high rates of venereal disease among the
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draftees to the First World War, the American Sodal Hygiene Association (ASHA)
(an organized union of social purists and physicians whose objects were sex ed, the
suppression of prostitution, and the reduction of VD), in collaboration with various
federal agencies, conceived of The End of the Road as a companion feature for women
to Fit to Fight, ASHA's venereal disease education film for enlisted men. Unlike the
male version, this film was marketed as a feature film- '"Much information and
counsel for conduct' could be better imparted by the lecture 'being interwoven with
the plot' and 'the excellent portrayal of character' would make 'a strong appeal to
youth's best impulses.'"1 0 Furthermore, the love story was necessary to hold the
interest of young women who see the film. Intended for a noncommercial audience
of women and girls over 16, this amateur, didactic feature-length "women's film"
was to be shown by a trained lecturer as part of a larger venereal disease instruction
program. A great deal of public debate followed the film's commercial opening in
February, 1919 resulting in its withdrawal and ultimate discontinuation. The
primary attitude of the groups involved in the production of the film was that
"continence" is the best preventive of VD.
HTV/AIDS is now the most frequently and extensively covered STD.
According to the CDC, AIDS has been the sixth leading cause of death among 15- to
24-year olds in the US since 1991, the third leading cause of death for females
between the ages of 25 and 44 years old, and the number one cause for African-
American women in the same age category. Furthermore, studies suggest that
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women tend to get diagnosed later and to receive poorer treatment than men. One in
five persons newly diagnosed with AIDS is in the 20-29 year age group. This means
that HTV transmission occurred while they were in their teens, or that they were
HIV-positive while in their teens. More than half of the new cases of HIV infection in
1994 were related to drug use, either through direct use or through sexual contact
with someone who injects drugs. (And focused exclusively on risk and on sexual
transmission as opposed to non-sexual transmission routes such as IV drug use.)
Coverage of other STDs appeared to be most often treated as a general problem in
women's and teen magazines, as opposed to focusing on specific STDs.w And
discussions focused primarily on STD symptoms, risks of contraction, rate of spread
of STDs, education, and prevention.
The most commonly mentioned "sexual" topic other than general sexual
activity in teen magazines was the difficult decision-making about whether to have
sex. Other common non-sexual health topics included virginity, rape, sexual
abuse/incest, and casual sex. Most sexual health coverage (56%) in teen magazines
was in the form of Q & A advice columns responding to teens' questions about using
birth control, preventing STDs, or some other sexual health concern. Letters to the
editor, another outlet for reader correspondence, was also a common source of sexual
health coverage (19%).K Sexual health articles that focused mostly on pregnancy or
abortion were most likely to be feature articles. Articles about contraception or
HIV/AIDS were most likely to be news mentions, while those focusing on STDs
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were most likely to be either feature articles or Q & A columns. Readers could
benefit from more in-depth articles on these topics as well as consideration of the
social, emotional, and financial consequences of contracting an STD, female
responsibility for preventing STDs, and the fact that having an STD may increase
one's risk for contracting HIV.
Cases of AIDS and AIDS-like symptoms were reported in women as early as
1982, only the second year of the AIDS epidemic's official existence. Initially
considered an exclusively "gay men's disease," by 1988, HIV had been widely
proclaimed an "equal opportunity virus," transmitted through what you do and not
who you are. By 1993, several thousand women had been diagnosed with AIDS and
HIV infection in the US. The importance of the AIDS epidemic in terms of girls'
health is that it encapsulates many goals and issues fundamental to women's
interests and women's health: reproductive freedom, sexual equality, civil liberties,
economic self-sufficiency, the right to effective protection against conception and
disease, etc. Even within the AIDS establishment and AIDS activism, there remains
the need for voices to speak on behalf of women and girls. How has the media
challenged the dominant reading of AIDS- that AIDS is a gay men's disease and an
epidemic that has little relevance for women and girls? W hat are the implications
and representations of girls with AIDS? Girls with HTV is an even more sensitive
issue since it is predicated on girls' sexuality (and therefore maturity, morality, etc.)
which is a touchy subject as it is. Media coverage of AIDS increased dramatically in
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the US in 1985. This included a July 1985 Life cover story on AIDS titled, in bold red
letters, "Now No One Is Safe from AIDS." By the end of December 1986, the CDC
reported a total of 2,062 adult women with AIDS in the US compared to 27,627 men,
or 6.9% of the total. The problem was that only a small number of researchers were
focusing specifically on women and how they were represented.
In 1987, according to an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical
Association, people with AIDS were usually still pictured as gay males and when
images of women appeared, they were white and healthy. While such images
avoided stigmatizing or stereotyping women who did have AIDS and sent the
important message that despite stereotypes about the epidemic, many kinds of
people are potentially at risk, they also reinforced the incorrect message to women of
color and others that were not at risk. On December 31,1987, the CDC reported 3,751
adult females with AIDS in the US compared to 47,014 adult males, or 7.4% of the
total cases among adults with AIDS.8 6 The official CDC message was that although
every sexually active person should be cautious, women and heterosexuals still made
up only a tiny percentage of cases of HIV infection.8 7
In addition to articles in medical journals, women's magazines, feminist
magazines, academic feminist journals, and representations in mainstream media,
women's clinics began producing brochures on women and AIDS as early as 1983.
Nevertheless, AIDS showed us the state of wom en's health with women as low
priority. If they are valued, it is in their roles as wives, caretakers, and mothers; they
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are readily stereotyped and few resources are provided for them. It raised
fundamental questions about how sex, gender, sexual identity, and sexual
worthiness are described and understood. The epidemic embodied stereotypes and
blaming practices that feminism had sought to combat for decades. As soon as AIDS
was linked to sexual transmission, female prostitutes were blamed for the epidemic.
Warning signs of stigma and persecution have always existed: the familiar virgin-
whore discourse appropriated from earlier epidemics, the focus on prostitutes rather
than their clients as carriers of disease, etc. AIDS discourse "readily came to reenact
many of the semantic and political battles that had characterized relations between
women and biomedical science since the mid-nineteenth century."8 8 AIDS coalesced
with the "new femininity/ m onogam y/ abstinence" to reinstate oppressive gender
stereotypes and to warn women that if they were careerist and sexual, like Glenn
Close in Fatal Attraction (1987), they would die the terrible death they deserved,
while the pure survived happy and healthy (reminiscent of the 1919 End of the
Road?).8 9
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
HIV/AIDS has been the sixth leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds in the US
since 1991. One in five persons newly diagnosed with AIDS is in the 20-29 year age
group. One in four new infections in the US occurs in those younger than 22. This
means that HIV transmission occurred while they were in their teens or that they
were HIV-positive while they were in their teens. More than half of the new cases of
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HIV infection in 1994 were related to drug use, either through direct use or through
sexual contact with someone who injects drugs. Research has shown that while most
teenagers understand how HIV is transmitted and how they can avoid infection, they
need to understand that it can happen to them. According to recent CDC studies
conducted every two years in high schools, many teens are engaging in high-risk
behaviors which not only make them vulnerable to acquiring HIV/AIDS, but also to
acquiring other sexually transmitted diseases associated with drug use.™ Young
women are the fastest growing group contracting HIV/ AIDS through unprotected
sex. As of December 1994,58,428 adolescent and adult women have been diagnosed
with AIDS. The cumulative number of reported cases of HIV infected women for the
same period was 15,241.” The significance for educating young women lies also in
the fact that if they are infected with HIV and eventually get pregnant, they can
transmit the virus to the unborn baby.
A 1986 educational film by the New York City Department of Health on Sex,
Drugs, and AIDS is an excellent source of answers to questions about AIDS
(especially in the '80s when the effects of the disease were coming quickly to the
fore). We currently have a copy in USC's Moving Images Archives. The 20 minute
film opens with a man narrating his battle w ith AIDS- "I have AIDS." We see the
voicing of thoughts of various people with AIDS. The primary host of the film is Rae
Dawn Chong (appropriately '80s and multiethnic) who begins by answering
questions such as "What is AIDS?" "How does one get it?" and "How do I protect
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myself from AIDS?" She dispels myths regarding AIDS' easy "contact" transmission
and explains that one does not get the virus from food, makeup, soap, showers, toilet
seats, or touching. "AIDS is hard to get" is inserted between images of people
engaging in various activities. Rae explains that AIDS is a virus which compromises
the immune system and causes death as a result of multiple infections. It is
transmitted primarily through semen and blood. Two of the primary ways in which
the virus is spread is through sharing needles (drugs) and sexual intercourse
(especially anal which is more prone to breaking blood vessels). This leads to a
discussion on the importance of using condoms. We see a small group of girls in
gym /dance class talking about boys, sex, relationships, and the myth that AIDS is a
"gay disease." One of the more mature and more educated girls stresses the
importance of always using condoms and tries to do away with notions of condoms
being unromantic, unnecessary, and nonspontaneous. She tells her friends that they
need to talk boyfriends about disease and birth control and that if they are not ready
to talk about it, they are not ready to have sex. It is clear that AIDS complicates the
decision to have sex. The film continues w ith people from each of the five risk
groups (gay/bisexual men, IV drug users, blood transfusion, sex partners w ith AIDS,
babies infected by their mothers) describe their situation. The film stresses the need
to be responsible and careful, but does not blame people who are infected- "Nobody
is to blame except for the virus!"
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Being informed is the best way for girls to make choices about sex. There are
an increasing number of resources- books, hotlines, organizations, and Web sites,
that provide information and answer questions. Books include: AIDS: What Teens
Need to Know (Barbara Christie-Dever and Marcie Ramsey, 1996), The Birth Control
Book: A Complete Guide to Your Contraceptive Options (Samuel A. Pasquale and Jennifer
Cadoff, 1996), and The New Good Vibrations Guide to Sex: How to Have Safe, Fun Sex
(Cath Winks and Anne Semans, 1997). Advocates for Youth collaborates with
schools and youth-service organizations in community-wide efforts to prevent HTV
infection in young people. The Coalition for Positive Sexuality
(www.positive.org/home/index) provides information on sexuality, safer sex, and
decision-making for teens.
Girl Mothers: Teen Pregnancy & Birth Control
Although the birth rate for adolescents has declined since the late 1950s
(when the rate of premarital pregnancy reached a high of 25%!), the current
adolescent birth rate (62 per 1000 in 1991) in the US is substantially higher than that
in other Western industrialized countries.9 2 In the US, girls under fifteen are at least
five times more likely to give birth than girls of the same age in other industrialized
countries.9 3 We have the highest rate of teen pregnancy, birth, and abortion of any
industrialized nation. In fact, adolescent pregnancy and childbearing were not
considered national concerns until the mid-1970s when research reports concluded
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that 1.1 million teenagers (one in four girls under the age of 18 today) in the US were
becoming pregnant each year and that about half of these pregnancies resulted in
live births (Abortion, miscarriage, and adoption account for the difference). Today,
still nearly one-in-ten women aged 15 to 19- one million American teenagers- become
pregnant each year. The vast majority of teen pregnancies (78%) are unintended.
Furthermore, in 1991, 70% of adolescent mothers were unmarried and likely to be
living with their parents or other relatives. Additionally, the overwhelming majority
(83%) of adolescents who decide to give birth today are from poor or low-income
families and 85% of this group is unmarried.*' Persistent racial differences in the
number of reported births to adolescents have been evident throughout the past
century. In 1990,20% of White adolescents and 40% of non-White adolescents
became pregnant by age 18. Among Whites, 2 in 10 first births were to adolescents,
whereas among African-Americans, 4 in 10 births were to adolescents. This 2:1 birth
ration of African-American to White adolescents has been constant since 1920
regardless of changing fertility trends.9 5 It should also be noted that although the
proportion of African-American adolescents w ho become mothers is higher than that
of White adolescents, in absolute numbers, more babies are bom to White than to
African-American adolescents. It is also perhaps tragically true that teenage
motherhood among blacks may be due to the fact that black men still have one of the
shortest life spans in this country. In one sense, early pregnancy and motherhood
can be a strategy for attaining and maintaining feelings of efficacy. Michelle Fine has
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written that "having a baby at least offers a full-time job and a sense of purpose and
competence." Often times, what these young mothers need is a chance to develop
self-esteem- to realize that they have a future and that they can realize their dreams.
Books such as Surviving Teen Pregnancy: Your Choices, Dreams, and Decisions (Shirley
Arthur, 1996) help guide girls who have become or will be teen moms.
From these statistics, it is clear that even though efforts are improving, girls
are really not adequately prepared for the range of sexual choices existing in the US
today. Rather, they absorb information from popular culture (the "entertainment"
model of sex education and a popular culture that is permeated by sexual imagery, so
much so that many young women regard their bodies and sexual allure as the
primary currency of the realm) or they are lectured about the virtues of abstinence
(the "just say no" model). Today, girls have to negotiate between their desire for
sexual expression and the prospect of sexual danger. While we grow up hearing
about the hazards of sexual intimacy, the media and popular culture also push the
idea that sexuality is the ultimate form of self-expression. Studies of risky behavior
in adolescence reveal that boys and girls from all social classes experience a lag
between the body's capability and the mind's capacity to comprehend the
consequences of sex. In other words, adolescents are capable of reproduction, and
they display sexual interest, before their minds are able to do the kind of reasoning
necessary for the long-term, hypothetical planning that responsible sexuality
requires.9 6 In peer groups where heterosexual intercourse is regarded as a critical
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sign of maturity and status, the pressure is on for girls as young as eleven and twelve
to try out their powerful "new equipment," particularly if they think they are in love,
as they often do. These are the girls that need the most nurturance and protection,
but w hen they have limited resources and family life is under stress, they are
unlikely to get it. In this environment, the body is often the only capital a girl will
ever have.
We need to acknowledge that early biological maturation has profound social
consequences in a society like ours, where sex is used so extensively to sell, entertain,
and exert power. These risks are real for all girls, but they are clearly greater and
more devastating for girls who are already economically marginalized. "Girl
mothers" are a telling symbol of the mismatch between early maturation and the
exigencies of life in a hard-core culture of poverty that persists within a society of
unparalleled plenty. There is no doubt that early childbearing shortens educational
experience and lessens a young women's opportunities in life and also that of her
children, especially where there are limited family and community resources to
buffer the economic and social consequences. Studies also show that children bom to
teenage mothers are more likely to be of low birth weight, at risk for serious health,
developmental, and learning problems, and prone to poverty-associated traumas
such as crime and drug abuse. Increased education leads to better health decision
making, particularly around reproductive health issues. There is clearly a reciprocal
relationship between the duration of even basic education and birth of a first child
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during the adolescent years. Delaying birth until after the adolescent years may have
several distinct advantages- some personal, some global. Individually, the young
women may have a better opportunity to acquire education and skills for both family
care and competition in the marketplace. Globally, delayed childbearing has a
dramatic impact on the rate of global population growth. Even Jane Fonda has taken
a turn from acting to making educating adolescent girls worldwide about
themselves, their bodies, and their rights, her primary cause. She has been given a
lot of media attention lately, appearing on the Today show at least twice already this
year to talk about her campaign against teen pregnancy in Georgia and for girls'
health, sexuality, and rights in Nigeria. She has become a fervent supporter of the
"girls' movement" and a spirited advocate of "girl power."
Furthermore, in the eyes of conservative critics of the welfare system, the
unmarried adolescent mother is nothing more than a "welfare queen," giving birth to
more and more children because the system allows her to claim support for herself
and her children rather than work for a living. Less cynical approaches are based on
the belief that teenage pregnancy is a complex social issue that has to do with the
reactions of peers and family to the girl's developing body, the age at which dating
begins, a girl's level of social and intellectual functioning at school, the availability of
birth control, and how girls think about what it means to be an adult woman when
their bodies become fertile. Since all of these factors operate whether or not welfare
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checks are available, cutting off government monies will result more likely in more
suffering children, not in fewer out-of-wedlock pregnancies.
As long as girls feel unhappy with their bodies, it is very difficult for them to
achieve the sexual agency that they should have to feel confident and whole. Girls
who do not feel good about themselves need the affirmation of others and that need,
often times, empowers male desire. In other words, girls who hate their bodies do
not make good decisions about partners or about the kind of sexual activity that is in
their best interest. Because they w ant to be wanted, they are susceptible to
manipulations, to flattery, even to abuse. Body angst is not only a boost to
commerce, but it also makes the worst forms of sexual flattery acceptable, which
explains why some girls feel ambivalent about sexual harassment and do not know
how to respond. Although many early-maturing girls have high aspirations, they
have little opportunity in adolescence to experiment with forms of self-expression
other than sexuality and maternity. In a world of poverty, inadequate schools, and
pervasive crime, teenage motherhood becomes emotionally attractive. Being a
mother and taking care of a child is understandably more interesting and rewarding
than the dead-end, debilitating jobs to which poor women, and especially minority
women, are most often consigned. A baby can mean status and love to a teenage girl,
and it can provide an important connection to a young man- even if he cannot or
does not want to marry or even if he goes to prison.
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Sexual victimization is often part of the early life experience of girl mothers
and they are usually impregnated by men who are at least five years older.
Unfortunately, impregnation by a boyfriend provides a way out of abuse at the
hands of a predatory step father or older relative. This raises questions about
whether coitus is coercive or freely chosen, or whether adolescent girls can find the
strength to resist the wishes of others, particularly in a world where it is accepted
that being "grown up" means having sex. Furthermore, the younger a girl is when
she begins to have intercourse, the less likely she is to use contraception. Even when
sexual intercourse is not coercive, in early adolescence it is usually not experienced as
a self-conscious decision. Many girls maintain the attitude that "it just happened,"
reflecting their infatuation with the power of romance. Some girls have used Coke as
a post-coital douche and there are those who think that conception is impossible the
first time you "do it," or if you are standing up. Barely out of childhood, looking for
love, and confident (or ignorant about the possibility) that they are immune to
diseases, young girls cannot always comprehend the negative outcomes of even a
single sexual act. Thus, the younger they are when they begin to menstruate, the
greater the risk. And the younger they are when they bear their first child, the more
likely it is that both mother and child will experience negative outcomes.
Over the course of the twentieth century, girls' bodies have been a critical
index of our social and economic life. The rise of medicine, the decline of parental
and community supervision, the triumph of a visual consumer culture, and the
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changing nature of intimacy in our society are in many ways encoded in girls' bodies
and in the social problems they now face. The behavior of teenagers has also forced
medicine to rethink its traditional allegiance to parents, and their right to control the
bodies of unmarried adolescent daughters. Parents everywhere were losing
authority as adolescents in this era pushed for greater sexual autonomy. The
competing interests of family planning, juvenile justice, and feminism rewrote the
rules of female adolescence in the late '60s through the late '70s with a series of laws
and constitutional initiatives gradually establishing girls' rights to due process, equal
treatment, and contraception and abortion. After 1972, gynecologists could openly
write prescriptions for oral contraceptive pills without fear of prosecution. This was
a landmark in the "contraceptive revolution" and had important consequences for
the autonomy, as well as the anatomy, of American female adolescents. Teenage
girls of the late '70s had the ability to separate biology from destiny without breaking
the law. They also had the prerogative to stay in school if they were pregnant or had
given birth as well as legal protection against the charge of "delinquency"- term that
traditionally meant "sexually active" when applied to girls as I discussed above.
Also, once vilified, feared, and monitored by mothers, the pelvic exam of an
adolescent was now a confidential interaction between the girl and her doctor.
Forsaking their long-standing respect for parental rights in a daughter's body,
gynecologists in the late twentieth century allied themselves with girls, even girls
whose sexual behavior they might not condone. In 1988, the American College of
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Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued an important statement, "Confidentiality in
Adolescent Health Care," that urged its professional membership to honor the
adolescent's need for privacy and pay no special deference to parents.9 7
Adolescent women practicing effective birth control often face social
ostracism- for acknowledging sexual activity outside of marriage, or if married,
failure to conform to cultural values of early and frequent childbearing. Adolescent
girls on the pill were now stigmatized as equally aggressive as boys in their desire for
sexual activity. Girls also became more concerned about the nature of their
relationships- decisions involved not whether the woman should have sex, but with
whom. Confronting an older male partner with a condom may be unthinkable due
to the imbalance of power in the relationship. Laws may also restrict access to
effective barrier methods to prevent STD's or HIV. Unfortunately too, women are
typically responsible for effective birth control and suffer the consequences of its
failure. Yet, clearly the risks/ benefit of effective contraceptive practices greatly
outweigh the risk of unwanted pregnancy in a physically immature adolescent,
illegal unsafe abortion, STD's and HIV, and the emotional consequences. Emergency
contraception can prevent pregnancy for up to 72 hours after sex and widespread
access could prevent as many as 800,000 unintended pregnancies and abortions each
year.9 1 In a recent episode of Felicity (11/1/00), Felicity visits the health clinic and is
given emergency contraception (a series of four pills of which she takes two of in two
doses) after she believes she has had drunken, unprotected sex at a frat party.
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Abortion may be unavailable to minors- for reasons of finance or geographic
isolation. Yet pregnancy and delivery with all its attendant risks (anemia,
hypertension, toxemia, and cephalo-pelvic disproportion) are more likely to occur
outside of a hospital preceded by little if any prenatal care. We still hear all too often
in the news stories of girls who hide their pregnancies (due to shame, confusion, fear)
or who abandon their babies in dumpsters after giving birth with no medical
assistance.
Family planning clinics, such as Planned Parenthood and local women's
health clinics, are great resources for free information about contraception and safer
sex. Planned Parenthood (Web site: www.plannedparenthood.org) is a known non
profit organization that is committed to helping young people make responsible
choices about sex and contraception. They service women in terms of gynecological
health and family planning- their programs educate people about how to avoid
sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies through their clinics,
video kits (such as Talking About Sex: A Guide for Families), pamphlets, books, and
Web site (teenwire.com). Nationwide affiliates provide reliable contraceptive and
reproductive health services to young women and men in their communities. Their
latest initiative to reduce unintended pregnancy, abortion, and the spread of STDs,
especially among young people, is a nationwide advertising campaign with both
television and print ads. They will be aired during shows specifically geared toward
youth and printed in youth magazines. This will be the first time Planned
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Parenthood has launched national ads in magazines and developed a nationwide
television ad campaign.
Controversial topics like sexuality education, disease prevention, and
contraception get little attention in entertainment or news programming. Fewer than
10% of schools teach medically accurate, age-appropriate sexuality education. And
the federal government has not given enough support for preventing the serious
threats posed by HTV and teen pregnancy and chosen to only preach unrealistic,
ineffective "abstinence only" sex education. Study after study has revealed that
abstinence-only programs fail to delay the onset of intercourse and often provide
information that is medically inaccurate and potentially misleading. Simply saying
"Don't have sex" is not a replacement for being informed about protection and safer
sex. Studies show that young people with fearful and negative attitudes about
sexuality are less likely to talk to partners and to use contraception when they have
sex. And those who know how to protect themselves from peer pressure- and how
to protect themselves from disease and pregnancy if they do have sex- are more
likely to postpone having sex or protect themselves from disease and pregnancy if
they become sexually active while still in their teens. We need a policy that favors
sex ed, openness about sex, consistent messages about sexuality, and access to
contraception. Also, often sex ed curricula begins in high school, after many students
have already begun experimenting sexually. Studies show that sex ed begun before
youth are sexually active helps young people stay abstinent and use protection when
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they do become sexually active. Sex-negative attitudes do not discourage sexual
activity, but they do discourage contraceptive use. By contrast, studies have shown
that teens with sex-positive attitudes were more consistent and more enthusiastic
about contraceptive use.”
The US, which encourages a "just say no" sex-negative attitude in its
education policies, has among the highest teen pregnancy rates, abortion rates, and
birth rates in the developed world (and California has among the highest rates in the
US). According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, the countries with the lowest rates
of teen pregnancy and childbirth have the most liberal attitudes about sex. Further,
children whose parents are involved in their contraceptive education practice birth
control at a far greater rate than those whose parents tell them nothing: 91% vs.
50%.1 0 0 In Sweden, for example, the government's comprehensive approach includes
not only universal sex education, but also special clinics with close links to schools;
free, widely available and confidential family planning and abortion services;
advertising of contraceptive methods in the media; and easy access to condoms. The
result is that only one out of every 100 women aged 15 to 19 give birth each year in
Sweden, as compared with a birth rate of about 6 per 100 among the same age group
in the US, where comparable information and services are not available and where
unrealistic and glamorized depictions of sex and sexuality (thanks to Hollywood)
reign. (We don't see commercials on television advertising contraception because the
networks are afraid they are too controversial and "morally offensive" to viewers.)
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Planned Parenthood's new advertising campaign features the donated talent
of some of the top young stars of music and television, produced in an eye-catching,
humorous style that will capture the attention of the young people. The ads carry a
simple message: to not let an unplanned pregnancy ruin your future and to call
Planned Parenthood to learn more about family planning and contraception. The
goal is to fight this culture's sense of awkwardness and fear about the subject which
leaves young people struggling with misinformation and needless risk and to offer
young people reliable information about sex and sexuality so they can make
responsible choices. What works is balanced and realistic sexuality education that
encourages teens to postpone sex until they are older, but also provides the
information and access to family planning services they need to prevent pregnancy
and disease.
Shows such as Felicity and Beverly Hills, 90210 have dealt with issues of teen
pregnancy and birth control. One thing that distinguished Beverly Hills, 90210 from
other "teen" shows was its realistic portrayal of issues that concerned teens- grades,
peer group acceptance, money, drugs, sex, parents, fitting in. There were episodes
that dealt with safe sex, drug abuse, alcoholism (both teen and adult), date rape, and
suicide. One season dealt with unmarried pregnancy when Andrea, the bookworm
character, gets pregnant by Jesse, an Hispanic law student, her freshman year at
California University. She then marries him and at season's end, gives birth
prematurely to a daughter.
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WB network executives also sought input on the Felicity scripts from the
National Campaign to prevent Teen Pregnancy, an advocacy group formed in 1995
with the goal of reducing teen pregnancies by one third by the year 2005. Marisa
Nightingale, the manager of media programs, meets with writers and producers to
offer statistics, information on birth control methods, and suggestions for how to
incorporate pregnancy prevention into storylines. According to a recent Kaiser
Foundation survey, 23% of teens say they learn about pregnancy and birth control
from television and movies. Hence, it is im portant to be mindful of what teens are
watching. On an episode of Dawson's Creek, two 16-year-olds contemplating sex run
into each other at a drugstore only to discover they are standing in front of a condom
display, which leads to a frank discussion about safe sex. An episode of Felicity
features the title character researching birth control methods and learning the proper
way of putting on a condom. Once prepared, Felicity then decides in the heat of the
moment she isn't quite ready to have sex. A young woman's decision to put off
having sex is rarely portrayed in prime time, but Felicity is a strong character and her
reasoning is probably convincing to a teen audience. She may well have more
influence on teenage girls than a public service announcement. (Since then, Felicity
has lost her virginity. The situation was handled tastefully; nothing graphic was
depicted, but the audience was given to know that it was safe sex.)
On April 10,1997, NBC aired an episode of ER focusing on morning after
(emergency) contraception, put together with the help of Kaiser Foundation research.
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Before the show aired, independent researchers interviewed 400 of the show's
regular viewers about their knowledge of options for preventing unwanted
pregnancy even after unprotected sex. In the week after the show aired, 300 more
viewers were interviewed. The number of ER viewers w ho said they knew about
morning-after contraception went up by 17% after the episode aired. The study
concluded that up to 6 million of the episode's 34 million viewers learned about
emergency contraception for the first time from the show (and 53% of ER viewers say
they learn important health care information from the show). Even the limited
evidence provided by the ER study suggests the scope of television's power to
educate and influence. And additional Kaiser studies suggest that the lobbying of
public health groups advocating safe sex and birth control is not yet having nearly
enough of a beneficial effect. While 25% of teens say they have learned "a lot" about
pregnancy and birth control from TV shows and movies, and 40% say they have
received ideas about how to talk to their boyfriend or girlfriend about sex from TV
and movies, 76% say that one reason teens feel comfortable having sex at young ages
is that TV shows and movies make it seem "normal" to do so.1 0 '
Talk shows and educational films also make an attem pt to work in issues
about teen pregnancy. Two recent episodes of the Ricki Lake Show have dealt with
pregnant teens and teen moms (12/5/00 and 12/6/00). In fact, the guests are all
young teens who already have at least one child and are expecting another. Even
though a couple of the girls on the panel are white, these pregnant teens are
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predominantly Black and Latina and have mothers who had also bore them at a
young age. The show compellingly shows these girls struggling with the decision to
have the child, to have an abortion, or to put the child up for adoption. Initially, they
all believe they can handle another child and seem to want more children for the
wrong reasons. One non-pregnant white guest (16 years old) who plans on having
another child later wisely decides that she is not ready to have another child and will
focus on raising the one she already has. A Black guest (15 years old) on welfare who
already has a one year old with Down's syndrome takes a pregnancy test on the
show, learns that she is pregnant yet again, and decides that she is prepared to take
care of the child. Another white guest (17 years old) who has plans on becoming a
lawyer already has a child, is 7 months pregnant with another, and discovers that her
boyfriend has been cheating on her. A Hispanic guest (15 years old) is also pregnant
with her second child and is tom up by people who condemn her for getting
pregnant again and encourage her to give up the child. Clearly, these girls are not
ready to be parents. And, mind you, these girls have become pregnant by young
men who have not fathered their previous children.
It is clear upon watching these guests that many young people (especially
those from lower-income families and with less education) are still ignorant and have
idealistic fantasies of motherhood and having a family but are clearly not prepared-
emotionally or socially. They are still very young, have not completed their
education nor are they able to support themselves, and do not have committed
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partners who are willing to share the responsibilities of having a family. It seems as
if they are filling a void in their lives with children they are really not prepared for.
These guests are taken to homeless shelters for teen moms to see what a struggle it is
for moms in general, but especially for young mothers with multiple children and
with no education, no husband, and no job. The show attempts to encourage girls to
reconsider having or planning to have children at such a young age. I think these
episodes do a good job of convincing the audience (both the in-studio and television
audiences) of the serious nature of motherhood and how it affects one's life forever.
In between commercials and the actual show itself, Ricki makes a statement
sponsored by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy that warns girls
that motherhood is an unpaid, 24 hour a day, 7 day a week job with no vacations and
that if you are not ready for that, you are not ready to be a parent! She encourages
abstinence or protection and alerts young people to take a look at a web site
dedicated to such issues: teenpregnancy.org. It is important to have Ricki, a
trustworthy confidant and hostess of the show, to be the one to share this
announcement.
Another episode of Ricki which aired shortly after the ones described above
(12/8/00) deals with teens who reveal their hidden pregnancies. They express their
fear of telling and disappointing the family, especially mothers and in one case,
grandma. A 17 year old Latina girl who is three and a half months pregnant is afraid
to tell her mom and grandma because of the "taboo" nature of premarital pregnancy
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in her family. A one and a half month pregnant black 17 year old teen who already
has two kids reveals her pregnancy to her mom who has 9 kids of her own to raise. It
is wonderful that these moms and grandma are ultimately so supportive of their
daughters, but serious consideration must be taken regarding such an "epidemic" of
teen pregnancies. How do we provide support for such girls while still discouraging
such situations and educating young people about abstinence and responsibility
regarding sex? A 16 year old white teen describes her situation of not revealing her
pregnancy until she is 8 months pregnant and warns the other guests about the
dangers of not getting prenatal care. The overall message from the show is that if
girls are already pregnant and are hiding it, it is not worth it for the life and health of
the girl herself as well as for that of the baby. Options that are encouraged are the
AMT Children of Hope Foundation which is a support hotline for pregnant teens
and Project Cuddle which is a safe haven for abandoned babies.
Finally, I also found an interesting, surreal fictional film on premarital teen
pregnancy in USC's Moving Images Archives. The 30 minute, black-and-white
McGraw-Hill text film titled Phoebe: Story of a Premarital Pregnancy (1969) produced
by the National Film Board of Canada is meant for educational purposes. The
modemist-style film has no real resolution (we never know exactly what Phoebe
decides to do and rather, it is up to the students to discuss and determine what she
should do) and is the story of a teen's struggle w ith deciding what to do about an
unplanned pregnancy. Tormented over what to do and who to tell (her mom, her
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boyfriend, her school counselor), Phoebe plays out various scenarios in her head-
how will her boyfriend (Paul) react? How will her parents react? She imagines both
parties reacting in a positive, supportive manner, then in negative, punitive manner.
We also see her play out her memories with Paul in her head- the development of
their romance and how it led up to this pregnancy. Through creative use of sound
effects, music, and surreal mindscreen, we witness Phoebe's emotional turmoil, fear,
and indecision which concludes with Phoebe calling Paul, telling him about her
pregnancy, and hanging up before he has a chance to respond. Her mother is
portrayed as overbearing and overreactive, hence difficult to talk to regarding such a
difficult situation.
The film is m eant for use in high school and college- in courses which, at the
time, were titled "Home Economics," "Marriage and Family Living," and "Life
Adjustment." The purpose seems to be to aid youth in understanding the realities
and emotional aspects of premarital pregnancy (as it affects the young woman) and
to help students clarify individual values and personal goals. What we see are the
mental and emotional reactions of Phoebe upon discovering her pregnancy. The
emotional underscoring is especially seen in the imaginary, "avant-garde" beach
scenes. The film dramatically reveals her apprehension and dilemma as depicted
through her thoughts about telling her parents, boyfriend, school authorities, and the
various possible reactions to her situation. Students are meant to think about how
they would feel in her shoes and to think about Paul's reactions. The film allows
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students to consider the nature of the boy-girl relationship and what it needs to have
to be meaningful and enduring (trust, integrity, cooperation, appreciation, enhanced
self-respect, responsibility). It should motivate students to think about their own
personal dating behavior and their future lives.
Abortion
Today, about 29% of all pregnancies in the US end in abortion, a total of about
1.5 million legal abortions per year. Legalization of abortion has had measurable
benefits for women's health. For example, after California legalized abortion in 1967,
the number of admissions for infection resulting from illegal abortion at LA
County/USC Medical Center fell by almost 75%. Nationwide, deaths from abortion
used to account for 17% of deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth; today they
account for only 6%. Women who obtain abortions are likely to be young,
unmarried, and poor. Teenagers account for 22% of all abortions, with most of these
occurring among 18- to 19-year-olds. More than half of unintended teenage
pregnancies end in abortion. Four out of five women who have abortions are
unmarried. Women with annual family incomes under $11,000 are nearly four times
as likely to have abortion as women w ith family income over $25,000. Teenagers
obtain 39% of all abortions after the first trimester, and the younger the teen, the
longer she is likely to wait.1 0 2 Why do teens wait, exposing themselves to greater
risk? The primary reasons are ignorance and fear. Many teenagers deny or are
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unaware of pregnancy until the first trimester; many are afraid to admit to parents
that they are pregnant and don't know where else to turn for assistance. The high
rates of abortion further emphasize the need for in-depth and comprehensive sex
education in schools and in the media. High rates of abortion are due to high rates of
unintended pregnancies in the US (more than 50% of pregnancies among American
women and 85% among teens are unintended).
Abortion is still a relatively silent issue in visual media texts today. There is
less cultural engagement with the topic and very few films and episodes of TV shows
deal thoroughly with the issue, especially its emotional and psychological
implications. This silence is a poignant indicator of abortion's sensitive and difficult
existence in the realm of women's and especially, girls' health. Nevertheless, one of
the most poignant representations of teen abortion is addressed in the classic Fast
Times at Ridgemont High. Teenagers wanting to terminate an unintended pregnancy
are more likely to delay in seeking out an abortion provider or to attempt to induce
abortion themselves, increasing the risk of complications such as infection,
hemorrhage, infertility, and even death from an unsafe or incomplete abortion. In
Fast Times, we see a teenage girl struggle with an unwanted pregnancy after having
quick sex with a crush (not a boyfriend). She wants to keep the pregnancy and the
abortion a secret. A recent episode of Dawson's Creek addresses abortion through the
unexpected pregnancy of Dawson's mother. Dawson's parents undergo the difficult
decision of choosing not to have a baby and the show underscores how it is a
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woman's decision. When Dawson does not understand and is disappointed by this
decision, she tells him, "It is my decision and I have made it."
Even though abortion is not often addressed in contemporary television
shows, teen magazines began to discuss abortion in the 1990s and coverage has
focused on decision-making, female responsibility, and the social and emotional
consequences of abortion decisions. The overall silence in regards to abortion is
interesting to consider.
Rape/Date Rape & Sexual Abuse
Girls today handle a great deal of sexual pressure- deciding whether to do it
or not to do it, peer pressure, and the possibilities of disease and pregnancy. Due to
lack of experience and often limited education about sexuality, many teens are
confused about what is appropriate sexual behavior in a relationship. It is often
difficult for young women to identify sexual abuse in their relationships and to
decide how to respond. The threat or use of physical violence often renders them
unable to challenge the sexual abuse. National data reveals that 14 and 15 are two of
the peak ages for becoming a victim of sexual assault. Approximately 50 percent of
rape victims are between 10 and 19 with half of this group under 16 and with the vast
majority taking place between individuals who know one another- in an
acquaintance or dating situation. One in eight adult females has been raped and one
in three women has been sexually abused as a child.1 0 3 The damage to women's
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health caused by rape can be extensive. Women are often beaten by the rapist, are
potentially exposed to STDs, including HIV/AIDS, suffer damage to their
reproductive organs, and m ay even be killed. They may be left with an unwanted
pregnancy, and most women experience short- or long-term adverse psychological
effects. Tragically, assault and battery during pregnancy appear to be more common
than once thought, and are frequently associated with poverty, extreme youth, and
unwanted pregnancy.
The social demands of adolescence often require that a young woman have a
boyfriend. And the most pervasive form of gender-based violence against women
and girls is abuse by a spouse, intimate partner, boyfriend, or parent. Research
estimates indicate that as m any as a third of high school and college-age youth
experience violence in an intim ate or dating relationship during their dating years.
Abuse in adolescent dating relationships is defined as a pattern of repeated actual or
threatened acts that physically, sexually, or verbally abuse a member of an
unmarried heterosexual or homosexual couple in which one or both partners is
between thirteen and twenty years old.1 0 4 According to former surgeon general
Antonia Novella, battery is the single greatest cause of injury to women in America,
more common than automobile accidents, muggings, and stranger rapes combined,
and more than one-third of w om en slain in this country die at the hands of
boyfriends or husbands. Throughout the world, the biggest problem for most
women is simply surviving at home.
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The adolescent girl is especially vulnerable to such violence because of her
relative lack of power- physically, socially, and economically. Female socialization
reinforces subordination to males, especially in intimate relationships. It is not only
the act of violence which may determine much of w hat a young woman is obliged to
do. She will often have lower status in the household, lower status in the workplace,
less opportunity for education, training employment and inheritance rights, all of
which contribute to greater vulnerability. The sexism inherent in definitions of what
is "normal" masculine or feminine behavior often fit stereotyped patterns of
dominance and passivity. Furthermore, even in childhood, girls are made to feel
more responsible than boys for the failures of relationships. Many women, damaged
as girls by their fathers, spend their lives trying to heal damaged men, hoping each
time to make the relationship right. The daughters of rejecting men reach out to men
who will abuse them. The sons of batterers and philanderers repeat the cycle. And,
unfortunately, women often use alcohol and other drugs to cope with the pain and
disappointment of unhappy or abusive relationships w ith these men.
In general, females are still held responsible and hold each other responsible
when sex goes wrong- when they become pregnant or are the victims of rape and
sexual assault or cause a scandal. Exhorted to be sexy and attractive, they discover
when assaulted that sexiness is evidence of their guilt, their lack of "innocence."
Debate over this issue is seen in The Accused. Even little girls are sometimes held
responsible for the violence against them. The 1996 m urder of six-year-old Jon-Benet
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Ramsey combined child pornography and violence and was a gold mine for the
media. In 1990, a male Canadian judge accused a three-year-old girl of being
"sexually aggressive" and suspended the sentence of her molester, who was then free
to return to his job as baby-sitter.1 0 5 The deeply held belief that all women, regardless
of age, are really temptresses in disguise, nymphets, sexually insatiable and
seductive, conveniently transfers all blame and responsibility onto women.
All women are vulnerable in a culture in which there is such widespread
objectification of women's bodies, such glorification of disconnection, so much
violence against women, and such blaming of the victim. In the past twenty years or
so, there have been several trends in fashion and advertising that could be seen as
cultural reactions to the women's movement, as perhaps unconscious fear of female
power. One has been the obsession with thinness. Another has been an increase in
images of violence against women and the increasing sexualization of children,
especially girls. This is not only an American phenomenon. A growing national
obsession in Japan with schoolgirls dressed in uniforms is called "Loli-con," after
Lolita. In Tokyo, hundreds of "image clubs" allow Japanese men to act out their
fantasies with make-believe schoolgirls. A magazine called V-Club featuring pictures
of naked elementary-school girls competes with another called Anatomical
Illustrations of Junior High School Girls. Perhaps Japanese men are turning to girls
because they feel threatened by the growing sophistication of older women.
Furthermore, sometimes the models in ads are children, other times they look like
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children. For example, Kate Moss epitomized the vacant, hollow-cheeked look
known as "heroin chic" that was popular in the mid-nineties. She often looked
vulnerable, abused, and exploited. In one ad, she is nude in the comer of a huge
sofa, cringing as if braced for an impending sexual assault. In another, she is lying
nude on her stomach, pliant, available, androgynous enough to appeal to all kinds of
pedophiles.
The pervasive harassment of and contempt for girls and women constitute a
kind of abuse. Addictions for women are rooted in trauma and girls who are
sexually abused are far more likely to become addicted to one substance or another.
The "cultural abuse" of pornographic images of female sexuality, the pervasiveness
of violence in the media, and the threat of real harassment and violence does damage
and sets girls up for addictions and self-destructive behavior. Many girls turn to
food, alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs in a misguided attempt to cope. Ads that
objectify women and sexualize children also play a role in the victimization of
women and girls that often leads to addiction. When women are shown in positions
of powerlessness, submission, and subjugation, the message to men is that women
are available as targets of aggression and violence, women are inferior to men and
thus deserve to be dominated, and women exist to fulfill the needs of men.
Generally inexperienced in relationships, adolescents may have difficulty
managing the complexity of feelings, decisions, and conflicts that arise.
Romanticizing about love and relationships, they often interpret jealousy,
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possessiveness, and abuse as signs of love. Young women are vulnerable to
victimization, and their difficulty defining abuse as a problem adds to that
vulnerability. Verbal and emotional abuse in the form of hypercritical, demeaning
barrages are almost always involved, with or without sexual violence. The abuse is
alternated with devotion, love, and often, passionate sex. The abuser controls his or
her partner with jealousy, obsessiveness, and suicide threats as well as with physical
and verbal violence. Extrication from the relationship can be overwhelmingly
difficult for a young woman. Violence breeds many problems aside from those
related to reproductive health and can lead to severe mental health consequences
including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, sexual dysfunction,
eating disorders, and suicide. Sexual abuse has also been linked to other behavioral
problems including abuse of alcohol and other drugs, unprotected sex with multiple
partners, and prostitution.
Studies between 1985 and 1997 conclude that from 25 to 35% of girls and from
10 to 20% of boys are sexually abused, usually by men they know and trust.1 0 6 A 1993
report by the American Association of University Women found that 76% of female
students in grades eight to eleven and 56% of male students said they had been
sexually harassed in school. Sexual battery, as well as inappropriate sexual
gesturing, touching, and fondling, is increasing not only in high schools but in
elementary and middle schools as well. There are reports of sexual assaults by
students on other students as young as eight. This abuse often leads to post-
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traumatic stress disorder, with its terrifying symptoms of panic attacks, nightmares,
depression, flashbacks, and dissociative episodes. "Dissociation" from the body is a
common defense mechanism used by people who have been abused. For example,
the psychological mechanisms of dissociation that prostitutes have learned to survive
sexual abuse are what they also use to survive as a prostitute. In the immediacy of
trauma, m any are able to dissociate at will. Later on, some kind of drug or addiction
is almost necessary to maintain the dissociation.1 0 7
Sexual abuse is the most obvious, and perhaps the most devastating attack on
body image. The body is never wholly one's own again. In fact, the victim's own
body is used as a weapon against her. It is controlled by others and can be made to
respond against it's owner's will. Its boundaries are violated an intruded upon. An
abused child may come to feel totally divorced from her physical self. Often unable
to recall w hat happened to them due to dissociation, abuse victims instead repond to
closeness w ith panic, rage, and anxiety, and may use self-destructive behavior to
create distance and a sense of protection. Cutting and eating disorders may both be
attempts to make the body less sexually desirable in order to avoid intimacy. Anger
is often directed at the body part associated with gender and sexuality.1 0 8
Because of shame, fear, or normative confusion, young people may not seek
assistance to deal with or end the violence or violent relationships."” Adults m ust
actively help girls define "healthy" relationships and to identify abusive ones.
Young people also need adults to be supportive, direct, and honest, not minimizing,
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blaming, or punitive. The publicity given lately to violent males and battered
women has also made teen girls more aware of the dangers of a violent or potentially
violent boyfriend or date. Starting in 1997, the "Smart Date" Web site allowed teens
to register their dating plans for the evening, with the information released to
authorities only if a missing person report is filed.
The reluctance of many school officials to take seriously the problem of verbal
harassment in early adolescence sets the stage for more serious difficulties, such as
date or acquaintance rape, in high school and college. It is no wonder that teenage
magazines today are filled with stories of sexual violation, as well as inquiries about
how to fend off unwelcome comments, touching, and outright physical intimidation.
The magazines try to assure girls that pressure from boyfriends and peers should
never make them do anything they do not feel comfortable doing. Date rape
accounts for 67% of the sexual assaults reported by adolescent and college-age
women. Young women between the ages of 14 and 17 represent an estimated 38% of
those victimized by date rape.1 1 0 It is not rare for girls to experience some kind of
sexual assault by a friend or acquaintance. Furthermore, these are especially
damaging because they erode girls' trust in the world around them and make all
relationships potentially dangerous. Because the assailant is someone the victim
knows, often the case is more difficult to handle afterward. The victim often feels
responsible and is less likely to report it. And if she does report it, there is more
likelihood the assailant will argue that the sexual experience was consensual. It is
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also not uncommon for girls to become victims of date rape through the aid of "date
rape drugs" such as GHB. A recent Ricki Lake episode (11/7/00) deals with the
young men (and women) who put this drug into others' drinks as well as the victims
of the drug. Victims may lose consciousness and are then unaware of being taken
advantage of sexually. Perpetrators claim that the drug merely enhances sex drive.
The show ultimately sends the message to young people to be careful about
accepting drinks from strangers at bars as well as to keep an eye on their drinks at all
times. It admonishes those who so cavalierly lace people's drinks with the drug,
without fully understanding the dangers and deadly consequences.
Young women growing up today face an expanded repertoire of erotic
possibilities. Some look for new and different pleasures to enhance or supplement
"traditional" intercourse. For example, oral sex is now considered natural and
enjoyable, although they were once considered perverted, unnatural, and immoral.
However, the few studies that exist on oral sex among teens indicate that although
teenage girls perform fellatio more often now, they do so without pleasure, usually to
please their boyfriend or to avoid the possibility of impregnation. This exemplifies
the often fine line that is drawn between coercion and consent in the lives of sexually
active girls. As girls mature and begin to date, the psychological pressures increase
and become more complicated in an emotional sense, because a partner's demands
are often tied up with the issue of love. Women in our culture are also socialized to
believe that satisfaction of a man's sexual urges is a woman's responsibility. A girl is
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caught between two ideals- one of the sexually reserved, "pure" virgin, the other of
the sexually exciting "vamp" who can hold a boy's interest. The opposing roles of
initiator and gatekeeper set up an adversarial relationship in courtship.
Recent studies of violence in adolescent dating, conducted at high schools
and colleges throughout the country, indicate that a substantial number of adolescent
girls have experienced some form of sexual violence in their dating relationships. Yet
when they are asked about their attitudes toward these behaviors, girls, as well as
boys, revealed a surprising level of tolerance for sexual coercion. 32% of the girls
believed that forced sex was actually acceptable if a couple had dated for a long time.
And 40% of the boys believed that forced sex was acceptable if the guy spent a lot of
money on the date."1 (And it is not uncommon for the media to portray "aggressive"
sex as sexy and desirable.) A national study in 1995 by the Alan Guttmacher
Institute, a research and public policy group that studies fertility and population
issues, suggests that heightened adult male interest in the bodies of young girls is not
a figment of the feminist imagination. A startling number of teenage girls are having
sex with adult men, instead of with boys their own age.1 1 2
When writers and producers for the WB network's Felicity were working on
the script for a two-part story about date rape, they sought the advice from experts at
the Kaiser Family Foundation. The show is aware of the messages they send out.
Executive producer Ed Redlich explains, "Given that our audience is teenage girls,
we wanted to be correct, At the same time we didn't w ant it to be an extended public
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service announcement." As the scripts sent through revisions, the show's writers sat
down to discuss date rape with representatives from Kaiser. In whom might a young
woman confide after being raped? What kind of advice might a rape counselor
provide? What physical tests would the woman undergo? What kind of message
would the show be sending if the rapist didn't use a condom? The episode depicts
Felicity's friend, Julie, struggling to overcome the guilt, pain, and anger after being
"raped" by a date. We see her experience the denial, the emotional pain, the
difficulty talking about it (even with friends), her confusion, her visits to the hospital
for tests, her sessions with a counselor, and the importance of recognizing "date
rape" and not keeping silent.
Race and Abuse
Because America consists of a variety of immigrant populations and is
characterized by multiculturalism, it would be a harmful oversight to ignore the role
that race plays in the dynamics of sex and abusive relationships. For one thing,
because of institutionalized and individual racism in American society, black men in
particular have experienced much of the powerlessness, low self-esteem, feelings of
ineffectiveness and insecurity that characterize m any abusive men. Many black men
(and of course Latinos and other minorities as well as lower class males in general)
feel that they have no power and little impact on the culture at large. They are thus
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more likely to dem and that their partners and family members treat them like a man
and show them respect.
There is also a large number of parenting teens in the Latina population.
These girls are often involved in restrictive relationships accompanied by verbal
and/or physical and child abuse which leads to isolation."3 These young women, as
are other immigrants, are especially vulnerable to relationship violence. The
stressors associated with being an immigrant added to the stressors of adolescence
combined with the stress of adolescent parenthood make these women particularly
susceptible to relationship problems in general, and to violence in particular.
Stressors include isolation, lack of options regarding work, housing, and school, and
limited opportunities in general. They also include the demands of the adjustment
process, fear of deportation if they are without legal residency status, and prejudice
and institutional racism. Enormous poverty is often the greatest stressor that these
young women face."4 The young women in battering relationships must struggle to
cope with the abuse in the context of their limited options and opportunities. And
often times, the young woman's family may not be able to protect her from the
abusive relationship because of her financial dependence on her boyfriend. These
young women may stay in the relationship based on having limited options and
based on their poverty. Thus the cycle of violence may take years to break.
A significant but often overlooked racial population are the Asian-Pacific
communities and the prevalence of dating violence within them. Firstly, the Asian
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population is one of the fastest growing minority groups in the US. The "model
minority" myth is a stereotype that allows serious problems such as dating violence
to go unaddressed. It perpetuates an image of Asians as homogeneous and
successful people without the social ills that are commonly associated with other
minorities. Asians themselves frequently utilize the model minority label as a
survival mechanism to prevent more damaging stereotypes and gross generalizations
regarding their communities. Furthermore, young Asian women's allegiance to their
families and to maintaining their families' respectability may cause feelings of shame
and reluctance to seek needed help in abusive relationships and unwanted
pregnancy. It is also not uncommon for undocumented immigrants (of all races) to
decide against filing a police report regarding dating violence incidents because they
fear their illegal status may be discovered.
Contact between Asians and Americans within and outside the US contains a
long history of exploitation of Asians as economic units of labor, with Asian women
being further exploited as sexual commodities. The media often further reinforce this
stereotype of Asian women, portraying them as exotic, subservient, passive, and
sexually attractive. The "mail-order bride" business highlights the objectification of
Asian women as submissive sexual servants. These myths and stereotypes about
Asian women also make them vulnerable to victimization by non-Asian men w ho
may force them to behave according to stereotypes. And often, women internalize
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the expectation to be subservient and to sexually indulge men, which leaves them at
high risk to be abused.
In traditional Asian families, a girl learns that her worth and her family's
reputation depend on her being a virgin at marriage. Perplexing feelings arise for
her as she is divided between duty to her family values of virginity and
accommodating the man she is dating. Complicated feelings she may have about
sexuality may arise as she assimilates and tries to conform to social expectations of
her American peers. A young woman who has been dating or has been sexually
active loses her respectability according to the traditional values of her community,
which puts her at higher risk for violence in intimate relationships. When violence
occurs in a secret dating relationship, there is additional stress from keeping both the
violence and the dating relationship secret from the parents. The secrecy associated
with dating intensifies the teenager's feelings of being responsible for the violence.
The young Asian woman is thus more likely to feel isolated as a result of such
violence. There is fear not only of the violence but also of the parents' reactions. She
may also have greater difficulty turning to her family for support because of the
shame she experiences following the violence. The fear of disclosure is intensified
because of the feeling that she will bring shame and humiliation to the family. Being
unable to tell their families about their conflicted and taboo experiences with dating,
violence, sexuality, and sexual abuse makes them even more vulnerable without their
most important support system. A cultural value that is shared by most
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Asian/Pacific cultures is that of enduring and suffering without complaint. Men and
women alike value silence and acceptance as a way of handling difficulties with
pride. There is pressure to keep silent, to save face, and to prevent family shame.
This presents a conflict for adolescent women for whom the pains and concerns of
the moment are demanding as is natural for this stage of development. The self-
centeredness of adolescence makes it difficult to endure the immediate pain for the
sake of generations of family.
Another problem for immigrant Asians is the lack of culturally and
linguistically relevant service programs and the communities' culturally deep-rooted
denial and resistance to dealing with the issue of teen dating violence and sexuality.
The low status that girls hold in the traditional Asian family hierarchy as children
and as females, compounded with a culturally based emphasis on maintaining
harmony even if it is as the cost of the individual's well-being, continues to
discourage these teenagers from asserting their rights and needs. Because of their
powerless position, their needs as victims may remain unaddressed. Young women
may suffer a tremendous sense of guilt about dating since such activities are not
viewed as bringing honor to the family. This guilt adds to a sense of responsibility
and shame if the young women are victimized in dating situations, resulting in the
young women's further withdrawal and isolation from support systems.
Recognizing the vulnerability and isolation of these women, outreach efforts in
dating and dating violence are especially important.
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Selective use of the media can help destigmatize and demystify the subject.
The various media play an increasingly significant role in the lives of teenagers and
exposure to the issue of dating violence through the media may create awareness,
identification, and understanding among teens in a nonthreatening way. In
communities with a high concentration of Asian peoples, such as Los Angeles, a
number of newspapers are published and TV and radio programs are produced in
various languages. Such media are important in disseminating information to
members of these communities. Information regarding dating violence presented
through such ethnic media may be accepted as relevant because these sources of
information are respected in the community. Ethnic media may demonstrate that
such abusive experiences are a problem, too, of the Asian communities and confront
them being discounted as issues of only non-Asian cultures. Also, young women
who decide to disclose their experiences and to seek help are more likely to reach out
to services that maintain confidentiality and allow them to remain anonymous, such
as hot lines and rape crisis centers.
Sexual assault can be a traumatic experience. There are also books (such as
The Best Years of Their Lives: A Resource Guide for Teenagers in Crisis by Stephanie
Zirvin [1992], In Love and In Danger: A Teen's Guide to Breaking Free of Abusive
Relationships by Barrie Levy [1998], Top Secret: Sexual Assault Information for Teenagers
Only by Jennifer Fay and Billie Jo Flerchinger [1982], and Intimate Betrayal:
Understanding and Responding to the Trauma of Acquaintance Rape by Vemon R. Wiehe
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and Ann L. Richards [1995]) and organizations (such as the National Coalition
Against Sexual Assault) that can offer hope and guidance along the way to recovery.
"Coming Out"/Lesbianism
Our society emphasizes a heterosexual point of view- everything from TV
shows to movies, songs, advertisements, and textbooks assumes we are attracted to
people of the opposite sex. As sexual expressiveness came to be valued rather than
denied, more girls began to consider lesbianism a viable option. American girls in
the 1970s and 1980s began to write openly in diaries about their struggles with sexual
identity. Teenage girls began to express discomfort with heterosexual norms and
acknowledge their emotional and erotic preference for their own sex. Instead of
remaining celibate, entering convents, making unhappy marriages, or leading furtive
lives, by the 1970s a sizable number of young women became self-identified, sexually
active lesbians. Their ability to accept and express their own sexual desire was
facilitated by the women's movement and by the emergence of an openly gay
culture, both of which provided young lesbians w ith role models and a vocabulary
for understanding themselves. Just like most sexual experiences, sexual orientation
has become an issue, and a choice, earlier in life. At the same time, an emerging
lesbianism or bisexuality in a relentlessly heterosexual world adds another element
to a girl's developing sense of self.
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Female homosexuality has often been ignored or labeled as "school girls'
nonsense." But when modem society did acknowledge lesbians, it was often with
hatred or fear. Lesbians were described as evil, mentally ill, exotic, and even as
vampires.1 1 5 (As I will discuss later, lesbians in Buffy are "witches.") Nevertheless,
there is an increasing amount of attention paid to homo-and bi-sexuality in the
media. In print, there are non-fiction books such as Free Your Mind: The Book for Cay,
Lesbian, and Bisexual Youth- and Their Allies (Ellen Bass & Kate Kaufman, 1996), The
Lesbian Almanac (National Museum and Archive of Gay and Lesbian History, 1996),
and Two Teenagers in Twenty: Writings by Gay and Lesbian Youth (Ann Herron, 1994).
Literature includes Annie on M y Mind (Nancy Garder, 1992), Heart on Fire (Diana
Simmonds, 1996), Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (Jeanette Winterson, 1985), Red
Azalea (Anchee Min, 1995), Rubyfruit Jungle where sex between women is described
as fulfilling- something to be enjoyed without any guilt (Rita Mae Brown, 1973), and
Stone Butch Blues (Leslie Feinberg, 1993). Films include Go Fish (Rose Troche, 1994),
When Night Is Falling (Patricia Rozema, 1995),The Incredibly True Adventures of 2 Girls
in Love (Maria Maggenti, 1995), and Chasing Amy. As mentioned earlier, comedian
Ellen De Generes made waves as the first main character on a TV show to come out
as a lesbian. GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation,
www.glaad.org), established in 1980, is an organization that fights for positive media
portrayals of lesbian, gay, and bisexual lives. Despite the fact that realistic gay
characters are showing up in TV shows, movies, and books, being gay is still treated
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as outside what is "normal," and homophobia is still common. Gay "bashing" (both
psychological and physical) is unfortunately a reality at some high schools, and
many students feel it is unsafe to come out in this hostile atmosphere. Growing up
bisexual or lesbian can lead to strong feelings of isolation. Constantly receiving the
message from society that they are not "normal" may explain why gay teens are
three times more likely to commit suicide than straight teens.
Sadie Benning and Miranda July as "girl" filmmakers, artists, and lesbians
themselves have come up with interesting representations of being gay in their film
and video work which has circulated throughout the girl "zine" culture. Girls who
view their work may not only realize that it is OK to be gay, but that it is something
to be proud of, something that should be expressed, and can be expressed in creative
ways through film. Sadie Benning is one of a handful of North American
independent video producers of the last decade to have attracted sustained critical
notice outside the circuits typically open to non-commercially minded media
artists.1 1 6 Her work has made her an artist in the ways it has allowed her to release
her own creativity and to (unprecedently) acquire a public identity, to find a voice.
This type of art-making aids in self-awareness, no matter how fragmented, multiple,
schizophrenic the self may be. Benning often takes on a repertoire of fantasy roles
created in defense against the threat of annihilation. Her own plurality figures the
multiplicity of the female self. She herself admits that the fact that she is young (only
17 when first praised with a fair amount of critical acclaim), female, and homosexual
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that has made her a sort of "fad." As was the case with Marlon Riggs, often times,
the logic of the attention to independent media comes from the precipitation of some
manner of cultural scandal or from the mainstream's momentary acceptance of a
cultural trend- in Benning's case, the recent and now somewhat muted moment of
"lesbian chic" as well as the related but distinct cult of "girl power", the latter of
which Benning vociferously advocates.
Despite Benning's career beginnings as merely a hobby with a Fisher-Price
Pixelvision 2000 toy camera (which now, incidentally, enjoys a cult status), she got
caught up in accidental fame and commercialization. Originally projects done for
herself and perhaps for others in the young, (female), gay community, her work has
been embraced by viewers of all ages, races, classes, genders. To a limited extent,
Benning's work participates in and profits from the lesbian chic and the girl power
cachets. Independent video distribution in this country has finally come to
understand the strategies of niche marketing. Benning's work is such that Chicago's
Video Data Bank has positioned her as one of its franchise offerings. The entirety of
her videowork, which runs just under two hours, is available on two VHS tapes,
available for the home, festival, library, and classroom markets. All nine titles
(produced between 1989 and 1992) are explicitly premised on the autobiographical
experiences and explorations of a postadolescent lesbian girl- Benning on Benning
(or rather, Benning becoming Benning).
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As the story goes, Benning grew up with her m other in inner-city Milwaukee,
a solitary teenager prone to confessing her feelings to her written diary. At first
uninterested in her Fisher-Price camera, she one day picked it up and decided to use
it for the kind of diaristic expression for which she had up until then been using only
words. Written and spoken words still proliferate in her videowork, however, as she
stars and narrates her films. Generally, they depict a young girl simply making her
way amid the unwelcoming urban landscape. Her first piece, "A New Year" (1989),
was made when she was fifteen and is a four-minute documentation of what it feels
like to be a girl w ho is different and receives most of her information from looking
out the window or at television. Bedroom culture becomes important for Benning (as
it is in the girl's talk show) as the sensation of the bedroom gains significance as the
only haven from a malevolent social-sector world. "Coming out" in Milwaukee, she
encounters the opposition, so she chooses an alternate route- she comes out without
leaving her room.
Benning's documentation of the ramifications of teenage isolation is not new
(she dropped out of high school at sixteen due to the homophobic environment);
rather, it is her record of the very process of coming out as a teenage lesbian as it is
happening. It is not a "documentary" of what has happened, but of what is
happening. We witness an identity in the act of defining itself- the becoming of a
(homo)sexual being. Her coming out on videotape w as gradual, the turning point
piece being her third- "Me and Rubyfruit" (1989) in which Benning explicitly
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articulates her romantic and erotic feelings for other girls. Also characteristic of her
work in general, there is a sustained tension between a palpable fascination with her
own corporeal self (especially her eyes, but also parts of her body such as her hands)
with an equally palpable fear of self-exposure. The bedroom is always the privileged
site, cast not as a romantic chamber but as the teenage girl's unbreachable safety
zone, with the real admitted only as it takes the form of TV images and written texts.
This effect has been described as a "narcissism-in-hiding, a paradoxical retreat
through exposure that precisely matches the emotional tone of these tapes, which
continually seek to strike an uneasy balance between secrecy and candor, shyness
and angry assertion.""7
Her subsequent Pixelvision works— "If Every Girl Had a Diary" (1990),
"Jollies" (1990), "A Place Called Lovely" (1991), "It W asn't Love" (1992), and "Girl
Power" (1992) maintain the freshness of her first works while also exhibiting
increasing self-confidence and often a sense of self-amused irony. "It Wasn't Love"
is typical of her offhand style. It is a 20-minute tape shot primarily in her bedroom
recasting a film noir road romance with lesbian lovers. She has a friend with a
masterplan to take Benning to Hollywood. We see her continued homosexual
awakening as she takes on bi-gendered identities. She transforms herself through a
variety of guises- heavy vamp makeup, goatee, wigs, cigars. We see a sequence of
her as a man with male facial hair, head shaved, being photographed mug shot style.
We hear her say, "'H er life was my fantasy'" as everything manages to collapse back
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into the landscape of her face- dreams, memories, and aspirations always returning
to her image.
The urgency of the personal issues at stake in Benning's work- the passionate
desire to be understood, to be accepted, and to be loved, indicates that her primary
audience are those she would recognize as her peers- young people of a certain age,
young gay and lesbian people in particular, all of whom find themselves starving for
validating, ennobling images of themselves. These are not so much positive images
as they are honest and faith keeping with the adolescent birthright of insecurity and
doubt. Benning's work provides balm to those souls- to all the kids (esp. girls) who
find solace only behind the closed bedroom door. For the rest of us, it may also be
the thrill of eavesdropping- "Her autobiographic videos are served up to us like the
meals in ethnic restaurants, arriving at the table trumpeting their foreignness
through a symphony of sputtering sizzles. We are both excited and taken aback; we
do not eat this way at home."1 1 8 Benning possesses a distinct voice and presents it in
an even more distinct fashion. The videos' fragments of text, dialogue, and most
importantly, Benning's face often seem to produce a schizophrenic effect. Is it a
dissolution of the artist-with-artifact versus patient-with-symptom distinction? It has
been described not as video-as-symptom, but as symptom becoming video."9
Portland video maker Miranda July advocates the need to use different forms
of media to make a new girl culture. Moving images probably affect more women's
lives than music, books, or magazines do. Yet, for obvious economic reasons, they
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remain the last frontier for the self-empowerment movement inspired by third wave
feminism and punk rock that is usually referred to as riot grrrl. But that is beginning
to change with new videos and fanzines. And this includes the making of personal
video diaries. Each of July's projects is a collection of 10 films and videos by girls
and young women from around the country. In her Big Miss Moviola Project #1,
"The Chainletter", she uses the promise of fame and acknowledgment as a reward:
"Big Miss Moviola is a challenge and a promise: Girl, if you make the movie, I
promise you somebody will see it." She plays to the female desire to be seen and
heard. In the flyer calling for contributors, she has pictures of individual women
inset in an imaginary TV screen with text written across their bodies such as, "I am
the star of my movie" and "it's the true story." Then she encourages, "There oughta
be hundreds of lady made movies flying all over this country. Like some kinda crazy
chainletter that can't be broke. And every movie made inspires another lady to go: I
can do that...Lady, U send me: your movie and I'll send you the latest Big Miss
Moviola Compilation tape. That's ten-lady-made movies, including yours." She also
requires her contributors to write something about themselves and/or the piece-
what the movie means to them, what they want to work on in the future, who they
are, ideas for projects, resources, art, photos, etc. for a Directory. She explains that
this Directory is important as it is the reason why Big Miss Moviola is more about
communication than presentation.
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For her second Moviola project, July asked young women on the street, '“ If
you could make a movie, what would it be about?'" She printed the responses on a
poster of blueprint paper as "The Missing Movie Report" (giving her project a sense
of urgency) which offers glimpses of how films shape the female psyche. Her call
urgently requests,
I would like to file a MISSING MOVIE REPORT. Some of the most
incredible movies of 1996 will never be made, BUT THAT'S NOT A
REASON TO FORGET ABOUT THEM. I am starting a MISSING
MOVIE SEARCH PARTY AND FAN CLUB. O ur mission is to
search for the missing movies that are all around us by using our
EYES and EARS to see the invisible and unheard of. We, the M.M.
Fan Club, pledge to build a thirst that can't be satisfied by
[Hollywood]. This thirst = an audience, a support system, an ear, an
eye, a plan, a gutsy scheme called survival.
For her first compilation, July notes that the contributors can be anyone-
ordinary girls with or without experience and ranging in age from 16 to 26, white,
and college-educated (unfortunately quite homogeneous). Publicizing in Sassy
magazine, July has acquired a nation-wide "teen girl" following. She believes that
her project is defined by its media coverage, hence its gradual transition into a more
commercial realm- "It's all about media: who gets to be seen, who represents who,
what do you watch on your TV." Quite few of the pieces on this first compilation are
video diaries, once again indicating its popularity as a "girl" genre in visual
expression. I have selected three out of the 10 pieces to look at. Tammy Rae
Carland's Odd Girl Out is an autobiographical and fictional collection of videos, a
process of looking at a queer childhood by using narrative and diary-like accounts of
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memory and present-day relationships. It is constructed as five short vignettes
strung together. The collection tells a new kind of coming out story, one that is
positioned in Carland's particular class background (lower class) as well as one that
explores erotic experiences between young girls. The first vignette, "Becky", is a
story about a girl who likes a girl who likes horses and recalls a memory of girlhood
lust and loss. "Dear Mom" is a distressed diary piece of the videomaker herself
practicing and failing in "coming out" to her mother. She talks directly to the camera
in first person, obviously struggling and trying to confess to her mother on what
seems to be a TV screen. Perhaps this helps her anxiety by making the experience
less real, more of a fantasy space, thus easier to cope with. At the end, she confesses
to us (the virtual confessional "other") nervously, but decides that she can't actually
tell her mother. "Jug Town Road" is a Pixelvision (a la Benning) scrapbook of the
video maker's girlhood crush on Amy Carter and how it functioned as a fantasy
escape from poverty. It is diary-like with its written text and photos of Amy Carter.
She confesses that as a 10-year old, she was obsessed, pining for what she saw as
Amy's ideal life. She wanted to be Amy's friend, sister. Amy was her role model,
who she wanted to be. "Sway" depicts a memory that cannot be placed as real or
unreal, but attempts to reveal a glimpse at a blurry father/ daughter moment. "My
Lover's Hand" is an erotic prose style piece that slowly unfolds a sexual moment
between the filmmaker and her female lover done mostly with voice sound and black
screen with minimal images.
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One of the purposes of the "Miss Moviola" project seems to be a construction
of a girl community around the talent and effort in filmmaking by and for girls. The
resulting raw, unpolished films depict girls' /w om en's struggles to just be-
meditations on lesbian identities, "mockumentaries." July shows the movies at
screenings where audience members also make their own one-minute videos called
"The Nobody Tapes" (sounds real identity-affirming!). She is also putting together a
program where girls are given access to video cameras with which to make their own
movies. The emphasis is on grassroots culture-making and reaching adolescents.
And even though her targeted audience is other girls, her purpose is to increase the
visibility of females, hence she ultimately hopes for a mainstream audience.
On television, we get hints towards the emerging homosexuality of Buffy's
friend, Willow. However, her self-discovery (as well as our discovery) of her
burgeoning feelings for fellow "witch," Tara, is "masked" so "coming out" is
romantic, special, "cool." We see it romanticized and played out through their
seances, spells, and shared interest in witchcraft. In one episode, Willow and Tara sit
facing each other within a circle of candles and with a long-stem rose in between
them. While holding hands and chanting their spell, we see them swoon and sway
in pleasure, then climax orgasmically with the finale of the spell. The spell is cast to
help Buffy and friends successfully overcome demons, but the spell also unites
Willow and Tara into one, as they consummate their "unique" friendship and mask
their pledged commitment to one another through their successfully combined
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power in witchcraft. We soon learn that their spells are most successful when they
are cast together; each "spell" session akin to a sexual rendezvous. It is interesting to
note that Willow and Tara are "queered" as "witches" and by their interest in
witchcraft. (Their acts of sexual intimacy are embedded within the "queered" text of
spells.) According to Alexander Doty, these lesbian/ queer pleasures which include
female friendships and the pleasures of looking at other women are a fundamental
part of heterosexual girl culture. It is based on the importance teenage girls attach to
looking at oneself, the pleasure in examining one's face and body. In a way, the
show is a form of homosocial communication.
Besides the popular kids, the cast of WB's Popular also includes token misfits-
rejects, nerds, punks, etc. who drop in and out of the plot as appropriate. A gay male
teaches feminist literature (do they really teach that in high school now?) and a butch
woman teaches biology. In an episode that dealt with accepting others' individual
differences, the most popular teacher at school (for woodshop) decides that he is
transgender and wants to get a sex change. After his surgery, he changes his name,
wears wigs, dresses, and makeup. Despite the fact that the students stand up for
him, the school's administrative board and committee (adults, of course) fire him.
We also see Harrison's mom lose her job (as a pharmacist) after she "comes out" as a
lesbian. Once again, we see young people accepting of her, yet adults being close-
minded and prejudiced. Despite their campiness or kitschiness, these episodes bear
important messages dealing with discrimination against people who do not abide by
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261
standard ideals of beauty or who are transsexual or homosexual, for example. It is
important for teens, especially with the forces of peer pressure and acceptance, to
learn to stand up for one's differences.
Young lesbians are also vulnerable to relationship violence. The confusion
about norms and roles that characterizes heterosexual adolescent relationships is
even more bewildering in teen lesbian relationships. Lack of visible role models or
relationships may add to the uncertainty. Adolescents may not be certain about their
sexual identity and conflicts about the acceptability of being a lesbian or fear of
homophobic responses from parents, peers, and others may keep a young woman
from telling anyone about her relationship and therefore from seeking help if her
relationship is abusive.
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262
Endnotes for Chapter 3
1 Kaiser Family Foundation
2 Schulenberg, John, Jennifer Maggs & Klaus Hurrelmann (eds.), Health Risks and
Developmental Transitions During Adolescence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1997,36.
3 including slasher movies such as Hallmueen l-V, Nightmare on Elm Street l-V, Friday the 13th /-
VIII, Texas Chainsaw Massacre /-//, Scream /-//, Wild Things, I Know What You Did Last Summer l-
II, in which sexuality is often entwined with violence and is immensely popular with teen
audiences. Because sex is something that is not usually discussed or observed except in the
media, teens who are faithful viewers of such movies may be learning that acting aggressively
toward women is expected and normal. Studies show that exposure to such material can
result in desensitization to sexual violence. (Strasburger 1995,54) The years between 1970 and
1989 represented an era of teenage "sexploitation" films. Hollywood pandered to the
adolescent population, presumably because of demographic considerations- teenagers
comprise the largest movie-going segment of the population. Such movies as Porky's /-///, The
Last American Virgin, Going All the Way, The First Time, Endless Love, Risky Business, Bachelor
Party, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High have dealt with teenage sex.
4 Brown, Jane D. & Jeanne R. Steele, "Sex and the Mass Media," 1995, 2.
5 Ibid. 11.
5 It would be interesting to consider what a feminist approach to the sort of work Dr. Drew
does in the media would be. How would a "feminist" health advisor counsel girls?
7 Heavy metal music has come under particular scrutiny as studies have shown that a
preference for such music may be a marker for alienation, substance abuse, psychiatric
disorders, or risk-taking behaviors during adolescence. (Strasburger 1995,85)
8 Strasburger, Victor C., Adolescents and the Media (Medical and Psychological Impact),
Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1995,86.
9 Ibid. 88.
1 0 Brown, J. 13.
1 1 Ibid.
1 2 Ibid. 15.
1 3 Ibid. 16.
u A study of 291 junior high school students in North Carolina found that those who
selectively viewed more sexy TV were more likely to have begun having sexual intercourse in
the preceding year. (Strasburger 1995,49)
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263
1 5 Brown, J. 31.
1 6 Lowry, D.T. & J.A. Shidler (1993). "Prime Time TV Portrayals of Sex, ‘Safe Sex/ and AIDS: A
Longitudinal Analysis," loumalism Quarterly. 70 (3), 629.
1 7 Bryant, Jennings & Dolf Zillmann, Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research.
Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1994,399.
4 8 Ibid.
1 9 Strasburger 1995,47.
2 0 Bryant 399.
2 1 Strasburger 1995,49.
2 2 Brown, J. 5.
2 3 The Media Project
2 4 Bown, J. 6.
2 5 Premiering in 1998, this WB show has become famous for its sexual frankness.
2 6 Strasburger 1995,52.
2 7 Ward, L. Monique (1995). "Talking About Sex: Common Themes About Sexuality in the
Prime-Time Television Programs Children and Adolescents View Most," Journal of Youth and
Adolescence, 24 (5), 597.
2 8 Strasburger 1995,48.
2 9 Ibid. 49.
3 0 Kaiser Family Foundation, 1996.
3 1 Brown, J. 7.
3 2 Kaiser Family Foundation, 1996.
3 3 Lowry, Dennis T. & David E. Towles (1989). "Prime Time TV Portrayals of Sex,
Contraception, and Venereal Diseases," loumalism Quarterly. 66,348.
3 4 Kaiser Family Foundation 1996.
3 5 Johnson, Lesley, The Modem Girl (Girlhood and growing up), Philadelphia: Open
University Press, 1993,97.
3 6 Ibid. 100
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264
3 7 Nava, Mica, "Youth Service Provision, Social Order and the Question of Girls," from
McRobbie, Angela & Mica Nava (eds.). Gender and Generation. London: Macmillan, 1984,11.
3 8 This assumed gendered nature of delinquency was perhaps threatened by the case of two
New Zealand teens (portrayed in the film Heavenly Creatures). Their trial received
considerable press coverage in Australia in 1954. They had been charged with the m urder of
one of their mothers. It was believed that abnormal sexuality and insanity set the girls apart
from society and hence unable to challenge conventional notions of "what girls are capable
of." This case furthered arguments that young people needed to live in a world carefully
supervised and monitored by appropriate adult forms of authority. (Johnson 103) But, did
psychologists wonder whether extreme repression drove them to such a horrendous act of
freedom?
3 9 Johnson 102
4 0 Schaffner, Laurie, "Do Bad Girls Get a Bum Rap? Sexual Solutions and State Interventions"
from Inness, Sherrie (ed.), Millennium Girls (Today's Girls Around the World), Lanham:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1998,270
4 1 Ibid.
4 3 Ibid. 271
4 3 Ibid. 273
4 4 Ibid. 274
4 3 Ibid. 275
4 6 Also class issues may be considered as this yearning to be heard, understood, trusted, and
granted more autonomy would sound like reasonable and independent-minded thinking from
middle-class girls with more social option. But low-income, disadvantaged girls may come to
be labeled with "oppositional defiant disorder." (Ibid. 276)
4 7 Ibid. 278
4 8 Agencies estimate the numbers of gay and lesbian runaway and homeless youth to be as
high as 40 percent of the street youth population. (National Network of Runaway and Youth
Services)
4 9 For example, while on the run as a first response to sexual abuse, girls may get involved in
survival behavior such as drug dealing, prostitution, and pornography. For some young
women, sexual delinquency such as prostitution may be an attempt to heal unhealed sexual
injury, to obtain an emotional normalization of their experiences. (Schaffner from Inness 1998,
284)
5 0 Lewis, Lisa (ed.). The Adoring Audience (Fan Culture and Popular Media), London:
Routledge, 1992,92.
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5 3 Schulenberg, John, Jennifer Maggs & Klaus Hurrelmann (eds.), Health Risks and
Developmental Transitions P urine Adolescence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1997,213.
5 1 Pipher, Mary Bray, Revivine Ophelia (Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls), New York:
Putnam, 1994, 206.
5 5 Planned Parenthood 1991
5 6 Gray, Heather M. & Samantha Phillips, Real Girl. Real World: Tools for Finding Your True
Self. Seattle: Seal Press, 1998.
5 7 Greenberg, Bradley S., Kathy L. Perry & Anita Miller Covert (1983). "The Body Human: Sex
Education, Politics, and Television," Family Relations, 32,424.
5 8 Ibid. 422
5 9 Brumberg, Joan Jacobs, The Body Project (An intimate history of American girls), New York:
Random House, 1997,168.
6 0 Ibid. 30
6 1 See Kate Kane, "The Ideology of Freshness in Feminine Hygiene Commercials" in Brunsdon,
Charlotte, Julie D'Acci, and Lynn Spigel, eds.), The Feminist Television Reader. Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1997. eds.), The Feminist Television Reader. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997,
290-299.
6 2 Brumberg 32
6 3 Other booklets for girls include "Preparing for Womanhood" (1928, Kotex),"Health Facts on
Menstruation" (1933, Kotex), "Marjorie May Learns About Life" (1936, Kotex), "The Periodic
Cycle" (1938, The Personal Products Corp./Modess), "As One Girl to Another" (1940, Kotex),
"Growing Up and Liking It" (1944-1978, The Personal Products Company), and "Getting to
Know Yourself" (1962, Pursettes tampons)
6 4 Brumberg 46
6 3 Ibid. 47
6 6 Ibid. 49
6 7 "We Shamelessly Talk About Our Periods," Sassy, October 1989, pp.56-7. Playtex also ran a
special promotion in Sassy the following year called "The Most Embarrassing Moment in Your
Menstrual History Contest."
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266
6 8 Brumberg 50
6 9 Ibid. 162
7 0 Rowe, Kathleen K., "Roseanne: Unruly Woman as Domestic Goddess" from Brunsdon,
Charlotte, Julie D'Acci & Lynn Spigel, (eds.). The Feminist Television Reader, Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1997,77.
7 1 In 1995, a company called Time of the Month, Inc. marketed a product designed to combat
PMS called "PMS crunch," a snack that consists of "chocolate, nuts & more chocolate." The
label featured women in various states of PMS distress, and some improved by the "Crunch."
I don't believe that the company (or the snack) exists anymore.
7 2 Hudson from McRobbie & Nava, 42.
7 3 An exception is Betty Page who was perhaps the first true "do-me" feminist, '50s fetish-and-
bondage pinup girl and who starred in thousands of magazine spreads. Unlike movie studio
starlets of the same era- who were meant to project alluring but pristine images- Page was
straightforwardly sexy, with a fleshy, brick-house build and a gift for posing provocatively
without coming off as trashy. Her appeal to girls lies in the fact that her attitude about sex-
even transgressive sex- was completely positive and guilt-free, as though posing in nothing
but seven-inch heels, a garter, and a whip was the most natural thing in the world.
7 4 Trojan Horse, April 2000
^Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1994
7 6 Ibid.. based on 1988 data
7 7 Lemer, Richard M., Charles W. Ostrom & Melissa A. Freel, "Preventing Health-
Compromising Behaviors Among Youth and Promoting Their Positive Development" from
Schulenberg, John, Jennifer Maggs & Klaus Hurrelmann (eds.). Health Risks and
Developmental Transitions Purine Adolescence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1997,499.
7 8 Brooks-Gunn & Roberta Paikoff, "Sexuality and Developmental Transitions During
Adolescence" from Ibid. 208.
7 9 Ibid. 199
MIbid. 202
8 1 Ibid.
8 2 For a further look into the history of sex education, refer to Mental Hveiene (Classroom
Films from 1945-1970) by Ken Smith, Sex Ed: Film. Video, and the Framework of Desire by
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267
Robert Eberwein, and Teaching Sex: The Shaping of Adolescence in the 20th Century by
Jeffrey P. Moran.
8 3 Treichler, Paula, Lisa Cartwright & Constance Penley (eds.). The Visible Woman (Imaging
Technologies, Gender, and Science), New York: New York University Press, 1998,45.
8 4 In teen magazines, 92% of coverage including information about STDs did not specify a
certain STD. Specifics mentioned were usually chlamydia, herpes, genital warts, and
trichomoniasis.
8 5 Kaiser Family Foundation
8 6 Treichler 95
8 7 As of August 1990, the number of women (adult and adolescent) in the US officially
diagnosed with CDC-defined AIDS totaled 13,807 or about 9% of total cases. The number of
additional women in the US with HIV infection and HIV-related symptoms was estimated to
be much larger.
“ Treichler 115
8 9 For an in-depth review of US media coverage of women and the AIDS epidemic between
1981 and 1988, see Paula Treichler and Catherine Warren's "Maybe Next Yean Feminist
Silence and the AIDS Epidemic" in Treichler, Cartwright and Penley (eds.), The Visible Woman,
1998.
9 0 US Department of Health and Human Services
9 1 Ibid.
9 2 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1995
9 3 Brumberg 201
9 4 Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1995
9 5 Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1993
9 6 Brumberg 204
9 7 Ibid. 173
9 8 Planned Parenthood
9 9 Kaiser Family Foundation
io° Orenstein, Peggy, SchoolGirls (Young Women, Self-Esteem, and the Confidence Gap), New
York: Doubleday, 1994,291.
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268
1 0 1 Kaiser Family Foundation
1 0 2 Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1994
1 0 3 5 and 6 year old girls are a vulnerable age group. Greydanus, Donald E. & Robert B.
Shearin, Adolescent Sexuality and Gynecology (Philadelphia, 1990), p.245.
,w Levy, Barrie (ed.). Dating Violence (Young Women in Danger), Seattle: The Seal Press, 1991,
4.
1 0 5 Kilboume, Jean, Deadly Persuasion (Why Women and Girls Must Fight the Addictive
Power of Advertising), New York: The Free Press, 1999,281.
1 0 6 Ibid. 253
i°7 Levy 13
1 0 8 Ibid.
1 0 9 Jealousy and uncontrollable anger are perceived by both men and women to be the most
pressing cause of violence. In addition, women are twice as likely as men to interpret their
own violent behavior as self-defense or retaliation. Men are three times more likely than
women to cite intimidation, the intention of striking fear into the other person or forcing the
other to do something as their major motive for violence. Young people tend to interpret the
violence of their partner as signifying love, thus indicating confusion about what is "normal"
in their relationships. (Levy 13)
1 1 0 Levy 9
1 1 1 Ibid.
1 1 2 In California, among teenage mothers 11 to 15, only 9% of the partners were junior high
school boys; 40% were in high school, and 51% were adults. (Brumberg 186)
1 1 3 Project Nateen, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Project Nateen is a state-funded
program of the Division of Adolescent Medicine at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles which
serves pregnant and parenting teens 17 years old and younger. The young women receive
case management, support, and access to needed resources throughout their pregnancies and
beginning parenting years.
m Levy 197
1 1 5 Gray, Heather M. & Samantha Phillips, Real Girl. Real World: Tools for Finding Your True
Self. Seattle: Seal Press, 1998,126.
1 ,6 Horrigan, Bill, "Sadie Benning or the secret annex", Art loumal. v.54, n.4 (Winter, 1995): 26.
1 1 7 Rosenbaum, "Girl with a Camera", Chicago Reader. (November, 1991): 36.
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269
1 ,8 Chang, Chris, "Up in Sadie's room". Film Comment, v.29, n.2 (Mar. 1993): 7.
»»Ibid. 8
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270
Chapter 4: Body Image & Beauty
We have entered an era of cultural life when everyone is
preoccupied with a woman's body but few women, whether fat or
thin, feel comfortable living inside the body they possess.'
The woman...actively takes up her body as a mere thing. She gazes
at it in the mirror worries about hmv it looks to others, prunes it,
shapes it, molds it and decorates it.2
It is in great part the anxiety of being a woman that devastates the
feminine body.3
Our increasingly visual culture has perhaps exacerbated the difficulties of
being an adolescent as girls must deal with our culture's focus on looks- on the
visual, external parts of the body. The body has become an important means of self
definition and self-expression, a way to visibly announce who you are to the world.
We have created an environment that may exert intense pressure on women and girls
to diet in spite of possible adverse physical and emotional consequences. In the face
of peer pressure and uncertain economic futures, girls can experience a strong need
for control. And unfortunately, many girls translate a need for control over their
destinies to a practice of control over their bodies. Furthermore, several studies in
the mushrooming field of body-image research have documented growing
dissatisfaction with appearance and linked it, in part, to the relentless parade of reed-
thin figures in magazines, billboards, movies, and sitcoms. Media portrayals
establish standards of attractiveness. And we have become so accustomed to images
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271
of attractive women in the media that sales pitches are not as persuasive if they lack
female beauty.
As we know, beauty is an inherent part of girl representations on American
television. Our heroines must be perfect in every way- strong, smart, beautiful. An
excellent exception to this rule is depicted by one of the most popular heroines on
Colombian television which shows that less physically attractive heroines are
possible and can even be better (i.e. more realistic and relatable) role models for girls.
It lets girls, who are often sensitive about the way they look, know that being
physically beautiful is not required in order to achieve. Yo Soy Betty, La Fea (/ Am
Betty, the Ugly) is currently the biggest hit on Colombian television. Every weeknight
at 9, millions of Colombians turn on their televisions to laugh and cheer for the
dumpy, awkward, bespectacled Betty as she triumphs over plotting colleagues at
work and a controlling father at home. She has become fodder for political pundits
and a symbol of qualities, such as loyalty and honesty. Betty's battles, and the public
support for her, are a phenomenon in a country that is just as much, if not more so
obsessed with appearance as ours. (It is not an exaggeration when they say that their
classifieds routinely specify "18 to 25 with a good presentation" in ads for secretaries
and most prospective employers insist that photos be attached to resumes.) The
show has called into question Colombia's obsession with appearance.
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272
Being able to laugh about her ow n clumsiness and unattractiveness (complete
with braces, glasses, and unflattering hairdo and unstylish clothes), rather than being
bitter towards those who "abuse" or ignore her, is what makes Betty's character such
a success. Using humor, the show has broken the barrier of Latin American soap-
opera stereotypes, especially the obligatory Cinderella plot in which the trium ph of a
poor, but virtuous woman can only be explained by the leading lady's extraordinary
beauty. The show pokes fun at industries built around standard ideas of beauty. The
setting is a fashion house, where gorgeous but vacuous models figure prominently
among the characters. Betty is part of the "Ugly Brigade," a group of secretaries that
the fashion designer has banned on aesthetic grounds from the runway and salons
where he shows his creations to clients. Yet, it is clear that the secretaries are the
ones who keep the business going. A columnist for El Tiempo, Colombia's largest
circulation daily newspaper, describes Betty as "...the object of affection of
multitudes, having transcended [your place] in the Ugly Brigade to touch the hearts
of thousands of good Colombians, tired of violence, perversity, and corruption,
whom you can influence." Woman love her not just because she has a good heart, but
also because she is not beautiful. The scriptwriter has admitted that he has had
several female friends tell him that they will never forgive him if he makes Betty
beautiful. (There is irony when Americans consider Betty's character in relation to
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273
her name- "Betty" which signifies an exceptionally attractive woman/girl in
American slang.)
The show consistently draws more than half of television viewers during its
time slot and is the highest-rated series in the two years since private television
stations were permitted in Colombia and automated monitoring of viewing habits
began. Furthermore, single episodes of the show have achieved higher ratings than
either the Miss Colombia Beauty pageant or the national team's games in the Copa
America international soccer competition which are standard in major draws for
television audiences. Betty is a woman who trium phs in love and at work as an ugly
woman. It is too bad that her job is a traditionally and stereotypically female
vocation. Hence, she is successful at a job that she, as a woman, is supposed to be
good at. But what counts is that she is successful and that she is not an impossible
ideal for women and girls. Fans have explained that they admire Betty because she is
an unglamorous heroine who doesn't let people walk all over her. It is unfortunate
that we don't really have female characters that resemble Betty on American
television. The closest configurations are perhaps a character like Roseanne on a
satirical domestic sitcom and girls such as Blossom (Blossom was the first girl sitcom
of the '90s introduced by NBC in 1991. The series ended in 1995). The show focuses
on the experiences of a peppy, but not so attractive 13-year-old girl, Blossom, w ho
grows up with her father and brother in a middle-class Los Angeles suburb. In
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274
contrast to many previous television shows that featured teenage girls, Blossom
marked a new trend toward depictions of female adolescents as assertive, confident,
intelligent, and independent. In a way, the show attempts to promote that smart, less
attractive, confident girls are also socially acceptable.
Girls compare their own bodies to our cultural ideals and find them wanting.
Dieting and dissatisfaction with bodies have become normal reactions to puberty.
And when unnatural thinness becomes attractive, girls do unnatural things to be
thin. Girls have practically been conditioned to hate their bodies.4 Anorexia nervosa,
bulimia, and chronic dieting, problems involving obsession with food, and
dissatisfaction with self or body are examples of such consequences. All too much,
the fear of fat, anxiety about body parts, and expectations of perfection have made all
too many girls grow up hating their bodies. Because of the visual images they grow
up seeing, girls invariably suffer from "bad body fever," wanting to be thinner, a
desire that motivates them to expend an enormous amount of time and energy
controlling the appetite and working on their bodies, all the while thinking about
food. What elevates the issue above mere vanity is that having a poor body image is
now considered a reliable predictor of future eating disorders, including anorexia,
bulimia, and binge eating. And disturbingly, research indicates that looking good
wins out over having ability as the most significant determinant of self worth for
school girls.5
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275
Dieting has come to characterize the teen years of most middle-class girls,
regardless of race; and it underlies their struggles w ith self-identity, peer
relationships, and even educational and occupational choices.6 It is perhaps true that
white girls exhibit more concern than black or Asian girls primarily because black
culture celebrates fuller bodies (especially the butt as I will discuss later) and Asian
girls tend to be more predisposed to smaller bodies. In fact, a study by Wardle and
Marsland (1990) shows that fatter black children are more likely than fatter white
children to describe themselves as "just right" (39% vs. 13%) and less likely to
describe themselves as "overweight" (58% vs. 83%). Asian girls are not as inclined to
think themselves too fat as white girls, but more so than black girls. This may be
because there are fewer positive cultural images of "bigness" in women in the Asian
cultures for Asian girls to identify with. There is also a traditional association of
smallness and beauty in Asian societies- certainly in China and Japan, there has been
a tradition of valuing smallness in women, most notably the feet. In African and
Caribbean culture, there are positive connotations of size with power and beauty.
Furthermore, upon looking at issues of Honey, a teen magazine for black girls, it is
dear that weight issues are not of primary concern. It is true, also, that dieting is
more common in higher social class girls and women in the US and the prevalence of
anorexia has been found to be higher in the higher social classes. Thus, pressures for
thinness are stronger in the more privileged groups of society. Obesity has been
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276
found to be inversely related to social status in women of developed societies. A nd
within less developed societies, those who are closer to the developed world show
more weight concern.7 Before the cult of fitness and exercise took hold in the 1970s
and 1980s, weight, rather than a lean, toned body, was the primary concern. Thirty
years ago, counting calories and skipping meals were still the primary routes to
weight reduction among adolescent girls. Still, one-third of all girls in grades 9-12
think that they are overweight and over 60% of these girls report attempting to lose
weight compared to 23% of boys. Female high school students (8.7%) are
significantly more likely than male high school students (1.9%) to have taken diet
pills to lose weight.8
For women in contemporary western societies, thinness has become
synonymous with beauty. And just as thinness is valued, obesity is denigrated.
(Even popular serial fiction for younger girls such as Nancy Drew had a fat character
who served as a humorous foil to the well-liked, smart protagonist who was always
slim.) While the prevailing female role models have been getting thinner, average
women of similar age in the US have become heavier. The gap between the real and
the ideal is growing wider and w ider every day. "Real" American women are
getting larger; about half are overweight. Also, the way girls think and talk about
their bodies is an important determinant of their psychological well-being.
Psychological tests known as "body cathexis scales" confirm that in the
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277
contemporary US, there is a deep connection between an individual's sense of self
and his or her level of satisfaction with different parts of the body.9
The media has been accorded as having a powerful influence on an
individual's body image. For women, models of physical comparison are found in
images projected by the media- movies, television, magazines. A woman or girl
comparing herself to a model painstakingly prepared to appear attractive is likely to
produce a low evaluation of her own attractiveness. Some studies also show that
those most at-risk for a negative reaction to media messages appear to be those with
high pre-existing levels of body image disturbance or individuals who "buy into"
societally-presented images.1 0 Future extensions of such hypotheses should also
carefully evaluate prevailing societal media messages and specific body image
concerns as a function of age and ethnicity. Over the last decade, concern has been
growing in the medical community over the continued presence and promotion of
underweight women in the media- particularly as it promotes the development of
poor body image and eating disorders among adolescent girls. The trend toward
ultrathin images have become a familiar part of the Hollywood landscape: Calista
Flockhart, Lara Flynn Boyle, Courtney Thome-Smith, and Sarah Michelle Gellar, are
celebrated examples. And as women struggle to attain this new standard of beauty,
there has been a dramatic rise in eating disorders. The desire for a taut, svelte body
is even reaching immigrant and ethnic groups as more women from these
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278
communities seek help at eating disorder clinics. This is not hard to understand
when the dominant images in the media are skinny, blond, and white, and show
little evidence of this country's diversity. Furthermore, media reports of the diets,
eating disorders, and plastic surgeries of celebrities sometimes even serve to make
these problems seem glamorous. Media normalization of thin makes it harder for
society to tolerate natural differences in body types.
What is worse is that often striving for perfection can also lead to obesity-
people wish to be a different weight than they are biologically predisposed to be, so
they restrict their diet, but are only temporarily successful. They often lose control
and gain weight, then have to diet more severely to lose the weight again. Then they
lose control even more, their weight spirals upward, and they give up. The celebrity-
driven obsession with diminutive sizes requires societal effort to put the ultra-thin
chic into perspective.
Hollywood has not always been obsessed with the reed-thin body type.
Remember how the curvaceous figures of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and
Rita Hayworth were worshipped as the feminine ideal. In the 1960s, Twiggy's
boyish body set a new standard for glamour and beauty. And the thin trend has
escalated with the popularity of Ally McBeal. There is also pressure from the
networks and studios themselves that thinner is better. Competition for jobs is fierce,
causing some to diet down to minuscule proportions that are in demand. Computer-
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279
enhanced imagery also helps construct unreal real models. By blurring the line
between reality and non-reality, technology can construct women the way our
culture wants. Industries want to make money off of products that thrive on the
never-ending cycle of self-improvement, that promise perfection, but we can never
attain it. As we get close, they push the envelope even further. As real women strive
to be as thin as media figures, media figures must continue to shrink to perpetuate
the unattainable.
Furthermore, the weight of beauty queens has been falling for decades. In a
recent issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (March 22 '00), two
researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland
report the findings from a review of the archives from the Miss America Pageant
which covered from 1922 to 1999. The investigators note the clear decline in body
weight among pageant winners over the course of nearly 80 years of competition. A
12% drop in weight accompanied a less than 2% increase in height. The researchers
note that the enduring popularity of the pageant among TV viewers in the US means
that the venue is still a powerful example of a media outlet dispensing society's ideal
of beauty. Despite its controversy, the pageant was watched by over 10 million
viewers in 1999 and ranked 11th in the Neilsen research ratings among prime-time
programs. This suggests that the event still retains the power to perhaps negatively
influence the aesthetic aspirations of adolescent girls- many of whom are already
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unhappy with their weight and body image. And this is a once-yearly event that
pales in comparison to the daily influence of magazines, newspapers, film, and TV."
Aside from Miss America pageant winners who have had a 7% decrease in
weight over the past 15 years, Playboy centerfolds declined in weight between 1959
and 1979 to their current thin level. The White Rock Mineral girl figure changed
from five feet, four inches tall and 140 pounds in 1950 to a current five feet, ten inches
tall and 110 pounds. Furthermore, during the past eighty years, young girls depicted
in children's textbooks have become thinner and thinner.1 2 Over the past century, we
have gone from plump to thin, to voluptuous, back to thin, to thin with muscle tone.
The media truly has the power to shape the self-image of adolescent girls-
w hat they see in their immediate environment and what they see in the media often
conflict. While the American population is getting heavier, media images are
shrinking. Studies show that there is definitely a reinforcing relationship between
media portrayals of ideal beauty and adolescent girl's sense of dissatisfaction with
her body. One study that followed girls over a one-year time period showed that the
more they wanted to look like figures they saw in the media, the more likely they
were too purge using laxatives and vomiting.
It does not help either that attractive, fully-developed twenty-somethings
often play the parts of teens in some of today's youth shows, many wildly popular
among teenage girls. Katherine Heigl from WB's Roswell is an example as well as
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Buffy's Charisma Carpenter (who played Cordelia in previous seasons) and Leslie
Bibb from Popular. Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano, and Holly Marie Combs, the
three witch sisters from Charmed, are and also play highly attractive, fashionable,
sophisticated young women. Sociology professor Karen Stemheimer describes how
our culture fetishizes young girls- "On the one hand, we're outraged by sexual
predators, but on the other hand, our culture is almost encouraging it by sexualizing
very young girls." Adolescent girls are portrayed as innocent and childlike,
vulnerable, sexually alluring, and frantically outgoing. Portrayals of young adult
women often show them merely displaying themselves. Male adults display
ownership of women by towering over women or grasping them. The occasional
middle-aged or elderly woman is shown as clumsy, plump, and comical, and nearly
always engaged in domestic activity. We see this not only in television, but in all
types of media- film and the music industries. Former Mousketeers Christina
Aguilera and Britney Spears are contemporary sex symbols and 1999's American
Beauty hinged on an adult man's obsession with his daughter's teenage friend played
by 21-year-old Mena Suvari. HBO also released a remade version of Lolita just a few
years ago.
As a music star and pop cultural icon, Britney Spears has an impact on the
growing up of young American girls. Spears' rapid transformation from perky
ingenue to "pop tart" has influenced her young fans to mimic her newly sexualized
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image. In 1999, Britney was a cute former Mouseketeer with a No.l album, Baby, One
More Time. By the time she released her second album, Oops!...I Did It Again, in the
spring of 2000, she had grown up- gaining breasts (by what means remains unclear)
and losing all inhibition. In the past year, we have seen her strip from an infamously
skimpy outfit to her thong bikini at last September's MTV Video Music Awards and
we have heard her swear unconscionably over a microphone during this year's Super
Bowl half-time show. Her impact is everywhere- in the tube and halter tops, hip
huggers, and glitter makeup that girls ranging from just past toddler to barely into
their teens are buying in a frenzy and which are being sold at traditionally
"wholesome" kids' fashion stores such as Limited Too and GapKids. Britney has
increasingly sexualized her image with sexy prints in women's glamour magazines
(see the October 2000 issue of Elle) and a controversial striptease at the MTV Music
Awards. Even the October 2000 Playboy cover and centerfold Playmate is a "Britney"
clone made up to bear the sweet, sultry face of Britney Spears while wielding the
voluptuous Playmate's body.
The marketing of sexy clothes and makeup to prepubescent girls is booming.
Rave Girl, a national chain, sells feather boas, leather pants, and stretch flares to girls
ages 7 and up. We expect girls this age to play with Barbie. Now, they are taking it a
step forward by playing at being a real-life Barbie- Britney. Even girls as young as 4
and 5 attend "glamour" parties that play dress-up in skimpy wear, manicures, and
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make-overs. Girls as young as 5 are buying such products as $12 Special Hits- 10 lip
glosses and eye shadows contained in a CD case- which shows how the music scene
is driving the young (girl) scene. Britney and many other girl music groups are much
about glitter and cosmetics. Jon Benet Ramsey's disturbingly premature career as a
beauty queen also calls attention to how age-appropriate behavior is something we
have lost a sense of. While attention to the period of adolescence has been
increasing, the line between childhood and adulthood seems to be disappearing. It is
somewhat disheartening to realize that girls are still dependent on boys' attention
and on comparisons to media figures for their self-esteem. An 11-year-old girl
interviewed in Time magazine explains that, "'Boys just notice if skin is showing'"
and that fourth-grade boys line their lockers with posters of Britney. She adds, "'W e
compare ourselves to Britney and most of the time it makes us feel bad because we
don't match up.'" She also explains that the pressure to look good began in the
fourth grade when girls start to worry about their weight.1 3 (Unbelievable- I still
remember worrying more about what kind of lunch box I was going to take to school
rather than my weight!)
Though it is not a new trend to see teenage characters portrayed by adult
actors, sexualization of youth has increased over the years. Young women actresses
who portray teens are invariably comfortable flaunting their sexuality and willing to
present themselves as sexual objects, their true age lost on girls who watch the shows
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or the men w ho read magazines that feature them. It is interesting to note also that
some teens themselves have claimed that casting adults as teens robs programs of
some realism. Yet teens have embraced series such as Dawson's Creek, Buffy, and
Popular that feature older actors in teen roles because those zit-free, beautiful,
impossibly articulate characters project the qualities to which teen viewers aspire,
even if in fantasy. The fact that reality falls short makes it all the better for consumer
industries that target teen buyers such as those that sell acne treatments and
cosmetics.
Dermatology & Skin Care
Self-improvement and making women and girls feel inadequate has proved
to be a profitable enterprise. Commercials and ads between TV shows and the pages
of girls' magazines are for products that can remedy that insecurity. In the twentieth
century, American girls had their "dermal consciousness" raised- by mirrors and by
medicine, by the aspirations of middle-class parents, and by the emergence of a
seductive visual culture in which fantasies of perfect female faces and bodies became
pervasive and potent. The advent of modem plumbing had a great impact on the
adolescent girl's psychological investment in her face and body. By the turn of the
20th century, running water, mirrors, and electric lights provided middle-class girls
with vast opportunities for self-scrutiny, especially of their skin and hair. The
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bathroom was as im portant as the private bedroom in setting the stage for modem
girlhood." The expectation of perfect skin has made America's female adolescents
especially vulnerable. Because of cultural mandates that link femininity to flawless
skin, the burden of maintaining a clear complexion has devolved disproportionately
upon women and girls. Filled with insecurity and anxious about their looks, young
adolescents constitute a fertile market for almost any drug or cosmetic that promises
perfection. Lifetime skin care became the new strategy for selling to adolescent girls.
Many businesses capitalized on adolescent anxieties about appearance, especially
those that sold skin products. Clearasil promised acne sufferers both clear skin and
popularity if they used the product. Unfortunately, this new marketing agenda
added yet another pressure to all of the existing ones shaping the experience of
growing up in a female body.
The social history of acne in this century demonstrates the power of medicine
and middle-class nurturance to refine the adolescent body, in effect bringing one of
its well-known physical developments under control. Pimples were a source of great
embarrassment to girls in the nineteenth century because they were associated with
masturbation, sexual perversion, and venereal disease. In the twentieth century,
middle-class parents and physicians regarded adolescent acne as a psychological as
well as a medical problem and began to treat it more aggressively.'5 Furthermore, in
the 1960s, adolescent girls were more likely than ever before to be sexually intimate
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with boys, and this change in their behavior had unexpected implications for skin
care. Most young women were introduced to oral contraception in the gynecologist's
office, but dermatologists became supportive players in the contraceptive revolution.
By the 1960s, physicians understood that it was testosterone (not estrogen) that
tended to provoke acne, and that both male and female hormones exist in delicate
balance in every individual. Because birth control pills contained enough estrogen to
counteract testosterone, they were often helpful in eliminating acne. Thus the Pill
turned out to provide protection against unwanted pimples as well as unwanted
pregnancy.1 6
Pimples were considered sufficiently critical in the lives of girls to justify
medical intervention and skin care became one of the first body investments m ade by
middle-class parents. Orthodontia, weight-loss camps, contact lenses1 7 , and plastic
surgery all followed, revealing how parental resources have been harnessed to a new
ideal of physical perfection. American girls could not help but internalize this
powerful imperative, especially with the growth of a seductive visual culture in
which fantasies of perfect female faces and bodies became pervasive and potent.
More than ever, they strive to look perfect- just like the models and media figures
they see everyday in retouched, airbrushed photographs in magazines as well as on
television and in the movies.
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As I mentioned in Part I, the Internet has found itself a valuable health
resource for young people who now actively engage in "Web surfing." There are
even sites devoted to dermatological issues. Pimple Portal
(http:/ / www.pimpleportal.com) is a Web site that advises teens on that skin
condition that causes such stress, anxiety, and depression- acne. Sponsored by the
makers of an acne treatment called Retin-A Micro, the site obviously promotes this
treatment. But is also provides basic information on acne (including a close-up of
how pimples form) and an "ask the expert" section. There are great cover-up tips for
guys and girls from a celebrity makeup artist, but download the software to view the
video. The site even offers Face Invaders (you can "zap the zits" with Retin-A), a
takeoff on the Space Invaders video game.
Girls & Cosmetics
As early as the 1940s, social scientists reported that the quality teenage girls
most wanted to change in themselves was their physical appearance. Because of the
introduction of many new kinds of cultural mirrors, in motion pictures and popular
photography, in mass market advertising in magazines, as well as in department
stores, most women and girls began to subject their face and figure to more
consistent scrutiny. Changing the face each fashion season, producing an array of
beauty requisites, delineating narrower markets based on lifestyle, and making a
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therapeutic appeal the cosmetics industry compelled consumers to continually
interrogate, experiment with, and renew their looks. For young women, makeup
declared adult status- social and sexual maturity. The sudden appearance of rouge
and lipstick on a teenage girl's face often accompanied a demand to keep more of her
wages, to choose her boyfriends, and to enjoy greater autonomy in leisure activities.1 8
Where to draw the line- between proper grooming and unseemly glamorizing,
between children's make-believe and adult makeup- vexed parents, schools, and
manufacturers. Girls were taught the lesson of better appearance through cosmetics,
yet cautioned against looking too sexual and mature. Many daughters of immigrant
parents put on makeup to look "American," expressing their new sense of national
identity and personal freedom by consuming beauty preparations. Vocational
experts, home economists, and psychologists all agreed that good looks had
developmental and aesthetic as well as commercial value- in the mid-1930s, social
scientists reported that personal appearance significantly influenced young women's
self-expression and self-esteem.1 9 While some began to recognize that the discipline
of appearances heightened their anxieties and undermined their self-confidence,
others discerned in beautifying new possibilities for play, self-portrayal, and
participation in modernity.
Girls themselves made experimenting with makeup a central part of teen
culture in the 1950s. More so than in earlier decades, the passage into "womanhood"
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was anticipated and certified through the visible use of makeup. By the mid-sixties,
teenage girls, who comprised 11 percent of the population, bought nearly one-
quarter of all cosmetics and beauty preparations.3 ’ Makeup fashions also identified
cliques and cultural groups within the teenage world. Makeup traced bonds of
friendship among girls who shared the exuberant triumphs and dismal failures they
encountered in their efforts to achieve the right look. The beauty trade sought to
navigate parents' concerns and girls' desires. Cover Girl, Maybelline, and Revlon all
created beauty images that meshed closely with the ways high school students
themselves classified girls into cliques and codified their evolving sense of personal
identity.2 '
The WB's Popular consists of an excessive plot structure full of teenage cliches
and feminine exaggerations- from the cliques and cattiness to the materialistic and
superficial obsessions. Mixed into such parodic plots are serious issues such as sex,
loyalty, relationships, and the acceptance of differences. Thus we are able to laugh at
it and to take it seriously at the same time. It is also about the blondes versus the
brunettes, the popular versus the unpopular; about both jealousy, rivalry,
materialism, self-indulgence, and about respect, tolerance, forgiveness, and
friendship. The girls, especially the blondes, are portrayed as fashionable,
glamorous, hyperfeminine. A recent episode of Popular depicts the brunettes dying
their hair blonde in order to be "popular" and the blondes becomes brunettes causing
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them to be ostracized. This one episode epitomizes and embodies much of what the
show is all about. It pokes fun at the ideology that blondes are more beautiful and
that they have more fun. The students' biology teacher (who herself suffers from
gender confusion and asks that she be addressed as "sir") preaches that natural
selection signifies "survival of the prettiest" rather than that of the "fittest." She
awards top grades to the most beautiful, to blondes. This episode, in particular, is
literally about a showdown between the "browns" and the "blondes" (which in the
finale takes the form of a bowling competition). In the contest, it is clear that blondes
are naturally more beautiful and can get away with wearing tacky bowling wear.
The browns are clad in balls gowns and jewels to compensate for their physical
inferiority. When the brunettes decide that they have not been treated equally (they
receive lower grades for equal if not better quality work, they get smaller pieces of
meat, they do not gam er exceptional degrees of male attention and worship, they are
mocked and ostracized) because of their "dung-colored" hair, they decide to dye
their hair blonde to prove their point that in this culture, fittest= prettiest= blonde=
sex=power=popularity. Their battle cry: "We want your [the blondes] men, power,
grades...and lobster!" There is a subtext of animal activism within this episode which
is manipulated to be the act of heroism and good works on the part of the "brown."
They, led by Lily, want to save the lobsters from a popular seafood eatery whose
owner has a senseless infatuation with blonde hair and is manipulated by the
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"blondes" (led by the obnoxiously wealthy, animal fur-loving, conscienceless Mary
Cherry) to satisfy their gullets.
The kitschy show also plays off of other parts of popular culture as well as to
our basic consumer instincts and familiarity with ads and commercials. We see the
brunettes in the infamous girls' restroom dying their hair to M adonna's "Beautiful
Stranger" and caressing the bleach foam into their hair orgasmically in reference to
Clairol's commercial for Herbal Essences Shampoo. In turn, the "blondes" argue that
it is not the color of their hair that has allowed them to enjoy the spoils of power and
popularity, but that they are inherently smarter, more beautiful, and have better
personalities. Upon seeing the brunette transformation to blonde, they decide to go
"brown" to prove their point- that they will still be more popular, etc. The bet: that
whichever group is most unpopular after their respective transformations must wear
mohawks. Of course, punishment is to engage in punk- considered an inferior
subculture for loners and rejects in an environment where standard conventions of
beauty and femininity bear the greatest value. But, on the contrary. They are
shocked when they march through the school hallways as they always do and are
laughed at, spit on, and ostracized. Mary Cherry is even mocked as resembling
Barbara Streisand.
In the opening sequence, we see the cast of Popular pose as if for fashion
plates- trying to look glamorous, seductive, and innocent at the same time. The cast
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consists of three primary groups- all friends, yet all vying to be the most "popular."
The group that consists of the most "obviously" cool and sophisticated are the
"blondes" (Mary Cherry, Brooke, and Nicole)- the wealthiest, the cheerleaders, the
most fashionable, the most beautiful, the most desirable. The "brunettes" (Carmen,
Samantha, and Lily) are not as "popular," more down-to-earth, still attractive
(including an overweight member), still relatively trendy; their violent cattiness with
the blondes creates a large part of the tension in the show. (We can see Sam, a
brunette, and Brooke, a blonde, glance at each other competitively in the opening
sequence.) A group of boys, all unique in their own way and perhaps a bit
unrealistic that they should be friends complements the girl groups- one who is cute,
wanting-to-be popular, intelligent, whose mom is a lesbian (Harrison), one who is
homecoming king, the most popular boy in school, and who dated the most popular
blonde Gosh), and one who is extremely overweight and personable (Big Sugar).
The boys are good friends with the “brunettes" and lust after the "blondes."
It is interesting to note the way in which Popular deals w ith race. There are no
African-American protagonists; blacks play minor "guest" roles. Two of the girls in
the "brunette" group are Hispanic and are treated the same as other "brunettes." All
other primary cast members are white, all middle to upper class. The episode with
the blonde/ brunette switches also involved a plot line with an Asian foreign
exchange student. She is portrayed as stereotypically demure, exotic, beautiful,
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always dad in the traditional form-fitting "cheong-sam" gown, and named Exquisite
Wu. She does not speak English and requires the accompaniment of a (white)
Chinese-speaking student (Harrison) who is attracted to her but to whom she admits
she is not attracted to. In accordance to Chinese philosophy, she prefers (and
ultimately admits that she "love Sugar long time") the obese Big Sugar because his
heftiness signifies a good, big heart. When Sugar becomes jealous of Harrison's
apparent closeness to Exquisite (as her guide), he becomes angry and of course, the
submissive Asian girl thinks it is her fault. She asks Harrison, "Am I not pretty
enough?" and thanks him for defending her "unworthy beauty" (in other words, she
is apologetic for being dark-haired, for not having "naturally-selected beauty").
Hence this episode hints at both the superiority of white European standards of
beauty and blondeness. And the Asian girl is stereotyped unapologetically.
It is also interesting to consider the audience demographic for this show. The
show airs on the WB (Channel 5) at 8 PM on Thursdays, thereby competing with the
popular Friends on NBC. Rather than appealing to just teens. Popular also appeals to
college students, grad students, and older young adults perhaps for its sarcasm,
cynicism, parodies, unapologetic caustic sense of humor, and may I even dare say,
cleverness. The use of special effects, and a noir, Pulp Fiction-esque style makes it
visually exciting for some, perhaps kitschy and irritating to others. The characters
often have issues that young people can identify with, but are also so exaggerated
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and almost cartoon-like, that distance is created so we can laugh at them and think
about w hat about that age demographic has allowed adults to reflect upon them as
such. The excess of events, intensity of emotions, and states of crisis seem akin to the
melodramatic imagination. At the same time, teenage problems appear to be
rewritten from an "adult" perspective: the vagaries of teen culture lampooned rather
than celebrated, and perhaps even ultimately represented as infantile fads. Being
able to laugh at, distance oneself from the stereotypical tropes of femininity can be
empowering- to be able to recognize such characteristics and behavior and yet to also
be able to consider them as spectacle. Finishing up its first season this past year
(1999-2000), the show itself has become increasingly popular, but has moved from
the prime-time Thursday 9 PM slot on the WB to the same time on Friday.
Body Image
Being yourself is fairly dijficult...Media messages tell us to be a certain
shape and size, our friends and peers want us to like certain things, our
parents wish we'd act a specific way. With all the different messages from
all different angles, it is sometimes hard for a girl just to find the person
she really is.2 2
A s described by the quote above, adolescence in contemporary America has
been a struggle for identity. Girls often see their identity as a tense, sometimes
skeptical negotiation between their "real" self and the abstract stylizations of
girlhood that the media/society promulgates. Some girls regard these stylizations as
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ideals against which they fall short, while others decry them as "fraudulent,"
distorting, or inauthentic scripts that encourage a clone-like homogeneity. The
vehicles that transmit society's image of girlhood, as I have described in Chapter 2
are teen magazines, pop music, TV messages that glamorize violence and sex, media
body images, and general media depictions of teens. Girls from the AAUW summits
say they experience pressure from the media and often explain that the bodies it
displays are too perfect. Hence, when they compare themselves to movie stars and
models, they inevitably fall short of the standard set by the media. Girls even admit
that they feel that the bodies portrayed are unhealthy, emaciated bodies that thwart
girls' efforts to be healthy. Interestingly, many girls cast skinniness as unhealthy
rather than as an aspect of perfection. Girls imagine a culture that allows multiple
scripts for girlhood. They feel that the media should be encouraged to provide more
realistic images.
Body image disturbance became a subject of research about 15 years ago
within studies of eating disorders, but is now considered a psychiatric illness of its
own. In the most extreme form of body image disturbance, known as body
dysmorphic disorder, people become reclusive and resort to multiple plastic
surgeries to correct flaws that are either imagined or exaggerated. More commonly,
body image disturbance leads to depression, social anxiety, and sexual dysfunction.
How one perceives one's body is only one component of a complete self-image, but
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too often it becomes the sole factor in determining self-esteem. Time, effort, and
resources have been devoted to the realization of feminine paradigms through and
on female bodies. This makes sense in a world that offers women challenges along
with choices, compromise along with control, where bodies may seem the only realm
where they can claim control. Girls today are concerned with the shape and
appearance of their bodies as a primary expression of their individual identity. It
doesn't help, either, when we have powerful media figures such as Oprah Winfrey
who signify "otherness" losing weight and then saying it is her best achievement
ever. It is difficult for girls to stay sane in a media culture that constantly
promulgates lowfat, no-fat this and diet, low-cal that.
Now at the turn of the century, the body has been regarded as something to
be managed and maintained, usually through expenditures on clothes and personal
grooming items, with special attention to exterior surfaces- skin, hair, and contours.
Today, there are many ways in which the body serves as a cultural text for adolescent
girls, a text upon which to express their feelings and identity- eating disorders,
plastic surgery, body art, tattoos, piercing, cutting. Popular culture has taught girls
how flexible (and powerful) personal image can be. We now see models in high-
fashion spreads pierced and tattooed in a variety of body parts. Designers such as
Jean-Paul Gaultier and the late Gianni Versace have also built entire collections
around tattoo designs, piercings, tribal decorations, and bondage wear. Celebrities
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are baring their skin as evidence of their personal integrity, an artistic canvas of their
deepest truths and longings. (Johnny Depp rolled up his sleeve to show a Details
reporter the seven or eight scars he carved with a knife into his forearm to mark
important moments in his life.) The growing social acceptance of some of these
"body arts" has blurred the line between self-expression and pathology.
Young people in the 1960s began searching for ways to free their minds and
their bodies from cultural norms, rejecting conventional standards of dress and
adornment and exploring a number of ancient traditions- from Eastern mysticism to
Native American rites to Satanic rituals- in a quest for personal, spiritual, and
political enlightenment. Body painting was a playful method of skin decoration that
became popular in the 1960s, celebrating a new frankness about nudity and sexuality.
In the 1970s, rock stars and other cultural icons, like Cher who has six different
designs on various parts of her well-toned anatomy, made tattoos seem cool and
sexy. Body piercing grew out of the shifting values and interests of post-'60s youth.
The large dangling earrings made fashionable by hippies evolved in the next
generation into multiple ear piercings running along the outer curve of the ear. The
exploration of Eastern mysticism sparked interest in more extreme forms of piercing
such as nose rings. Body piercing burst into large-scale public awareness with the
punk rock movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Punks used piercing and
other body decoration to snub the society they rejected and to identify themselves as
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part of a new postmodern tribe. The classic punk piercing- a safety pin through the
earlobe or cheek, made them appear both frightening and brave, beyond pain.2 3
For those struggling for autonomy and independence, piercing proves, in a
public way, that your body is your own. It also signals personal politics: sexual
liberalism (if it symbolizes opposition to conventional sexual norms) and cultural
relativism (because it evokes the primitive and the exotic). Many young people
explain the practice as a way to differentiate themselves from bourgeois society and
mainstream youth culture. This includes young women who self-consciously reject
the "good/pretty girl" ideal presented in women's and teen magazines by doing
something that their elders regard as mutilative. Girls also describe the notion of
genital piercing, calling it their "special secret" which they share with their
boyfriend. Brumberg theorizes that in an era when the distinction between the
public and private has all but disappeared, some teenage girls feel the need to
decorate their genitals in order to have something intimate- to claim some degree of
privacy in a world where the body has been made public.2 ' Adolescent body piercers
are representative of new sexual mores, but they also proclaim the ways in which
exhibitionism and commercial culture have come together at the turn of the
millennium.
The popularity of body piercing spread through other subcultures with
perceived outlaw status, particularly the "sexual underground" of the aficionados of
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sado-masochism and the gay leather scene. Out of the S & M world grew "blood
play" or "blood sports" which is a highly sexualized form of cutting in which
partners slash and pierce each other for an erotic charge, sometimes even drinking
each other's blood. A bloody "menage a trois" was immortalized in the
underground video Bloodbath by Charles Gatewood, a photographer who specializes
in documenting lifestyles on the fringe. The video depicts two women and a male
lover drawing blood from their arms with hypodermic needles and squirting it into
each other's mouths and other orifices, then licking it off each other's bodies.
Another Gatewood video, True Blood, shows a woman cutting herself with scalpels,
wrapping barbed wire around her wrists, and drinking her own blood. Play piercing
involves temporarily inserting hypodermic-tipped piercing needles through the skin.
The needles may be manipulate for sexual stimulation. The needles are later
removed and the holes close up right away. Some people even use more frightening
implements such as staples and fishhooks or engage in '"branding." People who
engage in such activities claim that this sort of body manipulation is empowering- to
remind themselves that their bodies are their own and which they have a right to do
with what they want.
Many of those draw n to piercing and tattooing today do so purely for
aesthetic reasons- because it's considered fashionable or cool or sexy in their peer
group. Others do so for shock value. Every generation has used clothing, hairstyles,
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and other forms of adornment to rebel against conformity, to set themselves apart
from their predecessors. Body modification can express not only alienation but
affiliation- today's body arts are often used to proclaim membership in a particular
counterculture or subculture, to create a sense of belonging and community with
kindred souls (the shaved heads and safety pins of punk rockers, the gang tattoos of
bikers and prison inmates, the leather piercings of the S& M crowd, the dyed-black
hair and ghoulish makeup of the Goths). It is not surprising that body modification
is so common among teenagers. Amid enormous pressure to conform and a barrage
of impossible media images to live up to, teens are expected to establish their own
personal, sexual, spiritual, and political identity- to figure out who they are, what
they believe in, and what they stand for. While adolescence is a time of challenging
tradition and rejecting authority, it is also a period when young people hunger for
direction and structure, something that will give meaning to their lives.
The new body arts (like psychologically disturbed cutting) can be a way of
exercising dominion over one's body- a body that may be seen as ugly,
disenfranchised, powerless, abused, defective, controlled by others. A tattoo or
piercing, like cutting, can be used to reclaim the body or one of its parts, to make it
more beautiful or more sexual, to cover up and camouflage a physical or
psychological imperfection. It can turn a passive, helpless experience of the body
into an active, powerful one.2 5 Tattoos can represent a sense of pride in one's ability
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to survive adverse circumstances, a visible affiliation with a given subculture, and a
permanent "fuck you" statement to a larger society that honors beauty only within
the parameters of its own rigid definition. Furthermore, assigned a class or social
status that designates them as "outsiders," girls may find a sense of empowerment in
their freedom to drastically alter the color and design of their skin. Proponents claim
that much of the time, tattoos on a woman truly say something about her character,
her life, and her spirit. Some may even say that in a world that offers women few
concrete ways to exert control and power over their lives, tattoos can bring a real
sense of strength, identity, and dignity. An article in the September- October 1996
issue of Ms. titled "Mark My Words" talks about how tattoos can also help women
reclaim their bodies in the aftermath of sexual abuse or trauma.
Girls in every culture have historically and presently been subject to various
forms of body modification and body art, whether voluntarily or compulsory: Mayan
Indian men and women tattooed their entire bodies, pierced various body parts, filed
their teeth and inlaid them with precious stones; for more than a thousand years, the
Chinese engaged in the highly painful practice of foot binding, virtually crippling
women by curling the foot downward until the bones broke and the foot took on the
shape of a delicately-curled lotus flower- the binding procedure began at the age of
five or six and until it was outlawed in the 1930s, the "lotus foot” w as considered the
ultimate symbol of beauty and eroticism among the upper class; the facial tattoos of
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the Maori aboriginal peoples of New Zealand are like psychological fingerprints-
unique and designed to communicate the personality and history of the bearer.
Female circumcision is perhaps the most controversial body modification ritual
performed today. The painful and medially dangerous procedure, still widely
practiced in Africa and the Arab world, involves removing the clitoris and
surrounding tissue and sometimes sewing up the vagina. Female circumcision
(clitoridectomy) is meant to ensure chastity until marriage, when the husband has
the prerogative of cutting or tearing open his wife's vagina on their wedding night.
It is also a means of controlling a woman's sexuality even after marriage by removing
the organ that gives her pleasure.2 6 Egyptian author, Nawal el-Saadawi discusses the
ramifications of such physical and psychological abuse upon girls from an
autobiographical perspective in her novel Two Women in One. What is important
about women's beauty norms is that they affect behavior as much as appearance.
Thus, women with bound feet cannot walk and women with mutilated genitals
cannot express their sexuality. Society's strict appearance norms have had
disadvantages for women (e.g. constriction of movement, health risks) and
advantages for men (e.g. erotic enhancement, forced chastity of women).
Girls have come to regard display of the body as a sign of women's liberation,
a mark of progress, a basic American right. Although young women today enjoy
greater freedom and more options than those of a century ago, they are also under
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more pressure, and at greater risk, because of a unique combination of biological and
cultural forces that have made the adolescent female body into a template for much
of the social change leading up to the present.3 7 Pressures have accumulated to the
point where girls now are more anxious about their bodies and about themselves
than ever before.
Issues of the body stand in the forefront of girlhood as girls undergo physical
changes concomitant with "growing up." Girls possess a changing relationship to
"femininity" as they grow. In the prepubescent stage, girls find themselves starting
to develop, but not yet required to fully possess the physical accouterments of
femininity. In the teens, femininity turns into a pressing requirement, an
expectation. And commercial interests play directly to the body angst of young girls.
Although elevated body angst is a great boost to corporate profits, its saps the
creativity of girls and threatens their mental and physical health. Progress for
women is obviously filled with ambiguities.
Talk about the body and learning how to improve it is a central motif in
publications and media aimed at adolescent girls. Through these images, girls learn
from an early age that the power of their gender is often tied to what they look like-
and how "sexy" they are. Girls learned that modem femininity required some
degree of exhibitionism, making girls extremely vulnerable to cultural messages
about dieting and particular body parts. This particular pressure may be one of the
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most damaging to the adolescent's self-esteem, especially in a society that proudly
marks gender distinctions at birth. One girl describes her obsession with her
"deficiencies of the flesh" and its inextricable relation to identity formation:
"'Femininity eluded me and without its confirmation I was vexed with questions
about who or what I w as/"3 8 The texts of femininity remain, but the girl-growing-
into-woman changes her relationship to them. Her "body as text" changes but is
subject to the same paradigmatic interpretive procedure. The defects of her child's
body differ from the defects of her supposedly more developed (and thus, more
feminine) adolescent body. What makes this situation especially urgent is that the
"problem" begins so early in life, when the female body first begins to ready itself for
reproduction.
Puberty begins earlier today, which means that girls must cope with
menstruation and other aspects of physical maturation at a younger age, when they
are really still children emotionally. Until puberty, girls are the stronger sex in terms
of standard measures of physical and mental health: they are less likely to injure
themselves and more competent in social relations. As soon as the body begins to
change, more and more girls begin to suffer from depression and frustration about
the divergence between their dreams for the future and the conventional sex roles
implied by their emerging breasts and hips.3 9 According to Tufts University
psychologist David Elkind, today's "harried parents" expect their "hurried children"
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to be autonomous, competent, and sophisticated by the time they are adolescents.
Adolescents raised in this permissive environment become stressed because they
have been denied a comfortable envelope of adult values that allows them time to
adjust emotionally to their developing bodies and new social roles.3 0
Also, certain developing body parts, such as breasts, caused additional stress
and self-consciousness. Just as in the way with store bought clothes, the body had to
fit instantaneously into standard sizes constructed from a pattern representing a
norm, mass produced bras in standard cup sizes probably increased adolescent self-
consciousness about their breasts. In general, mass production and standardization
of clothing items, including undergarments, enforced further demands on the body.
Breasts, not weight, were the primary point of comparison among high school girls in
the 1950s.3 ' The lament of the flat-chested girl- "I must, I must increase my bust!"3 2 is
a running motif in Judy Blume's highly realistic and popular 1970s teen novel, Are
You There God? It's Me, Margaret" which further confirmed the importance of breast
development to adult female identity and success. Breasts have become detached
from their biological function and hoisted into the realm of fashion accessory. In the
1920s, they were bound tightly to create the flat-chested, boyish flapper look, in the
1950s, curvaceous Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell motivated women to wear
padded, underwire, push-up bras to make the most of whatever they had. In the
1960s, super skinny models like Twiggy made the flat chest fashionable again. In the
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1970s, bras were out and showing deavage in low-cut tops was in. In the 1980s, big
chests were back in fashion but on a slimmer form. Women headed to cosmetic
surgeons for breast implants. In the 1990s, the Wonderbra appeared, promising
deavage to all. Women started to come forward about their problems with implants,
leading to the controversy over the safety of silicone implants.
In Deenie (1973), Blume also writes about a pretty pre-teen girl nam ed Deenie
who aspires to be a model (or at least her mother hopes she does- parental pressure),
but suffers from scoliosis which affects her posture and compromises her ability to
participate in activities that other girls her age strive for, such as cheerleading and
dancing at school dances. Already going through the most self-conscious and
awkward stage of life, Deenie must m uster up enough courage to correct her
"handicap" and this includes having to wear a brace all the time. Blume describes
Deenie's struggle in understanding w hy she has been afflicted with such a disorder,
dealing with the embarrassment and stigma of wearing a bulky brace, maintaining a
confident sense of self through this difficult time of life, and the support she receives
from friends and family. The novel gives girls the understanding that puberty and
being a pre-teen are not easy- dealing with physical and emotional changes (growth
spurts and understanding boys) and that things can always be worse. It gives girls
who may suffer from physical disorders and handicaps the confidence to be
themselves and to realize that they are not necessarily "abnormal."
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Not all teenage girls develop negative body images or eating disorders.
Personal psychology, physiology, family dynamics, and culture all play a role in an
individual girl's vulnerability. Studies estimate that 10% of American women- and
20% of women on college campuses- are anorexic or bulimic and nearly two-thirds of
young girls have distorted body images. Girls who have negative body images are
more likely to suffer from depression, to have eating disorders, and to consider
killing themselves. The pervasiveness of negative body images among adolescent
girls may be understood in part as girls' attempt to live within the safety of an ideal
image rather than in the vulnerability and vitality of their female bodies
Looking back in history, from the 1920s onward, the contrast between
women's growing power at work and in public life with an emphasis on slenderness
that could connote greater physical frailty was both striking and deliberate. As
mentioned above, anxiety over women's uncontrollable hungers appeared to peak
during periods when women became more independent and assertive politically and
socially. Newly enfranchised women must be told to curb their appetites and reduce,
quite literally, their physical presence. Women ideally came to be referred to as cute,
childish creatures. The corseted Victorian angel and soon after, the "Gibson Girl," an
illustration drawn by Charles Dana Gibson, came to represent the standard of
beauty. The "Gibson Girl" was dark-haired and athletic, but not manly. She was the
last time that a beauty ideal was created by a single artist, rather than through media
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images. The two ideals above were transformed into the girlish flapper figure often
referred to as "girlie."3 3 Thinking of women as small and immature and encouraging
them to think this way of themselves fit the framework of weight control and served
to reduce threats attached to wom en's gains in other areas. Weight control served as
a cultural "manager" of female desire. It is also interesting to note that throughout
dominant Western religious and philosophical traditions, the capacity for self
management is decisively coded as male whereas "bodily spontaneities" - hunger,
sexuality, the emotions- are coded female and needful of containment and control
due to the excessiveness which may challenge the patriarchal order.3 4 During periods
of disruption or change in established gender relations, dominant constructions of
the female body become "sylph-like" - elongated and androgynous like that of an
adolescent boy. From the standpoint of women who embrace this "new look",
however, it symbolizes not so much containment of female desire, but liberation
from a domestic, reproductive destiny.
The girlish shape came to be equated with womanhood- the perfect woman's
figure a negotiation of girl and boy in one, a striving for youth, girlhood- a certain
physical "childification" of the adult woman. Good health and a more athletic build
continued to be important in the '30s, as well as the acceptability of women wearing
trousers. During World War II, the American ideal of beauty was robust good
health, long legs, ample buttocks and breasts- the pin-up girl (such as Rita
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Hayworth). Marilyn Monroe's ability to combine a childlike persona with sexiness
embodied the '50s ideal. Twiggy's long legs, thin waist, and nonexistent hips and
breasts were idealized as the perfect beauty in the '60s. Bra tops and low slung
shorts of the '70s required a thin body, suggesting our increasing tolerance for the
display of extremely thin, yet athletic bodies (wholesome yet erotic). Display of the
body had come to be a sign of wom en's liberation, a mark of progress, and a basic
American right.
This new freedom implies greater internal control of the body- slimming, or
w hat we now call dieting. Despite the influences of the feminist movement, clothing
for young women and girls continues to bind the body and confine the range of
movement. This confinement has been reconfigured over the years, and is no less
powerful than before. The pressure to control the body has increased even more by
an even more demanding cultural ideal: a lean, taut, female body with visible
musculature and increasingly sexy styles that promote "body-conscious dressing."
This type of body-this aesthetic of toning, muscles, and strength- requires even more
attention, work, and control. It is not ironic then, that in our postmodern society of
cyborgs, a culture of increasingly advanced "machines" and alliances between
humans and "robots," we give highest praise to body parts whose textures suggest
metal and building materials.3 5 On the positive side, the current emphasis on female
muscles and strength could translate into less dieting (because of increased exercise)
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and better nutrition (because of more interest in "balanced diets" and about the
content of different foods). At the same time, however, this fitness craze can
aggravate adolescent self-consciousness and make girls unhappy (if not neurotic)
about their own bodies, especially when combined with their need to adjust to new,
sexually maturing bodies, unrealistic expectations drawn from airbrushed and
retouched photographs in advertising and the seductive camera angles and body
doubles so common on TV and in movies, and comparisons with others who possess
more "ideal" physiques.
Athleticism is admired among girls in the new millennium. As a result of
changes wrought by Title IX, a federal ruling that required equity in the support of
male and female athletic programs, opportunities for competitive athletics among
young women have mushroomed since the 1970s. Today we see girls involved in
sports once reserved for men. Female athleticism is glamorized and idealized in a
great deal of contemporary advertising (I will discuss this further). In the 1980s,
aerobics became the most popular way to combine fitness and femininity; marketers
encouraged that connection with pink sport shoes and lavender aerobic equipment.
What has remained today of Twiggy's "bodily" legacy is the exaggeratedly
thin body type, but sexualized with large breasts and pouting lips. Fashions are ever
more provocative and revealing. Since the early '90s, the favored models of high-
fashion magazines and designers' studios have been extremely young, extremely tall,
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and extremely thin, with cropped off, unstyled hair, little makeup, and a pale,
abstracted look which has been termed the "waif" look. The waif look continues to
cycle in with popularity as we may observe with supermodel Kate Moss and more
recently, Ally McBeal's Calista Flockhart. When designer Calvin Klein began
featuring 18-year-old Kate Moss (5'7", 105 lbs) in his ads for 1993, Moss became the
center of controversy, especially when she appeared topless in some of them. Many
girls expressed appreciation for Moss' look, especially constitutionally thin girls who
were accused of being anorexic when they really wanted to gain weight. For a time,
Moss was featured in a Web site- "Waif Central Station," where many girls from all
over the world wrote in to say they loved her look. Many of our new "Twiggy-like"
models look disturbingly like sexually precocious children- (is this liberating for
contemporary adolescents?) At the same time, they suggest amused detachment,
casual playfulness, flirtatiousness without demand, and (ironically) an unconscious
relationship to the body. The slender body also signals freedom from a reproductive
destiny and female entry into the public arena dominated by male standards.*
The disproportionate imposition of weight-control standards on women
occurred precisely as many older gender distinctions were eroding. As men and
women mixed professionally in new ways, a need was created to state new criteria
that would clarify that women were still not equal. The notion that they had a
special weight problem was an obvious gender-defining substitute. The attack on
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female fat conjoined also with the ongoing reduction of motherhood as a physical
task and as a cultural emblem for women. The intensity of seemingly aesthetic goals,
in redefining female beauty, followed from the need for new ways to moralize
women through constraint. Also, the fight for political and legal equality was
accompanied by the media's portrayal of the ideal woman as weak and powerless.
As Hesse-Biber (1991) has stated, "Ironically, when women are demanding 'more
space' in terms of equality of opportunity, there is a cultural dem and that they
'should shrink.'... Thinness may be considered a sign of conforming to a constricting
feminine image, whereas greater weight may convey a strong, powerful image."3 7
New freedom in sexuality also commanded constraint on their appetites in
other respects. The need to impose rigor to compensate for women's growing sexual
awareness added to the basic interest in dieting as a counterweight to consumer
indulgence.3 8 The representation of unrestrained appetite as inappropriate for
women, the depiction of female eating as a private, transgressive act, make restriction
and denial of hunger central features of the construction of femininity and set up the
compensatory binge as an inevitability. Such restrictions on appetite, are not merely
about food intake. Rather, the social control of female hunger operates as a practical
"discipline" that trains female bodies in the knowledge of their limits and
possibilities. Denying oneself food becomes the central micro-practice in the
education of feminine self-restraint and containment of impulse. And the power that
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could be attained in being beautiful and perfectly slim motivated the equation of
discipline with liberation.
Readings of such pressure to "discipline" the body to ideal beauty standards
have been attributed to Michel Foucault. According to Foucault, based on cultural
norms, "selfhood" and subjectivity are maintained largely by self-surveillance and
self-correction- '"there is no need for arms, physical violence, material constraints.
Just a gaze. An inspecting gaze, a gaze which each individual under its weight will
end by interiorizing to the point that he is his own overseer..."3 9 Today, the female
body is subject to pressures and procedures offered by fashion magazines, beauty
salons, spas, cosmetic surgery, diet businesses, health clubs, modeling schools.
Contemporary disciplines of diet and exercise and of eating disorders as arising out
of and reproducing normative feminine practices of our culture, practices which train
the female body in docility and obedience to cultural demands while at the same
time being experienced in terms of power and control. The body is clearly used
materially as a commodity.
Even the notorious Barbie doll delineates and enforces a "normative ideal" of
femininity (blonde, white, affluent, inordinately thin) and consumer behavior.
Mattel's Barbie emerged less than a decade before Twiggy." The doll possesses
significance for this paper not only in terms of the beauty ideals she embodies and
prescribes, but also in the way she personifies girls' passage from childhood to
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adolescence in terms of commodities. Barbie's body, translated into real-life
measurements of 5'9", 36-18-33, shapes the young girls' body ideal and continues to
influence women into adulthood. Like Twiggy, by fostering an impression that an
asexual and anorectically thin body is the ideal feminine body, the doll represents a
denial of the sexual functions of the female body, including reproduction. In 1991,
the High Self-Esteem Toys Corporation came out with a "Happy to Be Me" doll that
was designed to reflect a more realistic female body type than Barbie. The doll,
which had a wider waist, larger feet, and shorter legs, never took off in popularity.
Mattel has also introduced new Barbie with more realistic features- her proportions
are less dramatic, she has darker hair, and her nose is slightly bigger.4 1 Nevertheless,
it is no wonder that many girls grow up with complexes when they spend
childhoods playing with dolls such as Barbie and thinking that she is what they
should grow up to look like.4 2 Girls are constantly exposed to "gendered" interests
and lifestyles.
It is obvious that women in our culture are more tyrannized by the
contemporary slenderness ideal than men are. This gender-coded signification
overdetermines slenderness as a contemporary ideal of female attractiveness. The
ideal is a body that is absolutely tight, contained, firm- a body that is protected
against eruption from within, whose internal processes are under control. Women's
desires are by their very nature excessive, irrational, threatening to erupt and
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challenge the patriarchal order. A t the same time, to touch briefly on the issue of
class, this phenomenon can only occur in a culture of overabundance- that is, in a
society in which those who control the production of "culture" have more than
enough to eat. Willpower depends on the material preconditions that make the
choice to diet an option and the possibility of personal "excess" a reality. Yet, this
body obsession may also serve as an instrument of social mobility if those of lower
classes are able to achieve such physical goals. "Mastering" the body operates as a
symbol of successful upward aspiration, of the penetrability of class boundaries.
Female slenderness has a wide range of sometimes contradictory meanings in
contemporary representations, the imagery of the slender body suggesting
powerlessness and contraction of female social space in one context, autonomy and
freedom in the next. Twiggy's slightness perhaps looked like freedom, a space where
girls could be girls and could look at other girls without the intrusion of a masculine
gaze or presence. In The Obsession. Kim Chemin speculates that in a feminist age,
men feel drawn to and perhaps less threatened by women with childish bodies
because "there is something less disturbing about the vulnerability and helplessness
of a small child, and something truly disturbing about the body and mind of a
mature woman."4 3 Men feel threatened by women's bodies which are unambiguously
female and thus fetishize particular feminine parts- legs, breasts, buttocks, feet, lips.
Susan Bordo suggests that "boys w ho reacted with disgust or anxiety to fleshy
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female parts were reacting to evocations of maternal power, newly threatening in an
age when women are making their way into arenas traditionally reserved for men."4 4
It is required of female desire to be normalized according to the male standards of
the professional world and therefore stripped of all psychic resonance with maternal
power. Taking on the accouterments of the male world may be experienced as
empowering to women and as their chance to embody "male" qualities- self
containment, self-mastery, and control - which are highly valued in our culture.
A range of contemporary representations and images have coded the
transcendence of the female appetite and its public display in the slenderness ideal in
terms of power, will, mastery, the possibilities of success in the professional arena,
etc. These associations are carried visually by the slender superwomen of prime-time
television and popular movies and promoted explicitly in advertisements and articles
appearing routinely in women's fashion magazines, diet books, and weight-training
publications. Yet, the anorexic is anything but strong and in control. Living out such
contradictions has become a part of contemporary girlhood. According to Bordo,
recent statistics suggest that more and younger girls are making dedicated dieting
the central organizing principle of their lives. By the tender age of six, girls show a
preference for a slim body type and fear of fatness, even if they are of normal weight
or very thin. 81% of teenage girls report that they often feel fat. By sixth grade, 41%
of girls have attempted to lose weight and in high school, 63% of girls are dieting to
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lose weight.4 5 A widely publicized University of California study of fourth-grade
girls in San Frandsco suggests that these girls "live in constant fear, reinforced by the
reactions of the boys in their dasses, of gaining a pound and thus ceasing to be 'sexy/
'attractive/ or, most tellingly, 'regular.'"4 6 It is frightening to think that our culture
may be producing younger and younger girls with severely diminished menstrual,
nutritional, and intellectual functioning.
Furthermore, ads for weight-loss programs or products promise great results.
However, only about 5 to 10% of dieters are able to successfully lose weight and
maintain that loss, something the $1.7 billion per year weight-loss industry never
tells us.4 ' Failed dieting is due to the fact that the desire to get thin by limiting food
intake does not make sense to the body. Extreme changes in diet can make one
irritable, depressed, or sluggish. As the metabolic rate slows, one bum s fewer
calories as one diets because the body is designed to help one survive during food
shortages. Diets may also lead to food obsessing and episodes of overeating, clearly
counterproductive. Often times, it comes down to girls needing to face their
emotions rather than attacking their shape and weight.
In the late 1960s and 1970s, the objectification of the female body was a
serious political issue. All the cultural paraphernalia of femininity- learning to please
visually and sexually through the practices of the body- were seen as crucial in
maintaining gender domination. Feminists have drawn fascinating and astute
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metaphorical connections between female eating and female sexuality- inversions of
traditional Victorian values which celebrates female sexuality and pow er through
images exulting in female eating and female hunger. However, the rising incidence
of eating disorders, increasing dissatisfaction and anxiety among girls and women
concerning how they look, and the compulsive regimens of bodily "improvement" in
which so many of us engage suggest that a political battle is being w aged over the
energies and resources of the female body. Women's bodies are still a contested
zone. Although the terms of the struggle have shifted since the sixties, many women
continue to situate their primary desire for liberation in a bodily expression of
selfhood.4 8
It is interesting to note how a recent episode of The Ricki Lake Show (12/7/00)
promotes heavier figures by hosting skinny and fat sister who compete over who is
sexier. In general, the fatter sisters were voted more sexy by the audience with Ricki
announcing, "Phat is in!" It is comforting to see larger women w ho are comfortable
in and confident about their bodies and to recognize that "sexiness" is as much about
self-confidence as it is what society deems attractive. Hopefully, people realize that
it is not all about being slim!
In the intersection of the gender issues I have described above (the
hierarchical dualism that constructs female as dangerous, appetitive, bodily against a
masterful male will) and more general cultural dilemmas concerning the
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319
management of desire, we see how the tightly managed body- whether
demonstrated through sleek minimalist lines or firmly developed muscles- has been
overdetermined as a contemporary ideal of female attractiveness. Women
themselves associate slenderness with self-management through the experience of
newfound freedom from a domestic destiny and empowerment in the public
domain. When the regulation of desire becomes problematic, it is in consumer
cultures such as ours where women and their bodies pay the greatest symbolic and
material toll. Whether it is our contemporary ideal of female slenderness coded in
terms of self-mastery through traditionally male body symbolism or the mid-
Victorian ideal emphasizing reproductive femininity under external (corseted)
constraints, whether the body is externally bound or internally managed, it cannot
escape either the imprint of culture or its gendered meanings.
Considering the fact that everything is up for questioning today- the media,
our identities, each other, the very concept of beauty- the answer to the body image
dilemma cannot simply be to allow all women a place in the beauty structure. Sure,
it is important to tell women of every size and color that they are beautiful and
worthwhile people. But it is also fundamental to offer them a world where they are
safe, valued, and free from oppression- a world that values healing more than
destruction, that seeks balance over domination, that values difference instead of
ignoring or degrading it, a world that embraces contradictions instead of erasing
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320
them. It is also important to understand that women and girls want to be able to
pursue happiness on the terms of the culture they live in while also wanting to feel
that they are self-determining agents. It thus becomes very important that they
believe their own choices to be individual, freely motivated, "for themselves." This
is often made easier in a consumer culture that presents commercial constructions of
body alteration as self-determination and creative self-fashioning. Some ads even
present the normalized body as the body of cultural resistance. Nike instructs, "'The
body you have is the body you inherited, but you must decide what you want to do
with it'" while offering glamorous shots of lean, muscled athletes to help us
"decide."4 9
Teen magazines have taken notice of the furor over weight and health and
many now feature articles on healthy eating and body image, urging girls not to diet
for thinness. Nevertheless, the models featured in these magazine, right alongside
articles about healthy eating, are still rail-thin, and the clothes marketed to teen girls-
long, slender dresses, baby T's- require a slim figure. To complicate the image,
lingerie styles stress underwire bras- a necessity for large-breasted women but hardly
essential for slender teen girls.
Women and girls need to recognize the importance of maintaining balance
and moderation in their lives. One should certainly not deny the benefits of diet,
exercise5 0 , and other forms of body "management," but should recognize that the
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goal of engaging in such practices is for strengthening oneself physically and
psychologically, in building healthy bodies and minds. Popular representations
speak forcefully through the rhetoric and symbolism of empowerment, personal
freedom, "having it all." Yet female bodies, in pursuing these ideals, may be taken to
extremes and may find themselves distracted, depressed, and physically ill.
Recognizing the contradictions through which culture often enjoins the aid of our
bodies in the reproduction of gender is an important step towards achieving our
goals and in resisting gender domination in a healthy, and liberating manner.5 1
Self-Improvement: Girls & Cosmetic Surgery
The ideology of self-improvement has been especially useful in constructing
consumers in a capitalist economy that requires us to believe that if we keep buying
commodities, we can perfect our appearance, our personalities, our lifestyles, and our
patterns of success. Discourses of self-improvement were a mainstay in the ideology
of "True Womanhood" popularly professed in women's periodicals during the late
nineteenth century. Although that ideology professed women's self-improvement
for the greater good of her home and her community, nineteenth-century discourse
about femininity was most concerned with women properly fulfilling the roles of
wife and mother. With the increase in middle-class propriety during the late
nineteenth century, the female body became a prime site for displaying a man's
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wealth, what Thorstein Veblen termed "conspicuous consumption." Their bodies no
longer confined to the domestic sphere, modem middle-class wom en became
concerned with how their physical appearance (hair, makeup, clothing, accessories)
signified status.
Due to the increasingly widespread use of photography and the incorporation
of mirrors into most middle-class homes at the end of the nineteenth century, women
and girls became more self-conscious about their appearance. With the introduction
of film and photography-based fashion magazines at the turn of the century, females
were further encouraged to privilege their appearance above their other attributes
and to scrutinize their bodies and attire on a daily basis.5 2 Also, besides compulsory
heterosexuality, there seemed to be a strong cultural preference in the US for the
image of women at the peak of their reproductive capacities, so much so that all
women, younger or older, are encouraged to appear as if they were in their early
twenties.
By encouraging women to believe that they are unacceptable as they are,
media representations set a standard to which women strive. Susan Douglas
observes that the narcissistic strategies encouraged by the media, while seemingly
empowering women to take control of themselves and their lives, is in fact a demand
that women be "pathological, compulsive, filled with self-hate, and schizophrenic."5 3
The worked out body suggests that women can compete with men while increasing
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their desirability. Yet while consumer capitalism allowed for women to be active
subjects in control of their own images, it created passive objects judged by those
images. The imposition of impossible standards of perfection creates competitive
workaholics and sex objects. Douglas criticizes narcissism and the media's
relentlessly coercive deployment of perfect faces and bodies, the alienation of women
from their faces and bodies either prosthetically or through feelings of lack, and the
psychologically, politically, and economically punitive measures taken against
women who fail to achieve this as misogynistic and for capitalistic, profit-
maximizing ends. At the same time, Douglas describes the empowering function of
the cosmetics industry. According to her, cosmetics were used by women to gain
control over the various masks and identities a woman must present to the world. It
was also the "union of science and aesthetics" that allowed women to draw from the
achievements of men to remake themselves- "It was through the female form, and
the idealized female face in particular, that science and technology were made to
seem altruistic, progressive...and responsive to women's desires.5 4
Extending the dominant paradigm of male voyeurism and female
objectification found in patriarchal cultures, the ideology of self-improvement
encourages girls to turn their gaze upon themselves, to occupy simultaneously the
positions of seeing subject and seen object. As John Berger argues in Ways of Seeing:
A woman m ust continually watch herself. She is almost continually
accompanied by her own image of herself...From earliest childhood
she has been taught and persuaded to survey herself continually.
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And so she comes to consider the surveyor and the surveyed within
her as the two constituent yet always distinct elements of her
identity as a woman.5 5
At the same time that this logic bifurcates females into seer and seen, self-
improvement discourse splits their emotions, trapping girls within a contradictory
logic that speaks of narcissism and consumption, while encouraging self-surveillance
and self-loathing. Thus, women and girls are encouraged to be overly concerned
with physical appearance and narcissistic, self-indulgent behavior is promoted. Yet,
because they are also taught to continually survey their bodies, personalities, and
relationships in order to see how they compare to dominant standards of feminine
subjectivity, feelings of self-hatred may develop in those w ho do not "measure up."
As has been documented by many studies since the 1980s, girls entering pubescence
are especially prone to feelings of inadequacy in the face of a culture that
continuously calls on them to improve.
Self-criticism and feelings of inadequacy often begin when girls are young
and consume teen magazines that teach "readers at an early age to look critically at
their bodies and be ashamed of parts that do not fit the established model."5 6 Self-
surveillance and criticism of individual body parts is perhaps most encouraged by
advertisements that fragment the female body into distinct parts: hands, legs, breasts,
eyes, lips. Such fragmentation further divides readers' sense of self and contributes
to feelings of objectification as well as alienation from their bodies.5 7 And even if
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magazines are not the cause of anxiety, they often encourage and exacerbate these
feelings, suggesting increased consumption as the remedy. Although an exaggerated
concern with physical appearance integrates girls into consumer society, it also, and
perhaps more problematically, leads to other aspects of their identity being
undervalued and ignored. Some magazines, such as the British version of Marie
Claire, claim that they will try to promote a wider range of shapes and sizes in their
pages. Editor Liz Jones explains, "We are powerful institutions and we can have
huge effects all the way down the line."5 8 It is important to extend the diversity of
imagery so that young women can find themselves in the images in advertising and
the media instead of feeling inferior or even like outsiders because they do not.
Although some may argue that narcissism functions according to a dominant
ideology of romantic individualism, the encouragement of girls' self-interest also has
negative side effects. Such narcissism among female youth often affects the way they
position themselves in relation to not just friends and family, but also to their
community, nation, and the world at large. Despite the effort on the part of media
texts to develop girls' social awareness, such discourse is outweighed by the
encouragement of a "me first" attitude. In order to produce better rationales for
purchasing unnecessary commodities and practicing forms of narcissistic self-
indulgence, texts appropriate a more liberal rhetoric by relying on terms such as
"independence," "freedom," and "choice." Although this particular form of
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discourse encourages girls to feel empowered in their consumerist activities, Judith
Williamson argues, "It is precisely the illusion of autonomy which makes
consumerism such an effective diversion from the lack of other kinds of power in
people's lives."5 9 This is an example of how the rhetoric of capitalist consumerism
can speak of autonomy, choice, and freedom while entrapping females within a logic
of self-indulgence that limits concerns for other individuals, as well as girls' concern
for their non-physical attributes.
Contradictorily positioning the reader within a logic of narcissism and self-
loathing, the ideology of self-improvement found in beauty and fashion features and
advertisements demands discipline in transforming oneself to meet the requirements
of physical appearance normalized in those texts. Such transformations are
constructed as a natural component of femininity and possible through the purchase
of various beauty and fashion products. One of the most obvious strategies used to
interpellate women into this ideology is the "make-over," which teaches them how to
perfect their performance of femininity through superficial bodily transformations.
Operating via a discourse of fantasy and fairy tales, the make-over is a process
through which the "homely Cinderella" becomes an attractive princess, the ugly
duckling a beautiful swan, a narrative communicated through the opposition of
"before" shots of an unadorned subject and "after" shots that show the vast
improvement a new hairstyle, makeup, an d /o r exercise routine can achieve.*" These
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make-overs in magazines, TV news and talk shows encourage reader and viewer
identification by conflating glamour with ordinariness:
Where the professional model presents a contrast to the way most
women look, the subjects of the makeover appear to be transformed
from ordinary to glamorous before [their] eyes...Thus, they give
more credibility to the covertly advertised products that have
purportedly enabled the transformation.6 1
As a fantasy of happiness achieved through physical transformation that is
dependent on an ideology of continual self-improvement, make-overs help sell
beauty products because women and girls are continually encouraged to believe that
we can never look good enough. What cannot be fixed through dieting and exercise
can be hidden through clothing and makeup commodities that are applied in ways
that accentuate certain physical features while downplaying others. Furthermore,
makeovers may be considered physical manifestations of the desire for agency in the
creation of one's own persona, an initial step towards controlling the direction of
one's life. Women and girls often express change through altering their appearance.
Plastic surgery embodies an extreme means to physical self-improvement or
"makeover." Gradually and surely, a technology that was first aimed at the
replacement of malfunctioning parts has generated an industry and an ideology
fueled by fantasies of rearranging, transforming, and correcting, an ideology of
limitless improvement and change, defying the historicity, the mortality, and the
very materiality of the body. Critics accuse women who engage in this practice crazy
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to risk their health in order to boost their self-esteem and market value. Others argue
that these women take the risk for the right to be desired, loved, and successful in
terms of media and cultural norms. Some feminists even defend it as "'first and
foremost...about taking one's life into one's own hands.'"6 2 Kathy Davis argues,
By taking agency as a relevant feature in how women experience
cosmetic surgery, the decision can itself become a radical and
courageous act. By deciding to undergo cosmetic surgery, they
initiate a dramatic change, becoming agents in the transformation
and remaking of their lives as well as their bodies.6 3
While agency might indeed constitute a relevant feature in the feminine
experience of cosmetic surgery, this does not mean that plastic surgery ultimately has
a radical or emancipatory function in terms of a social or public body. Though the
woman chooses, and pays for, plastic surgery, she "submits" her body to the
discipline of the surgeon who wields the knife and regulates norms of social
acceptability. Her body essentially reproduces an existing social norm. Andrea
Dworkin criticizes the way women are imprisoned by cultural proscriptions of
beauty:
Standards of beauty describe in precise terms the relationship that
an individual will have to her own body...They define precisely the
dimensions of her physical freedom. And of course, the relationship
between physical freedom and psychological development,
intellectual possibility, and creative potential is an umbilical one.6 1
Critics of this beauty culture are distressed by the fact that every part of a woman's
body is subject to modification and tied directly into a capitalist system:
It is vital to the economy, the major substance of male-female
differentiation, the most immediate physical and psychological
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reality of being a woman. From the age of 11 or 12 until she dies, a
woman will spend a large part of her time, money, and energy on
binding, plucking, painting, and deodorizing herself.6 5
This further confirms the ways in which feminists imagine the female body itself as a
politically inscribed entity, its physiology and morphology shaped by histories and
practices of containment and control- "from foot-binding and corseting to rape and
battering to compulsory heterosexuality, forced sterilization, unwanted pregnancy,
and even explicit commodification."6 6 In defense of plastic surgery, supporters
describe it as releasing a woman from neuroses to enter a life of happiness- women
become more joyful as they discard their inferiority complexes. Surgeons argue that
the transformations they make give women confidence, and when women are
confident of themselves, they look prettier. And to beautify women by measures
endorsed by science also benefits men and therefore society itself.6 '
Yet because we see so many extraordinarily "perfect" bodies in the media,
young women today grow up worrying about specific body parts as well as their
weight, and they may ultimately resort to going under the knife to fix a large or
crooked nose, a small or excessively large bosom, or to remove fat from around the
buttocks and thighs. A third of the 38,000 girls who replied to a Sassy magazine poll
in 1989 thought their breasts were too small and 12% admitted to stuffing their bras6 8
and women's magazines run ads for cosmetic surgery and surgeons. With scantily
clad Victoria's Secret and Guess? models on billboards everywhere and with media
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stars such as Jenny McCarthy and Pamela Lee and other Baywatch babes such as
Nicole Eggert, Tracey Bingham, and Carmen Electra who have all had breast
augmentation and continuously show off their toned, svelte bodies, it is difficult for
girls to not be unhappy w ith their bodies and to do what they can to improve them.
Then we have the controversy over 18-year-old (and growing) pop star Britney
Spears having breast implants and not setting a good example for body image and
positive self-esteem for her young teen and pre-teen fans. She has emerged with a
mix of identities that blend sexy, sultry bombshell with sweet, innocent Lolita-like
qualities that has apparently set a standard for girls and that drives young men and
even older men crazy. Teen shows that star wealthy young people such as Popular,
Beverly Hills, 90210, and Clueless, are arenas both for observing and discussing
cosmetic surgery among the characters of the shows as well as the actresses in real
life. In Beverly Hills, 90210, the issue of plastic surgery among the cast was never
really a topic, but we were often aware of the work done on actresses such as Tori
Spelling (Donna) and Jenny Garth (Kelly) themselves. In addition, because they
attended West Beverly High, we can assume what sort of "cosmetic culture" they
were immersed in on a daily basis. In Popular, Nicole's breasts are often blatantly
ridiculed as being augmented, but for her and her clique, it is something to be proud
of because it signifies the wealth, self-indulgence, vanity, beauty, and popularity
requirements they swear by.
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In further support for our culture's valuing of the buxom, historically,
American consumer culture in the years after World War II raised the "sweater girl"
to a cultural icon. Movie posters and Playboy magazine glorified breasts that defied
gravity; brassiere and bathing suit manufacturers employed innovative structural
engineering techniques that made this defiance possible; and stars like Marilyn
Monroe and Jane Russell embodied the possibilities. The vogue of the "hourglass
figure" meant that thousands of girls and women whose neuroses had been traced
definitely to the fact they were flat-chested were desperate for new techniques that
would release them from the bondage of inferiority.6 9 A 1956 article in Cosmopolitan
even noted that "Emphasis in our society on the beautiful bust has become so
extreme that there was little surprise in psychological circles when a teen-aged girl
just recently committed suicide because she was flat-chested."7 0 Furthermore, the
changed and changing measurements of Miss America winners- from 30-25-32 in
1921 to 34-21-34 for 1970s winners are evidence of the national fixation on breasts.
Breast augmentation was also believed to make women feel more secure in their
sexual roles. Women claimed that they were able to respond with less inhibition and
more sensuality. Popular sources have for years described the psychological torture
small-breasted women endure. A 1970 guide to cosmetic surgery asserted that in
western culture, the flat-chested girl is made to feel inadequate, unwomanly. The
nicely formed breast symbolized femininity. Such girls then have low self-esteem.
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are wracked by anxiety at the beach, in clothing stores, when wearing low-cut
dresses, and suffer a subconscious feeling of deformity. They may also suffer from
frustration, discomfort, acute self-consciousness, and feelings of inferiority. A survey
of 132 breast augmentation patients demonstrated that the effect of small breasts on
self-esteem was obvious: before augmentation, 43% of the women suffered from
depression, 47% reported feelings of inferiority and low self-worth, 65% reported
moderate to strong feelings of inadequacy, and 89% were self-conscious. These
feelings can be very confining for people and prevent them from living more fully.7 1
It was believed that the combination of a more desirable physical contour and
a tremendous improvement in self-image led to better sexual adjustment and a
happier life. Throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the paradigm of the inferiority
complex found new life as a justification for breast augmentation as surgeons and
patients alike reported that patients' preoperative feelings of inferiority gave way to
postoperative confidence. A recent episode of talk show Ricki Lake (11/2-3/00)
explores the issue of breast surgery- "I Hate My Breasts." The guests who wanted
breast augmentation argued that it would make them feel better about the way they
looked, would give them a feeling of normalcy, "like a woman" which indicates that
breasts still stand as a significant code for femininity. Most importantly they desired
the procedure "for me and no one else." Other guests included boyfriends and
friends (who were all initially unsupportive) and a parent (who understood and was
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supportive). The plastic surgeon who performed all the surgeries for the guest was
portrayed not only as skilled and experienced, but also as caring and supportive.
Ricki, as arbiter, also stood by the girls (especially concerning the fact that she had
had breast reduction surgery herself) and supported personal decisions.
Breast reduction surgery has also become accepted in medical circles after
surgeons (and society) realized that huge breasts can be a mental and physical
handicap- "not only is there considerable physical discomfort in continually carrying
enlarged breasts, but this overdevelopment also causes psychological disturbance in
the growing girl who feels physically abnormal and therefore at a distinct
disadvantage socially or economically. From this come maladjustment, discontent,
unhappiness, and misery."7 2 Breast reduction's defenders often stress its
transformative potential. Physicians and psychiatrists now admit that there are
innumerable cases in which breast reduction is not only advisable, but essential to a
woman's mental and emotional well-being. Young girls, especially, often suffer
untold embarrassment because of overdeveloped, pendulous breasts. They may
develop personalities that tend towards solitude and melancholy, morose,
withdrawn, and anxious to avoid normal social contacts. An article in McCall's as far
back as 1948 describes the results for a particular patient- "'The confident look in her
brown eyes showed new posed and healthy self-assurance. Plastic surgery at its
modem best had reconstructed her abnormally large, prolapsed breasts into
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youthful, normal contours, and in doing so, had lifted the burden of a painfully
unhappy and neurotic girlhood."7 3 The number of such surgeries increases yearly.
For example, in 1984,38,000 women opted for breast reduction, and increases of 18%
since 1981; in 1992, 2500 teens were among surgeons' clients.'4 Soleil Moon Frye, the
star of the 1980s sitcom Punky Brewster (1984-6), suffered from gigantomastia and
received media attention in terms of her pre- and post-operative experiences.
In the 1990s, the lower body came into larger focus, especially the thighs and
buttocks. In the past two decades, there has been a national crusade against cellulite.
Besides liposuction, which has become the most popular kind of cosmetic surgery in
the US, the cosmetic industry also began to produce thigh creams. By 1995,
American women and girls were spending more than $100 million on "cellulite
busters." Pop star, Jennifer Lopez, has brought renewed value to the buttocks-the
ideal being full and firm at the same time.
Postwar expansion of the middle class made an "epidemic" of plastic surgery
for teens (primarily in the realm of correcting prominent, "Semitic" noses.) Doctors
focused increasing analytical attention on rhinoplasty operations in the postwar
years. In the years before the war, patients were often in their mid-twenties to mid
thirties by the time they had saved enough money for surgery. After the war, young
people who wanted plastic surgery could have it- courtesy of their parents- before
college or even high school. Adolescents, as we are well aware of, are even more
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susceptible to and motivated by desires to tit in. (Such is the normative nature of
beauty.) By the middle of the twentieth century, the American ideal of beauty was
understood to require a small nose and the nose job had become a routine operation.
Rhinoplasty became an option and even a rite of passage for some. Articles
described Jewish and Italian girls who get nose jobs for their high school graduation
presents or for their birthdays. In some sophisticated circles like New York and Los
Angeles, a nose job before college was as routine as the SAT and for some, fell into
the same category as orthodontic work. By 1961, between 30,000 and 60,000
rhinoplasties were performed each year; 16- to 19-year old girls constituted the
largest group of patients.7 5 The teenage frenzy for physical perfection involved
looking less "Jewish," less "Italian," achieving the ultimate profile personified by
Grace Kelly. Dirty Dancing (1987) star, Jennifer Grey, spent a few brief moments in
the media spotlight in regards to her "nose job" which significantly changed the
aesthetics of her face. She re-emerged into the media spotlight 11 years after the
success of Dirty Dancing on the 1998 short-lived TV sitcom, It's Like....You Know.
Janet Jackson, and her cosmetically refined siblings (Michael and LaToya), has also
had attention draw n to work on her face and body.
Another popular cosmetic procedure sought after by Asian-American teens is
the revision of the "Oriental eye." Asians did not seek plastic surgery in significant
numbers until after World War II. After the war, surgery to westernize Asian eyes
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became increasingly popular, first in Asia and then in the US. Surgery was desired
for several reasons. Once again, fitting in and normalizing to Western standards of
beauty is perhaps most significant. Socioeconomically, western eyes could be a
status symbol and might aid in finding a job. Domestically, "double-folded" eyelids
might ensure personal happiness and domestic tranquillity. In Hawaii, where the
phenomenon was particularly evident because of the large Asian population, teens
who could not afford such surgery (or whose parents would not allow it) often used
cellophane tape, which- left on the eyelid overnight- created the desired effect
temporarily. Today, the "double eyelid" operation is the top choice among Asian
American patients. Coming of age in a country that had historically described them
and their communities as "Oriental," posed particular problems for young Asian
Americans. Attempting to make a place for themselves in the affluent consumer
culture of post-World War II America, young men and women of Asian origin were
as aware as their Caucasian peers of the reigning economy of appearance. Repeated
reminders from the media- magazines, movies, television, and their peers that
American culture ranked blonde above dark, buxom above flat, wide-eyed over
narrow, and pale above all had tremendous effects on not only how Asian
Americans, but on how young people of all ethnicities saw themselves.
It seems as if feminism and cosmetic surgery are unalterably opposed:
cosmetic surgery represents capitulation to the cultural ideologies and beauty myths
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that have historically victimized women, while feminism, by framing beauty as a
social rather than an individual issue, empowers women to resist such pressures.
Yet, in 1988, in an article entitled "Cheers for Cher," the editors of Ms. magazine
heralded the dawn of an era that's "not afraid to applaud real women" and
designated Cher an authentic feminist hero- "Women who dare to be themselves,
who dare to take control of their lives and reinvent themselves according to their
own dreams, needs, and specifications are still all too rare." The reinvention in this
case was surgical and was explicitly acknowledged and applauded.'6 This makes
sense when feminism itself is reframed as individual self-realization, taking control
of one's own life based on one's own desires. In this way, cosmetic surgery can
indeed empower individual women.
The discourse of advice columns in magazines, the problem page also
functions according to the logic of self-improvement as girls write in asking for help
with their appearance, personality, and relationships. McRobbie describes:
Failed femininity is urgently addressed in the language of self-
improvement. The magazine, as adviser or agony aunt, can come to
the rescue of any unfortunate reader who is counseled in a way
which assumes a fundamental shared commitment to dominant
femininity.”
The girl TV talk show and even Dr. Drew Pinsky's TV show on MTV (now canceled)
and his radio show on KROQ for teens (specifically addressing teen sexuality) work
in similar ways. Both girls who watch/listen and w ho participate are given
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reductive conclusions about how well they adhere to normalized, common sense
notions of subjectivity as well as to how well they adhere to the dominant norms of
social relations. On the other hand, they may realize that problems that previously
alienated them are not as "abnormal" as they thought, thus the advice discourse
serves to reassure and to comfort. Also the female guest "hosts" on the shows, who
are usually media stars and figures in the music, film, or TV industry, have particular
impact doling out their advice as young, prominent, "experienced" females.
Most feminist scholars argue that by proscribing to normative definitions of
the feminine, women become physically inhibited, confined, positioned, and
objectified. Yet others believe that beauty culture can also empower women. It is
predicated upon the feminine achievement of making herself, recruiting the cultural
ideal of the self-determining individual. In a more in depth study of America's
beauty culture focused on the use of cosmetics, Kathy Peiss describes the 1920s as the
moment when mass-produced images began to influence female self-conceptions
and beauty rituals. Mass marketers summoned women to proclaim their liberation
by using cosmetics. A period that began with cosmetics signaling women's freedom
and individuality ended in binding feminine identity to manufactured beauty, self-
portrayal to acts of consumption.7 8 She defends "making up" as providing social,
physical, and psychological pleasure, as a means of individual self-development, as
creative work. Experimenting with makeup was a central part of teen culture in the
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50s. Consistent with developing a feminine identity, the cosmetics industry
compelled consumers to continually interrogate, experiment with, and renew their
looks. Critics of the cosmetics industry also charged that the male-dominated
capitalist economy manipulate female desires and anxieties in ways that served
men's personal and political control of women.7 9 Debates over cosmetics today
bounce between the idea of victimization of self-invention. Overall, despite her own
position as a "failed user," Peiss' position is one of defense for beauty culture. She
supports the idea that makeup helped women "declare" themselves. It offered
aesthetic, sensory, and psychological pleasures and a domain for "sociability,
creativity, and play.™
It is important to note that, with transformations to traditional gender
ideologies and social relations since the 1960s, the focus on girls' futures as stay-at-
home mothers has declined in media texts. There has been an increase in
information on girls' non-domestic futures and in representations of girls in
professional, traditionally male-dominated positions- lawyers, judges, doctors,
executives, etc. Yet focusing more on careers and education is still grounded in the
ideology of self-improvement (or rather, self-development), encouraging girls to
broaden their knowledge and challenge themselves in new endeavors. I argue that
both traditional ideologies of femininity (e.g., fashion, beauty, dating, sex,
relationship problems) and "feminist" ideologies of femininity (e.g., education,
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careers, physical and mental health) are grounded in the idea of self-development
and I believe that BOTH are necessary discourses of girlhood. To recognize such
subject positions is crucial to a girls' self-development, yet she should always have
the freedom and choice of whether to subscribe to such ideologies and to be able to
create her own. The problem in media texts is the way in which they address
viewers. Rather than a kind of "You can do it!" form of encouragement, they operate
according to a system of structural opposition. In other words, the positive ideals of
fashion and beauty are defined according to their (negative) opposites. McCracken
describes,
The attractive presentation frequently disguises the negativity close
at hand: within this discursive structure, to be beautiful, one must
fear being non-beautiful; to be in fashion, one must fear being out of
fashion; to be self-confident, one must first feel insecure.8 1
Once again, this discursive strategy helps to ensure girls' continued consumption, for
one product can never alleviate all the insecurities produced through this kind of
discourse. It is the hegemonic logic of the capitalist market that encourages the
media to rely on strategies that produce insecurities and stimulate needs to produce
habits of consumption and profits for advertisers and manufacturers.
Another important relationship to consider in the idea of femininity as beauty
is the dialectic of women's relation to the textually inscribed image through her
relationship to the mirror. The mirror offers a simulacrum of the text; a woman can
look at her reflection and see herself "framed" and raised thus to the level of the text.
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The relationship between herself and the text and the ideality of the image is the
measure of the gap. The gap for desire created by the deficiency of the present and
actual body in comparison with the ideality of the image becomes the objective. It is
an orientation to the self as the object of skilled work, or rigorous personal discipline.
The text creates a space in which the skilled work of the woman as practitioner of
discourse is inserted. This course of action requires effort, technical and experiential
knowledge of how to produce on her body the effects displayed in the mirror object,
expenditure of time and money on shopping for tools and materials. The ideality of
images in texts of the discourse organize the gap that generates desire. The same
texts often have solutions for the problems the image constitutes, thus creating an
"image-desire-shopping" circuit.®
Women's and girls' work on their bodies become discursive instances
interpretable by the doctrine of femininity when considering the relationship
between text and women's appearance. From the standpoint of the ideality of the
image lodged in texts, a body is always imperfect, is always still to be brought into a
relation of simulacrum to the text. The gap between textual ideality of image and
actual appearance generates desire, a movement tow ards rectification. Texts provide
means of rectification, commodified remedies such as cosmetics, styles of clothing,
hair products available in retail outlets. Discontent w ith the body arises in the
relation between the text and she who finds in texts images reflecting upon the
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imperfections of her body. By entering the discursive organization of desire, she has
an objective where before she had only a defect. Thus in the context of the discourse
of femininity, a distinctive relation to self arises: as body to be transformed, object of
work, craft. Participating in the discourse of femininity is also a practical relation of
a woman to herself as object. Women and girls see ideal images in the media and
sources such as magazines tie the ideality to information about how to rectify bodily
deficiencies, creating a never-ending productive/consumptive cycle that is tied
intimately to our political economy. These magazines may also present different
objectives such as "elaborations" of image as well as "normalization." No body is
perfect and this perpetual state of imperfection motivates work to be done. Woman
is thus also situated as subject with a particular project before her. This project is
further defined as she reflects on herself in terms of the discourse, appraising her
body in relation to the paradigmatic image, becoming an object to her self. Thus, we
now have the intimate union between subject and object, production and
consumption, and the search for true identity and the perfect self. The textual image
motivates the recognition of a body's defects. Girls practice this orientation in doll-
play. Dressing the doll is as important as nurturing it in play. Doll-play is
transferred to the girl-child as object.
The "tyranny of slenderness"8 3 is one of the most powerful normalizing
mechanisms of our century, insuring the production of self-monitoring and self-
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disciplining "dodle bodies" sensitive to any departure from social norms and
habituated to self-improvement and self-transformation in the service of those
norms. It is a result of the intersection of culture with family, economic, and
historical developments and psychological constructions of gender. Women's bodies
are thus cultural artifacts, continually molded by history and culture. From the
wasp-waisted Victorian housewife to the leggy flapper to the waify Calvin Klein
model to the current trend of "tight and toned", what we see are bodily reflections of
the play of power within society. It is a powerfully and culturally institutionalized
system of values and practices within which girls and women come to believe that
the achievement of one's best depends in large part upon being trim, tight, lineless,
bulgeless, and sagless. Just as the Classical Greek nude occludes women's bodies in
this kind of aesthetically rigid form, so the socially correct beautiful body
"disciplines...and punishes"*4 women through frustration, guilt, anxiety, and
competitiveness with other women.
Consumerism and the Body
The connections among femininity, women's subordination in patriarchy,
and "looking" have been well-theorized, especially in studies of film and advertising.
In patriarchy, the woman has been constructed as the object of the masculine
voyeuristic look. Women's narcissistic pleasure lies in seeing themselves as idealized
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objects of the male gaze. The pleasure of this look emerges from the ability to control
how one looks and to control the look of others upon oneself. Commodities are the
resources of the woman who is exercising some control over her look, her social
relations, and her relation to the social order. Commercial culture has emphasized
the importance of the "look" for women, for physical appearance and the body, for
the image as identity. Girls today are concerned with the shape and appearance of
their bodies as a primary expression of their individual identity. The body is
commodified as an object to be looked at and is significant in a commodity culture
that caters to bodily improvement and enhancement. The glossy images of
flawlessly beautiful and extremely thin women that surround us would not have the
impact if they do if we did not live in a culture that encourages us to believe we can
and should remake our bodies into perfect commodities. These images play into the
American belief of transformation and ever-new possibilities, no longer via hard
work but via the purchase of the right products. Women are especially vulnerable
because our bodies have been objectified and commodified for so long. And young
women are the most vulnerable, especially those who have experienced early
deprivation, sexual abuse, family violence, or other trauma. Cultivating a thinner
body offers some hope of control and success to a young woman with a poor self-
image and overwhelming personal problems that have no easy solutions.
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By the 1920s, fashion and film had encouraged a massive "unveiling" of the
female body. This new freedom to display the body demanded diet and beauty
regimens that involved money and self-discipline. Hence, this new freedom implied
the need for greater internal control of the body. Brumberg describes how "at the
end of the twentieth century, the body is regarded at something to be managed and
maintained, usually through expenditures on clothes an personal grooming items,
with special attention to exterior surfaces- skin, hair, contours."8 5 Also, with the mass
production of clothing, the body had to fit into standard sizes that were constructed
from a pattern representing a norm, further linking consumer culture to the body.
Even today's demanding cultural ideal of a lean, taut, female body with visible
musculature is consistent with today's cyborgian synthesis of body and machine.
The ability to display one's body has become a sign of women's liberation, a mark of
progress, and a basic American right.
Accordingly, commercial interests play directly to the body angst of young
girls. Talk about the body and learning how to improve it is a central motif in
publications and media aimed at adolescent girls (see the plethora of girls' magazines
that continue to focus on sex, beauty, and the body), contributing to the dominant
discourse of adolescent femininity as one of crisis. Girlhood has always been
predicated upon questions of identity: Who am I? Who do I want to be? Yet, in our
increasingly commercial culture, girls' answers increasingly revolve around the
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body. Hence, though young women today enjoy greater freedom and more options
than before, they are also under more pressure as a result of the cultural forces that
have made the adolescent female body into what Brumberg calls a "template" for
social change and a "mirror" of American cultural values.8 6 The fitness craze can
aggravate adolescent self-consciousness and make girls desperately unhappy about
their own bodies, especially when combined with unrealistic expectations drawn
from retouched photographs in advertising, seductive camera angles, and body
doubles. It continues to fuel consumer culture as the body itself becomes a
commodity and the attempt to perfect it a truly industrious industry. Also, certain
fashions (short skirts, midriff tops, etc.) require particular demands on the body.
Hence, shopping can generate narcissistic pleasure as well as emotional anguish
because of the insecurities it may arouse about the body and its parts. As I will
discuss later, the fashion industry's use of abnormally thin models is partly to blame
for the epidemic of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. It is said that
fashion models tend to have 10% to 15% body fat compared with 22% to 26% for the
average healthy woman. In a study of body measurements of Playboy centerfolds
and Miss America contestants over a 10-year period, researchers found that body
weight averaged 13% to 19% below that expected for their ages.
Susan Willis argues that the work out, synthesizing work and leisure, is the
most highly evolved commodity form in late twentieth century consumer capitalism.
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She points out that the conflation of woman with (work out) machine creates a
production/reproduction circuit and serves as a metaphor for the working woman's
place in commodity capitalism. She is both object produced and producer producing
herself as product.8 7 Despite the fact that the exercise lifestyle is a narrowly defined
constituency of white, middle-class America which defines the model and the look of
consumer capitalism, it also involves the development of independence and the
opportunity for bonding between women. For the working class in general, and
particularly black women who work outside the home, freedom means liberation
from effort. In other words, exercise involves the expenditure of excess energy-
excess only the privileged have. Willis argues that the workout is a contradictory
synthesis of work and leisure: "The workout isolates the individual for the optimal
expenditure of selectively focused effort aimed at the production of the quintessential
body object."8 8 Exercise is a commodity; it is not just something you do, but
"something you buy and wear."8 9 Yet at the same time, she who defines herself as a
"workout woman" by working out and by wearing her workout gear in public (to
run errands, for example) is making a public body statement and affirming herself as
someone who has seized control over the making and shaping of her body. She
demonstrates her right to participate in professional body-toning, an endeavor
previously felt to be a man's prerogative.9 0 Female body-builders even describe how
"working out" enhances feelings of femininity: "Working out creates a high
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348
everywhere in my body...My whole body is sweating and there's few things I love
more than working up a good sweat. That's when I really feel like a woman."9 1
There is also the emphasis on will, purity, and the "quest for perfection." Body
builders often describe the feeling of accomplishment derived from total mastery of
the body. This mastery, in turn, is derived from the reassurance that one can
overcome all physical obstacles, push oneself to extremes in pursuit of one's goals
and the thrill of being in total charge of the shape of one's body. Dictation to nature
of one's own chosen design for the body is the central goal for the body-builder, as it
is for the anorectic.
The paradox of the workout "culture of the self" (of the feminine culture of
the body) is that a woman's looks become her cultural capital. Based on a
heterosexual norm, the pleasure that she takes in herself is legitimated by the
masculine look, indicating her willingness to submit in the last instance to a
patriarchal order regimented by a consumer economy. The body is a site of struggle,
but is also a terrain that can be recolonized endlessly for profit. As Hilary Radner
describes in the case of Jane Fonda, "[Her] breasts are not merely signs of her 'pursuit
of happiness' as an individual, but represent 'success' and 'cultural capital' for
women as a social category."9 2 Insofar as the workout functions in a world in which
beauty is defined ultimately in terms of a marketplace that has yet to "re-think"
cultural standards, "working out" will always be geared towards the reproduction of
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349
these standards. Otherwise it would not be a source of public empowerment and
control. While on the one hand the discipline to which the feminine body is
submitted is a program of discipline enrolled in by choice, on the other hand the
rigors of this discipline speak of a technology of social control that cannot be fully
articulated as a culture of the self in which the subject submits voluntarily to specific
practices in return for certain economic and social privileges. A well-toned, worked
out body suggests that women can compete w ith men while increasing their own
desirability. It is an achievement, a product, and one to be envied and admired; it
demonstrates that the woman has made something of herself, that she is master of
her body and thus, of her fate. This new woman is liberated and in control. As
Susan Douglas so sassily describes, "Buns of steel marked a woman as a desirable
piece of ass, and as someone who could kick ass when necessary."9 3
An exploration of the ways in which various feminist scholars approach the
relations between consumer capitalism, patriarchy, and femininity shows that across
the landscape of post-war mass markets, female consumers still must negotiate
identities as both objects and as active agents in consumption and market processes.
The "image industries" - the female mass media and fashion and cosmetics
industries- constitute the largest sector of the post-war market in leisure commodities
for girls and continue to increase in significance.9 4 Female consumers ever more find
pleasure and personal freedom and locate the focal point of leisure in the female
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body itself. Thus, female consumer culture has come to be equated with beauty care
regimes and body culture/maintenance. Despite being a realm of choice and control,
this "culture" aspires a "'perfect female self'-.mirrored in the gaze of men and
boys..." and thus still confines the so-called empowered female within the patriarchal
order.9 5 Yes, contemporary girls seem to have more autonomy, but we should be
wary of the limits of that autonomy in a culture where the media and advertising are
saturated with impossible images for girls to achieve. The triumph of a visual
consumer culture is encoded in girls' body angst.
Romantic relationships themselves have great impact upon health behavior.
Adolescents are often preoccupied with being attractive to the opposite sex. In the
US, key features of such attractiveness are physical appearance- especially for girls,
and athletic prowess, especially for boys. Efforts to acquire these features can
prompt either health-enhancing or health-compromising behavior. On the one hand,
to become more attractive or more athletic, adolescents may adopt good nutritional
habits and engage in regular physical exercise. These can have positive effects on
physical health. Moreover, when these efforts are successful, teenagers are typically
rewarded with high peer status, which contributes to positive emotional health by
bolstering self-esteem. Advice media such as magazines, books, the radio, Web sites
openly recommend and explain the importance of such activities, but television
shows rarely depict young people engaging in such activities. Still, being attractive
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according to the media primarily involves embeddedness in the culture of
consumerism. Health and beauty products are aggressively marketed in media for
girls (especially in ads and commercials in magazines and on TV). On the other
hand, an interest in achieving the ideal figure prom pts most adolescent girls to diet,
sometimes in cyclical dieting patterns that are harmful to long-term physical health
and psychosocial development.
Diet
Diet has always had direct correlation to physical and moral health. Even the
preface to the inaugural issues of ASHA's Social Hygiene recommended "moderation
in eating" and "abstinence in youth from hot spices" as safeguards against sexual
perversions. Food of poor quality was believed to have direct bearing on '"physical
degeneracy and consequent delinquency.'"*’ The problem is also that the average
child views more than 20,000 TV commercials a year and more than half of them are
for foods- primarily sugared snacks and cereals (soft drinks, candy, fast food).
Healthy foods are advertised less than 3% of the time. Research suggests that
although parents' diets are significantly more influential than TV advertising,
exposure to food commercials does affect children's short- and long term food
preferences and because most of the advertising is for non-nutritious products, the
overall effect on children's health is negative.9 7 Food references occur nearly 10 times
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per hour on prime time TV and 60% are for low-nutrient snacks or beverages. On
Saturday morning TV, 61% of commercials are for food and more than 90% of those
are for sugared cereals, candy bars, fast foods, chips, or other nutritionally unsound
foods.9 8 Thus, some have concluded that children who watch a lot of TV are more
likely to have poor eating habits and unhealthy notions about food. These
commercials of unhealthy snacks are more numerous and compete w ith ads for more
healthy food products. Furthermore, such media "schizophrenia" of equating joy in
life with both eating high-calorie food and being skinny- may make those who are
overweight feel not only frustrated, but guilty and ashamed of their bodies. It also
does not promote healthy situations for young people to consider.
For example, there has been recent studies on girls' proclivity to suffer form
bone fractures and how it is linked to soda drinking. (It is believed that the
phosphoric acid in colas weakens bones by interfering with the body's ability to
absorb and use calcium, but this is yet unproven). A Harvard study9 9 claims that teen
girls who drink sodas have a higher risk of bone fracture than girls w ho do not and
that physically active girls who drink cola beverages have the highest fracture rate.
The study finds that girls aren't getting enough calcium in their diet and that they are
drinking sodas instead of milk despite milk campaigns which are some of the most
prominent ads in this country. The "Got Milk?" ads are highly clever, popular,
humorous, and effective featuring food items such as cookies and cakes that require
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the quenching accompaniment of an ice-cold glass of milk. Yet by doing so, these
ads are also indirectly promoting those sugary snacks as well. The "Milk Does A
Body Good" has been a long-running campaign that features currently prominent
media, entertainment, and sports figures wearing the trademark milk "mustache."
Featuring people in the media who already are exceptionally good looking and well-
built may also perpetuate adolescent insecurity. Whether this insecurity motivates
the desire to drink milk so they can be like the ad models is yet to be determined.
Insufficient calcium intake heightens the risk in later life for thin, fragile bones that
break more easily. To try to get girls on track, a multi-million dollar effort- the
National Bone Health Campaign, sponsored by the Office on Women's Health in the
Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, and the nonprofit National Osteoporosis Foundation will be launched
next year. It will target girls ages 9-12, parents, and teachers via print, TV, and radio
ads, stressing the importance of getting adequate calcium while bones are still
maturing, as well as of regular, weight-bearing exercise, which also helps build bone.
A recent government survey found that of the foods Americans eat, only 13% of girls
ages 12-19 get their recommended 1300 milligrams of calcium daily. According to
the US Department of Agriculture, the per capita consumption of milk declined 23%
between 1970 and 1997, while consumption of carbonated soft drinks increased
118%.'”
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And the paradox of the nutritional patterns presented on television is that
despite frequent snacking and drinking, few people on TV are fat. In contrast to the
real world where about 25% of adults are obese (National surveys also document that
the prevalence of obesity is increasing in the US.), only 12% of televised characters
are overweight or obese. The current standard of body weight in the media is
slimmer for women than for men and is the slimmest it has been since the last
epidemic of eating disorders occurred in the mid-1920s. Some researchers even
argue that in this context, bulimia may be an adaptive response because bulimics can
eat everything they wish and remain thin.1 0 1 Just as alcohol ads teach us that
drinking leads inevitably to good times, great sex, athletic prowess, and success,
without any risks or negative consequences whatsoever, so do the food ads associate
eating and overeating with only good things. People who binge on food and overeat
compulsively say this has the same effect on their minds and lives as does addiction
to alcohol and other drugs (See Chapter 5). Media mogul Oprah Winfrey writes
about her experience with this addiction in Make the Connection, her best-selling book
about overcoming a lifelong eating problem. She describes food as her drug. A
recent Ricki Lake episode (11/13/00) on overweight teens shows how it is even more
difficult for young people to dealt w ith such disorders as they attempt to establish
lifelong health habits and struggle to fit in with their peers. It consists of an endless
cycle of feeling bad about being fat, but then eating more to compensate for feelings
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of guilt, loneliness, rejection, depression, etc. Under such circumstances, eating is
driven by emotional circumstances, serving as comfort and a substitute for love. The
teens themselves describe eating as a way to not "feel the pain." Food is thus used
for the wrong reasons- as medication for depression and other emotional problems.
Women have always been closely linked with food- with its gathering,
preparation, and serving. Food is also intertwined with love in our culture- we give
chocolates on Valentine's Day; we may feel "starved" for affection; we consider food
such as custard, ice cream, and macaroni and cheese "comfort foods"; in infancy and
early childhood, food was a primary way in which we were nurtured. Thus, feeding
ourselves can sometimes be an attempt to recreate some sense of wholeness and
connection, to find solace and escape. It is not difficult to confuse food and love.
Food has long been advertised as a way for women to both demonstrate love and to
insure its requital.1 0 2 We see countless TV commercials featuring a woman trying to
get her husband and children to love her or to pay attention to her via the cakes,
cereals, and muffins she serves them. When a woman feeds herself in commercials,
she is not only rewarding herself, she is also coping with her disappointment at
being unappreciated. Advertisers often offer food as a way to repress anger,
resentment, and hurt feelings. For example, a 1998 SnackWell's campaign open
declares that eating cookies will boost a woman's self-esteem. Ads include so many
ways that people escape from difficulties with relationships (shopping, sleeping,
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watching TV) and encourages one of the most common escape routes of all-
overeating. Sadly, many women eat compulsively in an attempt to assuage .
loneliness and disappointment within relationships. This fails to address the real
problems, thus insuring continued feelings of isolation and alienation while breeding
eating disorders.
Ads contribute to a cultural climate in which relationships are constantly
trivialized and we are encouraged to connect via consumption. Furthermore, food is
often equated with sex, eating becomes a moral issue, and thinness becomes the
equivalent of virginity. The "good girl" is the thin girl, the one who keeps her
appetite for food (and power, sex, and equality) under control. In the old days, bad
girls got pregnant. These days, they get fat- and are more scorned, shamed, and
despised than ever before. Prejudice against fat people, especially against fat
women, is one of the few remaining prejudices that is socially acceptable. And this
contributes to the obsession with thinness that has gripped our culture for many
years, with devastating consequences for many women and girls. We are told, on the
one hand, to give in, reward ourselves, indulge. But on the other hand, we are also
told that we must be thin and that there is no greater sin than being fat. Hence,
dieters will spend a lot on food and then spend even more to lose weight- and the
cycle never stops. Fatness really is related to the obsession with thinness. Chronic
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dieting is part of the generally bad eating and exerdse habits that make so many
Americans overweight and unhealthy.
Another problematic aspect of the cumulative impact of food advertising is
that many ads normalize and glamorize harmful and often dangerous attitudes
toward food and eating. Just as advertising constantly offers us sex without the
burdens and responsibilities of a relationship, it offers us the pleasure of consuming
rich foods without having to "pay the price." If we can remain thin by taking
laxatives or diet pills or using artificial sweeteners and eating low-fat ice cream
rather than exercising and eating healthfully or joining a recovery program, why not?
The fat-free products we consume are often bad for us. For example, Olestra, a "fake
fat," not only removes fat-soluble vitamins from the body, but also causes bloating,
diarrhea, and cramping. Ironically, about 80 million Americans are clinically obese,
and nearly three out of four are overweight. In a culture seemingly obsessed with
thinness and fitness, Americans are fatter than ever and are fatter than people in
most other cultures. Furthermore, 8 million Americans suffer from and eating
disorder and as many as 10% of all college-age women are bulimic.1 0 3 Eating
disorders (which I will talk about further) are the third most common chronic illness
among females. In fact, they are a common way that women cope with the
difficulties in their lives and with the cultural contradictions involving food and
eating.
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Fitness (Girl Athletes)
The physical, emotional, and sodal benefits of physical activity are plentiful.
For many girls, physical activity- dancing, playing sports, even playing a musical
instrument- is a way of gaining some control over their changing bodies. Regular
physical activity in adolescence can reduce girls' risk for obesity and help them build
greater peak bone mass. It is also an effective tool for reducing the symptoms of
stress and depression. Exercise and participation in sports can enhance mental
health by increasing girls' positive feelings about body image, improving their self
esteem, and offering them tangible experiences of competency and success. Girls
who participate in sports and physical activities are more likely to delay sexual
intercourse and less likely to become pregnant. The Women's Sports Foundation
also reports that they are less likely to get involved with drugs,l ( M more likely to
graduate from high school, and more likely to attend college than those who don't.
Nike popularized these findings in a 1995 ad campaign:
If you let me play/1 will like myself more/1 will have more self-confidence/
I will suffer less depression/1 will be sixty percent less likely to get breast
cancer/1 will be more likely to leave a man who beats me/1 will be less
likely to get pregnant before I want to/1 will learn what it means to be
strong/ If you let me play sports.
For example, smoking has become a way for preteen and teen girls to build a sense of
self and stay connected with peers in the face of enormous pressures to be beautiful,
successful, sophisticated, thin, independent, and popular- seductive images that are
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reinforced in movies, music videos, and advertising. Sports and physical activity are
positive, viable alternatives to smoking in the lives of young women. They can give
adolescent women the very benefits they perceive in smoking- independence, status
with peers, a chance to make friends, relaxation, weight management, and a more
positive sense of self. Half of all girls who participate in some kind of sports
experience higher than average levels of self-esteem and less depression. Athletics
help beat stifling stereotypes about girls' capabilities, which raises their overall self
esteem and lowers levels of depression. Girls who play sports also have a more
positive body image and experience higher states of psychological well-being than
girls and women who do not play sports. Girls who play sports learn about
teamwork, goal-setting, the experience of success, the pursuit of excellence in
performance, how to deal with failures, and other positive behaviors- all of which are
important skills for the workplace and for life.
Sportsbridge, a San Francisco organization that provides athletic programs for
young women, also explains that sports are important for girls because they learn
determination, teamwork, assertiveness, healthy competition, and how to deal with
success and failure. On the other hand, dedicated female athletes often regard
menstruation as a sign of excess body fat and, through exercise and undereating,
arrest their periods, causing irreversible bone loss. Additionally, girls in some
sports- such as gymnastics and ballet- are especially vulnerable to eating disorders.
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As sport has become increasingly commercialized, opportunities for girls and
women in the sport industry have also increased. Though women may not be the
major beneficiaries of the contemporary sport system, they have gained greater
access to a wide variety of roles, including participant, spectator, coach, trainer,
journalist, agent, and promoter. Girls in sports have been coming to the fore as
positive role models for girls. A change in attitude about women's bodies, shapes
and sizes, is emerging on athletic fields as more girls and women participate in
sports. The success of the American women's soccer team in the World Cup and
increasing popularity of wom en's professionals in basketball (LA Sparks Lisa Leslie
also models) and tennis (model-like Anna Koumikova and fashionable Venus and
Serena Williams) are bringing different images of women an girls to the screen. The
"athletic aesthetic," however, is consistent with the contemporary ideal of slim, tight
and toned. Nevertheless, they are using their bodies as other than objects of
admiration. They are using them to achieve goals, to cooperate rather than to just
compete. Women in sports teach us that women can be beautiful w ith strong
muscles and bones.
Power and athleticism are an important part of contemporary girl culture.
Muscles stand for power, self-determination, presence, a place in the world. Films
(such as Scream, The Craft, and now- Charlie’ s Angels, and China's Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon) and television programs (such as Buffy, Xena, and Charmed) feature
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airborne action figure heroines an d /o r special powers, fashion has launched T-shirts
with slogans such as "girl power" and "girls kick ass," athletic wear companies have
promoted "girl power" through sports, and girl jocks- from basketball to
snowboarding, from soccer to gymnastics have captured the imagination of girls
nationwide. The success of "girl athletes" plays a role in the media of constituting a
public presence for modem youthful femininity. Today, the range of sports and the
diversity of its female athletes is quite impressive. To name some of the most
prominent in a variety of sports- Kristi Yamaguchi, Tara Lipinski, and Michelle
Kwan in figure skating; Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport, and Venus and Serena
Williams in tennis; Mia Hamm in soccer (She led the 1996 Olympic women's soccer
team to the Gold); Lisa Leslie and Teresa Weatherspoon in basketball (WNBA);
Marion Jones in track and field; Summer Sanders in swimming, Se Ri Pak in golf, Mia
St. John in boxing, Gabrielle Reece1 0 5 in volleyball, and Lisa Fernandez and Tina
Dixon in softball. And there are, of course, those "American sweethearts" that we
still reminisce and still hear updates about in the media- Olympic gymnasts Mary
Lou Retton and Nadia Comaneci (Romanian) and figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan (and
the delinquent Tonya Harding). Often times, their achievements are celebrated in
terms of their "fresh," "slim," "strong," "healthy" femininity which we see in high
profile beauty endorsements, ads and commercials- for milk, shampoo, activewear,
charity organizations, etc.
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These young women are portrayed as feminine despite their athleticism; they
prove that being athletic and successful in this way is feminine...and powerful too.
However, they also seem to send the message that it is OK to be tough like a guy as
long as one is still feminine. This is true for TV characters such as Buffy and Xena
and also for real life athletes such as Anna Koumikova and Gabrielle Reece. So in a
sense, a girl has to be like a guy to be taken seriously, but also like a Barbie doll to be
accepted. Nevertheless, they serve as role models to aspiring young athletes as well
as to all girls whatever their goals and desires. Strong girls who are able to
demonstrate strength, skill, and prowess on the competitive grounds of athletics is
in...and something to be proud of. Athletics is a positive development in a
commercial atmosphere full of repackaged notions. Today, a record 2.5 million
young women participate in interscholastic athletics nationwide, compared to fewer
than 300,000 in the early 1970s (pre-Title IX).'0 6
In the wake of this participation explosion, interest in the impact of these
increased opportunities has grown. Identifying problematic aspects of girls'
involvement in sport includes, but is not limited to, gender stereotyping through the
media, disordered eating associated with sport, and overcoming barriers related to
participation and sport careers. Scholars and practitioners alike need to keep pace
with the diversification of female involvement with sport and physical activity. With
respect to sport, girls and women have traditionally been neglected by researchers,
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the mass media, and corporate sponsors. Glamorized presentations of
commercialized sports in mass media sometimes mask the basic fact that physical
activity is a public health resource for millions of American girls. Efforts by
organizations to increase participation in sport and physical activity among females
of all ages have helped, yet more needs to be done. The growing trend among
adolescent females to engage in extreme dieting or excessive exercise is alarming.
Also disturbing is the dramatic level of inactivity among obese adolescents.
Although an awareness exists regarding adolescent females' concern with
body image, social status, or performance, there is not enough understanding of how
these psychological and physical elements affect the development of lifelong
participation behaviors. As a result of increased education and awareness, female
athletes are creating a new definition of what women can look like and still be
considered successful. The increased marketing of women's sport has provided girls
and women the opportunity to witness accomplished female athletes in a wide array
of sports and sport-related careers. TV coverage of women's collegiate and
professional sport grows each year. Messages of improved health, self-esteem, body
image, and physical competency are being communicated through TV commercials
that use female sport role models.
Previously, studies regarding the coverage and depiction of female athletes
have found that the media has not advanced the image and concomitant societal
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acceptance of female athletes. Historically, the media has perpetuated "appropriate"
female characterizations, rather than being a mechanism for change. Recent media
exposure has been a welcome and needed change. It is encouraging to see that the
skills and abilities of female athletes and the needs and wants of female sport
consumers are receiving m ore attention from the media. Using media coverage to
promote special events can be an effective method of creating awareness and
support.
Despite growing "girl power" in sports, thanks to new sports heroines and
anti-discrimination laws, a 1996 surgeon general's report found that girls were twice
as likely to be inactive as boys. According to the Journal of Sports Psychology, girls
drop out of sports at a rate six times higher than boys. Among the reasons for the
discrepancy, still-unequal sports opportunities and still-lingering stereotypes that
sports are somehow unfeminine. Although girls overwhelmingly indicate that they
know exercise is important to health, by the time they reach high school, only 67% of
girls exercise 3 times a week or more, compared with 80% of boys. 15% of high
school girls say they exercise less than once or twice a week or never. 15% of 12-21
year old girls get no exercise.1 0 7 The reason for this may be pressure on girls, once
they reach adolescence, to trade in their sneakers for high heels. Muscles become
considered masculine.
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Aside from encouraging participation in sports and physical activity, which
can boost self-esteem and self-confidence in addition to energy, organizations such as
Girls Inc. are attempting to help girls to accept their bodies and themselves. Girls
Inc. launched a "Girls' Rights" initiative in March and is soliciting support from
entertainment companies for a public service campaign to disseminate messages
which include resisting gender stereotypes and getting girls to accept and appreciate
their bodies. Unfortunately, this is a difficult task, and I will take a look at some of
the deadly consequences of body obsessiveness in the following section. The Girl
Power! Campaign1 0 8 has launched a Body Wise Web site
(health.org/gpower/girlarea/bodywise/) which aims to teach girls skills for healthy
living. The site gives girls information on exercise, healthy eating habits, and
positive role models. Health Secretary Donna Shalala describes, "The BodyWise site
responds to growing concerns that girls are too focused on trying to look like models.
The site encourages girls to focus on positive self-images and fitness, and offers
authoritative information about signs, symptoms, and dangers of eating disorders."
The site will also feature guest "hosts" the first of which is Brandy Norwood, the
popular recording artist and star of the hit TV show Moesha. On the Web site, she
informs girls that eating the right foods and staying active are ways to stay fit. She
encourages girls to be active- to play a sport, dance, exercise- "I take tae-bo classes to
maintain a healthy body and spirit."
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Many of the new "girl power" shows such as Buffy, the Vampire Slayer also
depict female protagonists who are attractive, intelligent, fashionable and fit. 5'1"
100 pound Buffy destroy monsters, vampires, and demons up to four or five times
her size with keen agility and martial arts skills (and with never breaking a sweat or
mussing up her perfectly coordinated outfits). Girl power shows are also about girls
mastering the power they naturally own. These lessons are repeated in the growing
number of television shows that cater to the "witch-in-the-making." (Also, Sabrina the
Teenaged Witch and Charmed) Buffy does not possess "special powers." She is not a
witch or an alien. She is human, an ordinary girl, but has been destined to be a
vampire slayer; she is delegated and trained to be a "slayer." She is naturally
beautiful and intelligent and hones her physical skills by training her slim, feminine
figure for vampire and demon fighting and killing. She relies on her athletic prowess
(martial arts skills, kickboxing, and gymnastic skills), her youthful agility and
resilience, and an array of unusual weapons (crucifixes, wooden stakes, swords,
crossbows). In a way then, she serves as a role model of physical fitness for girls.
An educational film by Ellen Freyer (Phoenix Films) in the USC Moving
Images Archives talks about and encourages girls in sports. The 1975 fifteen minute
film called Girls' Sports: On the Right Track is narrated by a female world-class
marathon winner whose motto is: "Girls don't have to be on the sidelines anymore."
The film shows that sports are not just for boys and dispels traditional myths of
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women being weak and delicate and the unnatural nature of being physically active.
It reviews the history of women in sports, especially in track and field. It points out
markers such as the women's suffrage movement in the late '20s and the institution
of women's track events in the 1928 Olympics. It also includes factual tidbits such as
how an American woman nicknamed "Babe" won the gold medal for the first time in
1932. The film does an excellent job of collecting images of women who won gold
medals in sports over the past several decades. It mentions Billie Jean King and her
spearheading the fight against ancient myths about women in athletics (the primary
myth being that menstruation and childbearing bar women from athletic
competition). In fact, it is stressed that many women are better athletes after having
children. Finally, it educates the audience about Title IX, making it illegal to
discriminate against sex in athletics.
The final part of the film provides portraits of multi-talented girls in sports
who talk about their experiences as cheerleaders, prom queens, straight-A students,
and successful athletes (even state champions). Girlhood, femininity, and academics
do not have to be compromised for the sake of sports. And girls are definitely not
weak. These girls try to dispel the myth of girls gaining too much muscle bulk and a
masculine appearance in being athletic and emphasize that popular girls play sports.
Girls are encouraged to participate and they are informed that athletic scholarships
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368
exist for them. The film was released around the same time as Title E X and is great
for educational and promotional purposes.
As the film also mentions, athletics have only fairly recently been promoted
for girls. In the Victorian period, the ideal female was passive, frail, delicate,
ethereal, and soft. W omen were told that exercise was bad for them, that it would
affect their ability to have babies and that their bodies were not able to handle the
stress. When women were menstruating, they were not supposed to engage in any
physical activity and were sometimes confined to bed. In the mid-1800s, acceptable
recreational activities for American women were limited to croquet, horseback
riding, archery, and ice skating. By the late 1800s, some women were playing tennis
and golf. The first team and contact sport for women was basketball (1892). After
much struggle, five w om en's track and field events were added to the male-
dominated Olympics in 1928. Volleyball was introduced as the first team sport for
women in the Olympic games in 1963. In 1997, two professional women's basketball
leagues are formed- the ABL (American Basketball League) and the WNBA
(Women's National Basketball Association).1 0 9
Eating Disorders: Disorders of Desire & Denial
On a daily basis, girls and women feel tremendous anguish over their
bodies and want them to be different. They manipulate their appetites, they
ignore their hunger, they override all sorts of bodily functions which are
entirely natural because they feel their bodies have to be a particular way- a
way they cannot be.""
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Eating disorders are caused by the internalization of negative feelings, peer
and parental expectations of perfection, and a strong dose of unrealistic messages
provided by the media and culture. Body dissatisfaction and weight loss attempts
are reported frequently by adolescent girls throughout Western cultures. As many as
50% of adolescent girls report having dieted and larger percentages would like to be
thinner. This is not surprising considering we don't have to look far to see that our
culture worships skinniness. Thin is everywhere: the woman on TV selling detergent
is thin, the heroine in the latest blockbuster movie is thin, the fashion world is
plagued with thinness. Magazines are full of articles on how to get the perfect butt in
three weeks, trim your tummy, reduce cellulite, and firm your thighs. These
concerns and attempts are risk factors for later development of eating disorders and
disorder-like syndromes such as depression, low self-esteem, and anxiety and
behaviors such as fasting, vomiting, and binge eating which are all associated with
unhealthy physical, nutritional, and emotional effects.
According to Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention Inc., 5 million to 10
million adolescent girls and women struggle with eating disorders in the US. (90 to
95 percent of people with eating disorders are female). Anorexia and bulimia get the
most attention, but there are related disorders such as compulsive overeating.
Findings suggest a strong role of sociocultural influences leading to both unhealthy
and healthy body attitudes and eating behaviors. Media and fashion are reported by
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girls themselves to exert the strongest pressures to be thin for subjects. These media
influences are reinforced by a more immediate subculture consisting of direct
pressure to diet from friends and family and indirect social influences such as social
comparison (to immediate friends, "popular" girls at school, models in the media,
family members), joint dieting, other girls' verbalized concerns, looking good for
boys, wanting to please others, and avoidance of social disapproval (to fit in)."1
Many girls admit that dieting attempts by close friends make them feel as if they
ought to be dieting or watching their weight more. Of all peers, popular girls were
seen to exert the most pressure to be thin. Popular girls set standards since they are
thin and pretty and people idealize them. Hence girls think that they must be thin
and beautiful to be popular. Popular girls are also said to ridicule heavier girls."2 All
in all, it is a unique combination of social, biological, psychological, and family
issues.
Professionals recognize that the underlying causes of eating disorders are
varied and complex, aside from low self-esteem and depression, also childhood
trauma and even genetic predisposition. They also feel that half-starved models
exacerbate the common problem of poor self-image. And for many girls with eating
disorders, the desire to feel in control is as important in motivating their behavior as
the desire to be thin. Dieting in American culture is strongly associated with gaining
power and having control. A girl's feelings of power can come both from meeting
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individual challenges such as succeeding in not eating for a day and from meeting
the challenge of approximating a cultural norm of beauty. The second form of power
comes from receiving approval purely as an object, as a thing that looks good, the
power of becoming a successful commodity.
Food may be turned into a weapon against oneself for the following reasons:
to escape difficult emotions (fear, sadness, anger, anxiety), an addictive personality,
critical parents, in conflict with or seek approval of parents, to rebel against pressure
to diet, a fear for growing up, media projections, to avoid dealing with sexuality, a
need for control, a need for attention, body fixation, to substitute food for personal
relationships, low self-esteem, a history of familial or sexual abuse."3
Eating disorders affect 5 to 10% of post-pubescent females. At least 5 million
women are affected by some symptoms of an eating disorder in this country.
Surveys indicate that up to 19% of female student populations have bulimic
symptoms and that between 50 and 75% of adolescent girls are on diets at any time.
A focus on diet and slimness is so strong that it now affects girls as young as age 7.
With the incidence of anorexia nervosa as high as 1 in 100 to 150 middle class females
and the incidence of bulimia as high as 10%, researchers have looked accusingly at
media portrayals of food."4 The media, especially through their portrayals of thin
models in ads and on TV are seen as the major force in fostering body concerns.
Furthermore, studies show that TV primetime characters are usually happy in the
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presence of food, but food is rarely used to satisfy hunger. As with other media,
television seems to have an obsession with thinness: 88% of all characters are thin or
average in body build, obesity is confined to middle or old age, and being
overweight provides comic ammunition. Studies have shown that 15 percent of girls
diet or exercise in order to look like one of the many images they see on TV.
A 1997 study commissioned by the advocacy organization Children Now and
the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 71% of girls ages 16 and 17 said the female
characters on TV were unrealistically thin. Girls actually predominantly chose males
as the TV characters they most admired. Magazine articles are also sources of diet
and exercise information. Attractive fashions are often targeted towards slimmer
people. People (June 3,1996) explores how "media images of celebrities teach kids to
hate their bodies." Hence, these texts participate in producing a subjectivity engaged
in self-regulation and normalization. Successfully resisting gender stereotyping can
be difficult. A New York Times poll of 1000 teenagers ages 13 through 17 found that
when asked what they w ould most like to change, 36% of the girls responded "my
looks" or "my body."1 1 5
It is difficult for girls to realize whether they are making up their own minds
in an age when image is often mistaken for both message and directive. Despite a
generation of books and cautionary tales about self-esteem, many girls are obsessed
with dieting. A 1995 survey of almost 2000 high school students conduced by the
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 60% of the girls were trying to
lose weight compared with 24% of the boys. Girls are at particular risk for eating
disorders. One in six girls in grades 5 through 12 said she had binged on food and
purged; 7% said they had done so more than once a week. According to the
nonprofit group Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention, between 5% to 10% of
females 14 and over suffer from disorders such as anorexia and bulimia."6
Girls and women are vulnerable to the condition of permanent imperfections.
The psychopathology of achieving "perfection" often leads to deadly disorders.
Anorexia is a primary example of this problem:
...an exaggerated response to dieting and teenage ideals of
femininity. As with compulsive eaters, sensing something amiss at
adolescence, they sought the answer in their individual biology.
Their bodies were changing, becoming curvy and fuller, taking on
the shape of a woman. They were changing in a way over which
they had no control-they did not know whether they would be
small-breasted and large hipped or whether their bodies would
eventually end up as teenagers in Seventeen."7
It is a way of dealing w ith the sense of a loss of control, a way of controlling the
natural changes in the body concomitant with adolescence. Susan Bordo describes in
"The Body and Reproduction of Femininity" how the emaciated body of the anorexic
presents itself as a caricature of the contemporary ideal of hyperslendemess for
women. She argues that on the anorexic's body is literally inscribed the rules
governing the construction of contemporary femininity:
On the one hand, our culture still widely advertises domestic
conceptions of femininity, the ideological moorings for a rigorously
dualistic sexual division of labor, with woman as chief emotional
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and physical nurturer. The rules for this construction of femininity
...require that women learn to feed others, not the self, and to
construe any desires for self-nurturance and self-feeding as greedy
and excessive. Thus, women are required to develop a totally other-
oriented emotional economy."®
Female hunger is depicted as needful of containment and control. This can be
read socially and politically as the control of the female appetite for food as the most
concrete expression of the general rule governing the construction of femininity- that
female hunger for public power, for independence, for sexual gratification, whatever
be contained and that the public space that women be allowed to take up be
circumscribed, limited. Bordo argues that these rules are sadly etched on the body of
the anorexic woman. In a sense, young, upwardly mobile women who enter the
professional arenas today m ust also leam to embody "masculine" values of self-
control, determination, emotional discipline, etc. Accordingly, female bodies must
also become more practiced at the "male" virtues of control and mastery. Thus, the
ideal of slenderness and the diet and exercise regimens that have become inseparable
from it, offer the illusion of m eeting, through the body, the contradictory demands
of the contemporary ideology of femininity. Today, most adolescent girls control
their bodies from within, through diet and exercise. (Fashion is a major contributor
to the internalization of body controls: if you are going to bare your midriff or your
upper thighs, you must w ork directly on the body.) As I have discussed, popular
female protagonists on "girl" TV shows embody traditional aspects of femininity
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alongside male "toughness" and "coolness." Bordo argues that in the pursuit of
slenderness and the denial of appetite, the traditional construction of femininity
intersects with the new requirement for women to embody the "masculine" values of
the public arena.
Anorexics seem to find control, discover a new range of values and
possibilities that western culture has traditionally coded as "male:" an ethic and
aesthetic of self-mastery and self-transcendence, expertise, and power over others
through the example of superior will and control. The young woman discovers what
it feels like to w ant and crave and need, yet through the exercise of her own will, to
triumph over that need. The experience is apparently "intoxicating" and habit-
forming. There is also the physical addiction to the biochemical effects of starvation.
One of Bordo's subjects writes, '"The sense of accomplishment exhilarates me, spurs
me to continue on and on...I shall become an expert [at losing weight]...The constant
downward trend somehow comforts me, give me visible proof that I can exert
control.'" The sad fact is that this form of control often substitutes for, fills in the
gaps due to feelings of powerlessness, the lack of control in other areas of a young
woman's life.
The anorexic is also aware of the social and sexual vulnerability involved in
having a female body and attempt to control and "prevent" those physical
accouterments from developing. Many are also plagued by a history of sexual abuse.
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Staying excessively thin is seen as a way of avoiding sexuality; it will prevent them
[anorectics] from being a temptation to men. This desire to appear unattractive to
men is connected to anxiety and guilt over earlier sexual abuse."9 It is characteristic
of anorectics to w ant to avoid any sexual encounter, from any bodily contact for that
matter. Adolescent anorectics express a characteristic fear of growing up to be
mature, sexually developed, and potentially reproductive women: '"I have a deep
fear of having a womanly body, round and fully developed. I want to be tight and
muscular and thin.'"1 2 0
Such a body ideal, so seemingly defenseless in the eyes of men, may signify
for women escape from a reproductive destiny- freedom from domestic,
reproductive femininity. The characteristic anorexic revulsion towards hips, breasts,
stomach, and menstruation, may be viewed as expressing rebellion against maternal,
domestic femininity. Adolescent anorectics express a characteristic fear of growing
up to be mature, sexually developed, and potentially reproductive women.1 2 ’
Anorectics are aware of the social and sexual vulnerability involved in having a
female body. Many even fantasize about being boys. The androgynous ideal thus
exposes its internal contradiction thematized as a battle between the male and female
sides of the self. From a feminist perspective, this pathology has been considered an
"embodied" protest and demonstration of the destructive potential of those ideals.
Feminist writer Susie Orbach interprets anorexia as a "hunger strike...a political
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377
discourse in which the action of food refusal and dramatic transformation of body
size expresses...her [the anorectic's] indictment of a culture that disdains and
suppresses female hunger, makes women ashamed of their appetites and needs, and
demands that women constantly work on the transformation of their body."1 2 2
Tragically, this particular protest functions in "collusion" with the cultural conditions
that produce them, "reproducing rather than transforming precisely that which is
being protested."1 2 3 Paradoxically, the anorectic has attempted to achieve this by
pursuing conventional feminine behavior- the discipline of perfecting the body as an
object...to excess. And she finds this liberating.
Through anorexia, a young woman may unexpectedly discover entry into the
privileged male world, and has discovered this paradoxically by pursuing a form of
conventional feminine behavior- the discipline of perfecting the body as an object- to
excess, to extreme. She still remains a reproducer of the "docile body" of femininity.
Thus, the anorexic experiences a sort of liberty, one that she will fight (sadly
sometimes to death) family, friends, and therapists in an effort to hold onto. The
paradox remains that "To feel autonomous and free while harnessing body and soul
to an obsessive body-practice is to serve, not transform, a social order that limits
female possibilities."1 2 4 The primary reality of these disorders is also often one of
pain and entrapment. The anorexic's ability to live with minimal food intake allows
her to feel powerful and worthy of admiration in a "world from which at the most
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378
profound level [she] feels excluded" and unvalued.1 2 5 The most challenging and
tragic part of trying to "cure" the disorder is that the psychic values the anorexic is
fighting for are often more important to her than life itself.
An article describes anorexia not as loss of appetite, but rather as
a bizarre preoccupation with eating- coupled w ith an obsessive
desire to attain pencil-like thinness through restricted food intake
and rigorous exercise. Even more bizarre is their distorted self-
image; it's not unusual to hear a haggard, emaciated anorectic
complain that she's still "too fat."1 2 6
This exemplifies affliction with Body Image Distortion Syndrome (BIDS) where
sufferers are unable to see their bodies realistically. To further support the cultural
dominance of such pathology, a 1984 study conducted by Glamour magazine revealed
that 75 percent of 33,000 women surveyed considered themselves "too fat," despite
the fact that only 25 percent were deemed overweight by standard weight tables, and
30 percent were actually underweight. Another study found that out of 100 women
"free of eating disorder symptoms" more than 95 percent overestimated their body
size- on average 25 percent larger than they really were.1 2 7 The understanding of
such "perceptual disorders" requires recognition that it is not that women actually
see themselves as fat, rather they evaluate what they see by painfully self-critical
standards. Lack of self-esteem is the primary cause of wom en's body-image
problems. Most women in our culture are "disordered" when it comes to issues of
self-worth, self-entitlement, self-nourishment, and comfort with their own bodies;
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eating disorders are continuous with a dominant element of the experience of being
female in this culture. Culture has not only taught women to be insecure bodies,
constantly monitoring themselves for signs of imperfection, constantly engaged in
physical improvement; it is also constantly teaching women how to see bodies.
Based on this logic, the anorectic has learned the dominant cultural standards of how
to perceive.
Obsessions such as anorexia may be understood as extreme, but logical
manifestations of anxieties and fantasies fostered by our culture. The slender, fit
body has come to be a "symbol of 'virile' mastery over bodily desires that are
continually experienced as threatening to overtake the self."1 2 * It is based on a
construction of the self that is located within consumer culture and its contradictory
requirement that we embody both the spiritual discipline of the work ethic and the
capacity for continual, "mindless" consumption of goods. Thus, the challenge of
such a culture of contemporary body-management is the struggle to manage desire in
a system dedicated to the proliferation of desirable commodities. We are continually
besieged by temptation, while socially condemned for overindulgence. Bordo
describes how "The slender body codes the tantalizing ideal of a well-managed self
in which all is kept in order despite the contradictions of consumer culture."1 2 9 But, if
the body is shaped by the fashion, then the slender body is part of this program to
"consume," to shape the body so the commodities we buy can be worn. At the same
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380
time, the body itself becomes a commodity- we use it to sell what we wear, we use it
to "sell" our selves (to friends, employers, etc.). Whatever the case, the "relentless
pursuit of excessive thinness" is an attempt to embody certain values, to create a
body that will speak for the self in a meaningful and powerful way. Slenderness in
our culture is overdetermined with multiple significances- capable of being used as a
vehicle for the expression of a range of anxieties, aspirations, dilemmas.
Interpreting anorexia thus requires awareness of the many layers of cultural
signification that are crystallized in the disorder. The coexistence of anorexia and
obesity reveals the instability of the contemporary personality construction, the
difficulty of finding homeostasis between the producer and the consumer sides of the
self. Anorexia can be seen as an extreme development of the capacity for self-denial
and repression of desire,, obesity as an extreme capacity to capitulate to desire.1 3 0 The
anorectic best exemplifies the relationship between power and bodily motivations
and goals and how the body signifies and serves them. Although obesity is the
greater concern numerically, anorexia is the psychiatric illness with the highest
mortality rate- an estimated 10 to 15% of all children are overweight, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 3% of young women have eating
disorders, the National Institute of Mental Health estimates. It often begins in early
adolescence with ordinary teenage dieting and progresses into obsession with
weight, food, control, and self-denial.
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Bulimia is another example of an eating disorder which exhibits the extreme
development of the desire for unrestrained consumption (uncontrollable food binges)
in tension with the necessity to "purge." It is perhaps the most common eating
disorder in young women. It starts as a strategy to control weight then becomes a
relentless preoccupation with eating, purging, and weight. Pleasure is replaced by
despair, frenzy, and guilt. And like all addictions, it is a compulsive, self-destructive,
and progressive disorder- "Bingeing and purging are the addictive behaviors; food is
the narcotic."1 3 1 (Princess Diana's confession to suffering bulimia also brought new
attention to the disorder.) Bulimics describe binges as having a numbing effect on
emotions. Then, the purging provides them with both physical and emotional relief,
but also adds to the distress of the whole behavior.
While anorexic girls are generally perfectionist and controlled, bulimic young
women are impulsive and experience themselves as chronically out of control.
Bulimics are more vulnerable to alcoholism than their anorexic peers and they are not
necessarily thin. Bordo argues that this exhibits the difficulty of finding
"homeostasis between the producer and consumer sides of the self. Bulimia thus
embodies the unstable double bind of consumer capitalism, while anorexia and
obesity embody an attempted resolution of that double bind."1 3 2 Anorexia is seen as
an extreme development of self-denial and repression of desire while obesity is the
extreme capacity to capitulate to desire.
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In a way, the obese body, like that of the anorexic, becomes a vehicle for
protest, a challenge to the customary invisibility of the female self. Instead of
embracing denial and wasting away, the obese girl expresses her needs by gorging
on them. She creates an armor of flesh that both flaunts her powerlessness and gives
her an excuse for it.1 3 3 Both are based on the same consumer culture construction of
desire as overwhelming and overtaking the self. Anorexia can thus represent a sense
of anti-consumption, anti-conformity, the failure and thus victory of not conforming
to consumption, of controlling the urge to consume. We live in a consumer culture;
anorectics fail to consume. The irony is that what often times motivates them in the
first place is the desire to "normalize" the body, to conform to a consumer culture
that worships the slender body. Yet they take the body to extremes that is not
tolerated by a consumer system. They ultimately embody resistance to cultural
norms. For them, self-starvation is what will help them achieve the ideal of being
without a body. Thinness thus represents a triumph of the will over the body and the
thin body (or non-body) is associated with "absolute purity, hyperintellectuality, and
transcendence of the flesh."'3 4 Another irony is that by escaping the body (as the body
is vulnerable to death and disease) anorectics perhaps hope to attain invulnerability,
yet the disorder often leads to death.
Anorexia may also be interpreted as a species of unconscious feminist protest.
The anorexic is engaged in a "hunger strike," a political discourse in which the action
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383
of food refusal and dramatic transformation of body size is her indictment of a
culture that disdains and suppresses female hunger, makes women ashamed of their
appetites and needs, and demands women's constant work on the transformation of
their bodies.1 3 5 Through embodied rather than discursive transformation, the
anorexic exposes and indicts those cultural ideals around which her life is organized,
precisely by pursuing them to the point where their destructive potential is revealed
for all to see. Yet despite any possible discourse of protest, there also exists a
counterproductive, tragically self-defeating nature of that protest. Functionally, the
symptoms of the disorder isolates, weakens, and undermines the sufferers. At the
same time, they turn the life of the body into an all-absorbing fetish. On the symbolic
level, the protest dimension collapses and proclaims the utter defeat of the subject to
the contracted female world. Symptoms of various "feminine" disorders such as
hysteria, agoraphobia, and anorexia which are crystallized from the language of
femininity are perfectly suited to express the dilemmas of women living in periods
poised on the edge of questioning gender politics: the late nineteenth century, the
post World War II period, and at the turn or the new millennium respectively. It is
in these periods that discourses proliferated about "The Woman Question," "The
New Woman," "W hat Femininity Is," etc.
It is important to note that these dilemmas are experienced differently
depending on age, race, class, etc., and that the above disorders strike predominantly
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middle- and upper middle-class women- "women for whom the anxieties of
possibility have arisen, women who have the social and material resources to carry
the language of femininity to symbolic excess."1 3 6 Demonstrating an ability to "rise
above" the need to eat imparts moral or aesthetic superiority only where others are
prone to overindulgence.
Compulsive eating is also a common problem for women, especially in a
culture where we are socialized to love food. Emotional nourishment is often linked
to physical nourishment. Food also has an addictive chemical power. Sugar,
especially, has particular power, and many women use sugary foods as a way to
calm themselves and medicate away pain and anxiety. For compulsive eaters, all
feelings are labeled as hunger; eating becomes the way to deal with feelings.
Compulsive eaters eat when they are tired, anxious, angry, lonely, bored, hurt, or
confused. Once again, it is a disorder which, in order to be cured, requires that
young women identify their real needs and not label all need as hunger.
Frustration can be channeled into unhealthy binge eating that with or
without the bulimics' purge, results in obesity. Girls can be both bulimic and
overweight, with obesity often beginning with a series of failed diets. Currently, 22%
of adolescents 12 to 18 years old are obese. Obesity in adolescents tends to predict
adult obesity with correlated increases in heart disease and cancer. Research also
shows that being obese in adolescence increases the risk of adult mortality more than
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50 years later. A frustrated need for control and a powerful identity are destroying
the health of countless young women. Unhealthy eating patterns have serious
ramifications for health. Many girls with eating disorders never receive treatment.
Among treated anorexics, 43% never recover fully and 5% die. Among bulimics,
only 50% are asymptomatic 2 to 10 years later and 20% have a chronic disorder.1 3 7
Western cultures tend to ignore the important, and often distressing,
transition from girl to woman. As long as our culture fails to celebrate and educate
about this transition and the role that body fat plays (e.g. in menstruation), weight
loss attempts will continue to be the inappropriate response. Eating disorders affect
relationships, careers, concentration abilities, and mood. Girls spend their lives
being bombarded with messages about the importance of being thin- diversity of
body shapes is still lacking on TV, in the movies, and on the runways. Combined
with peer and parental pressure to lose weight, it is inevitable that girls feel
dissatisfied with their bodies and diet and eat in ways that are harmful to them.
Eating disorders also signal emotional pain and scars (past experiences with
emotional, physical, or sexual abuse). Because of the serious implications, the self
perceptions of young women have become the focus of intense research and inspired
a variety of programs to challenge unhealthy ideals. Factors that protect against
weight overconcem include fostering self-acceptance, family influences on body
acceptance (support countering negative peer influences), positive peer influences
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(encouraging body acceptance and healthy choices about eating), more realistic role
models, and knowledge about the dangers of diets. Treatment for the disorders
include counseling, group or family therapy, nutritional counseling, an d /o r
prescribed medications such as antidepressants. It can take years to fully get over an
eating disorder, including hospitalization, setbacks to recovery such as falling back
into an eating disorder or going from one type to another. Eating disorders are not
glamorous. They are both physically and emotionally damaging and can lead to
permanent health complications or even death.
Aside from normalizing ideals of thinness that often times lead girls to
engage in disordered eating behaviors, the media also calls attention to celebrity
cases and media stories of "stars" who themselves have suffered from eating
disorders. One of the first such cases to be publicized is that of Karen Carpenter in
the '70s. Others have written about their struggles with food- Oprah Winfrey, Camie
Wilson, Tracey Gold. There are now also a countless number of books written by
former eating disorder victims about their struggles and success (e.g. Marya
Homsbacher's Wasted).
Todd Haynes' banned video, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, offers a
unique portrayal of Karen's rise to success and subsequent fall due to her battle with
anorexia. Richard Carpenter sued Todd Haynes for using "Barbie"-like dolls rather
than real actors to represent them and to tell their story (which is also not completely
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387
accurate). Thus, the film was not widely circulated and was banned from being
screened. Luckily, USC's Cinema-Television library has a copy. Karen Carpenter
died in 1983 at the age of 32 from anorexia-associated heart failure. The video
(despite the fictional use of "dolls") gives a brief story of her life a death. In doing so,
it offers a graphic picture of the internal experience of contemporary femininity.
Karen's visibility as a pop singer intensified certain difficulties many women
experience in relation to their bodies. By 1970, the Carpenter's became a household
word and their first album hit the charts. The video shows Karen's increasing
obsession with her body image with comments on her performances including, "I
look fat!" and "Gotta look good in my career" (i.e. gotta be thin). The video explains
the private obsession known as anorexia nervosa. The obsession includes self
starvation, the concealed use of laxatives such as Ex-Lax and purgers such as Ipecac,
an obsession with food while denying hunger and nutrients, body image distortion,
and intense self-discipline. By 1975, it was Karen's inner relationship with herself
that dominated her life- an obsession with food and a refusal to eat. In contrast to the
"ruckus" that Karen was experiencing within, the Carpenters were recognized for
their clean, pure, unique sounds and images.
Haynes' video explains that the self-imposed regime of anorexia reveals the
complex internal apparatus of resistance and control, the intense need for self-
discipline which consumes and replaces all needs and desires. It is the addiction and
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abuse of self-control, a "fascism over the body. The sufferer plays the parts of both
dictator and emaciated victim..." In a culture that continues to control women
through commoditization of bodies, the anorexic body excludes itself, rejecting
doctrines of femininity and driven by a vision of complete mastery and control.
Karen's condition is finally taken seriously by her family after she collapses on stage
from exhaustion and malnutrition during a concert. Karen herself vocalizes a degree
of self-awareness and makes an effort to heal. She voluntarily goes into treatment
with Dr. Levenkron (the same doctor that is currently renowned for his work with
"cutters") realizing that her "problem" is hurting her career. (Or is the nature of her
career hurting her health?) The video also explains that curing anorexia has a high
failure rate. Intervention includes forcing the sufferer to eat, which requires highly
controlled family environments. Furthermore, there is no quick fix; it takes an
average of three years to deal with and often times, anorexia is incurable. It is
interesting to note that the video consists of images of a girl being spanked (abused)
inserted within scenes and other images of Karen's life. Does this hint at a possible
past of physical and sexual abuse? Karen's story is poignant and sad, a story that
girls who are prone to such disorder should be aware of.
Finally, in recent years, there have been several organizations and "projects"
that have been put together for the cause of helping girls and women love their
bodies and their selves. The Real Women Project is a multimedia, multisensory
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approach to women's health issues, particularly those related to body image. The
project has chosen to try to beat prevailing standards by using the same tools that
established them. It employs the tools of advertising- imagery, music, and literature-
to appeal to women's senses and to promote self-acceptance. This includes a series of
sculptures of women of all shapes and sizes which is meant not only to broaden the
definition of beauty but also to reflect the different stages in a woman's life. Body
image affects all aspects of women's and girls' health. The sculptures serve as both
an educational tool and a respite from the rail-thin young models that bombard
women on a daily basis. It is important for girls and women to realize that beauty is
within all of them, that it comes in all shapes and sizes.
GoGirls is a 12-lesson course promoting media literacy developed by Eating
Disorders Awareness and Prevention, a nonprofit group in Seattle. It encourages
girls to evaluate commercial images critically and to protest offensive messages by
writing to sponsors and boycotting them. Another program called "Full of
Ourselves: Advancing Girl Power, Health, and Leadership" was a four-month course
taught in physical education classes, at lunch, and in after-school programs in the
New England area. It addressed, among other topics, the natural weight gains that
occur in puberty and ways to tell the difference between physical and emotional
hunger. 1,800 girls ages 8 to 14 were surveyed before and after the program as part
of a three-year study by the Harvard Eating Disorders Center. Although the
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program's long-term effects remain to be seen, preliminary results show that girls
who took the course increased their self-esteem and willingness to defend victims of
• 138
teasing.
Aside from the above programs and a large number of books about eating
disorders that have been written, a growing number of books are available to girls
and women about how to overcome eating disorders. Examples of books targeted to
girls and young women are the following: Breaking Free from Compulsive Eating (1993)
by Geneen Roth, Food Fight: A Guide to Eating Disorders for Preteens and Their Parents
(1997) by Janet Bode, Perk! The Story of a Teenager with Bulimia (1997) by Liza F. Hall,
The Secret Language of Eating Disorders: The Revolutionary New Approach to Curing
Anorexia and Bulimia (1997) by Peggy Claude-Pierre, Taking Charge of M y Mind and
Body: A Girl's Guide to Outsmarting Alcohol, Drug, Smoking and Eating Problems (1997)
by Gladys Folker and Jeanne Engelmann, and When Food's a Foe: How to Confront and
Conquer Eating Disorders (1992) by Nancy J. Kolodny.
Self-Mutilation (Cutting!
The skin becomes a battlefield as a demonstration of internal chaos. The
place where the self meets the world is a canvas or tabula rasa on which is
displayed exactly how bad one feels inside.’ 1 9
Just as depression can be described as anguish turned inward, self-mutilation
can be described as psychic pain turned inward in a physical way. Girls who are in
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391
pain often deal with it by harming themselves. Aside from eating disorders, teenage
girls are tremendously innovative w hen it comes to finding new ways to hurt
themselves, and cutting- an affliction in which the sufferer compulsively slices the
skin w ith razor blades, broken glass, knives, and kitchen utensils- has, over the past
few years, become frighteningly prevalent and studied. (See Marilee Strong- A Bright
Red Scream. Steven Levenkron- Cutting, and Armando Favazza- Bodies Under
Siege.) Cutting is viewed as a sibling to eating disorders; the afflicted are mainly
young girls who lack a sense of control over their lives and tend to turn their anger
inward. It is a widely practiced, but seldom discussed phenomenon often found
among the same demographic as girls w ho develop eating disorders. In fact, the
afflictions often appear in tandem: nearly two-thirds of the women in one study of
mutilators were or had once been anorexic, bulimic, or obese.1 4 0 Cutting may also
include scratching or burning of the skin in order to make painful feelings and ideas
go away. (What is not part of the cutting disorder includes tattooing, piercings, and
"scarification-" the carving of designs such as initials of boyfriends or girlfriends or
the insignias of clubs or gangs into one's skin. These are social in nature and
considered adolescent "trendiness.")
Girls slice and bum themselves for much the same reasons they deny
themselves food: to alleviate anxiety and depression, to express powerlessness, and
to restore a sense of control; the only outlet for their rage is their own bodies. The
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physical pain may temporarily block mental or emotional pain. The fact that cutting
and eating disorders often coexist should not surprise us, as the two behaviors share
many of the same roots and serve many of the same functions. Both syndromes are
frequently driven by trauma, especially sexual abuse, and can serve as ways to
symbolically reenact the trauma while exerting some control over the situation. Each
uses the body to work out psychological conflicts, to obtain relief from
overwhelming feelings of tension, anger, loneliness, emptiness, and self-hatred. And
they each involve attacks on the body, a disturbance in body image, and an attempt
to control body boundaries. Eating disorders are really just another form of self-
mutilation. Some experts believe that natural opiates are released under conditions
of starvation that promote an addiction to the starved state. The process of vomiting
and use of laxatives in bulimics may also stimulate the production of natural opiates
that cause an addiction to the bulimic cycle. Bloodletting may stimulate the release
of endorphins and serotonin.1 4 1
Some girls attempt to starve themselves in order to return to their
premenstrual child's body. Many cutters are also discomfited by the sense of a loss
of control over the body and its functions with the onset of menstruation and other
physical changes at puberty. The girl can now control the bleeding she produces by
cutting, unlike the mysterious and seemingly out-of-control bleeding of
menstruation.1 4 2 It is no coincidence that body-control syndromes occur more often
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393
in women than in men and that they all tend to have their onset in adolescence. A
female's experience of her body is far more confused and discontinuous than a
male's: from her partially hidden genitals to the pain and mystery of menstruation to
the abrupt and radical changes in body contours and function associated with
puberty and childbearing to the symbiotic possession of her body by another life
during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Add in social and cultural pressures- which
lead teenage girls to define their bodies by their attractiveness, while boys define
theirs by strength and function- and it is easy to understand what a perilous passage
puberty can be for young women. It is puberty that first introduces bleeding and
body fat into a girls' life, two very powerful symbols of the loss of control over her
body.1 4 3 Once girls begin to cut and bum themselves, they are likely to continue- the
urge returns uncontrollably again and again. Inflicting harm on the body becomes
cathartic; but the relief is merely temporary. These young women need to be taught
to process pain by thinking and talking, instead of punishing themselves.
According to a study funded by the University of Missouri-Columbia, 3
million (or 1% of) Americans engage in some form of self-injury. At least 2 million
Americans are said to be cutters, and most of them are women who began in their
early teens. 90% of self-abusers begin cutting as teens. As many as 40% of kids have
experimented with self-injury. The average self-injurer starts at age 14 and continues
w ith increasing severity into his/her late 20s. Their most common professions are
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394
teacher, nurse, manager. Cutting is not limited to slashing (72%)- victims also tend to
hit (30%) or bum (35%) themselves, pluck out body hairs (10%), peel off skin with
their fingernails, and interfere with wound healing (22%). It is most commonly done
with razor blades, knives, and matches. The most common parts of the body injured
include (in ranked order) forearms and wrists, upper arms, thighs, abdomen, and
occasionally, breasts and calves. The locations most concealed by clothing are usually
the most preferred areas. It is also worth noting that more than half have also taken a
drug overdose.1 4 4
More than half of self-injurers are victims of physical and sexual abuse and
most report emotionally abusive or neglected childhoods. Eating disorders are also
often reported. The problems in adolescence that seem to spark episodes of self-
injury are recent loss, isolation from peers, and conflict. In another sense, cutting and
scarification during adolescent initiation rites are tests of strength, courage, and
endurance that help mark the transition into adulthood. Additionally, scars, like
blood, are richly symbolic. They provide a permanent physical record not only of
pain and injury but also of healing. The sensation of pain and the sight of blood
prove that the cutter is alive, human, whole. Those who engage in thfs behavior
include individuals who have impoverished or blocked verbal abilities to
conceptualize their problems, whether they be emotional, relational, or situational
problems. First time cutting is usually the result of a personal insult, sexual abuse, or
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395
other serious harm experienced. After that, the response to other (and lesser) abuses
and disappointments can provoke self-injury. It develops an addictive and ritualistic
nature. The need to use physical pain, bleeding, and/or burning to secure relief from
emotional pain means that the individual's ability to use mental verbalization is
impoverished or blocked. His or her only outlet is the non-verbal impact of self-
injury. Most cutters are not internally articulate. They create pain and since they are
in charge of the pain, it is a different experience than when someone else hurts them.
Armando Favazza calls self-injury "a morbid act of self-help." Cutting, he argues,
gives people a way to manage inner states, "converting chaos to calm, powerlessness
to control." Related disorders include hypersensitivity, suppressed anger, irritability,
inward-directed aggression, lack of coping skills, avoidance, disempowerment,
depression, alienation, general anxiety disorders, borderline personality disorders,
poor impulse control, low self-esteem, and self-loathing.1 4 5
Cutters need professional psychotherapy (and medication) to help develop a
verbal language to express and understand his or her distress. The purposes of
psychotherapy include helping the person form an interpersonal connection used to
build trust, dependency, reassurance, support, and to help the cutter develop a
verbal language to express and understand his or her distress. But even tears and
crying can provide a healthy and effective release for tension, anger, fear, sadness,
and grief. Cutters, however, are either too numb to cry or find tears woefully
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inadequate to express and release the overwhelming, pent-up emotions they feel.'4 4
In a way, cutting becomes a medium itself- a language written on the body, through
blood, wounds, and scars. Without help, a self-injurer is more likely to become
increasingly withdrawn from others and to experience an increasing loss of self-
awareness and ability to cope healthily with his or her own feelings. Patients have
admitted that they regard their self-mutilative acts as ways of relieving intolerable
tension resulting from interpersonal stressors.
Self-injury is prevalent in all races and economic backgrounds, though
victims tend to be middle- or upper-middle-class, intelligent, well-educated, and
although most are female, up to 40% of self-injurers are male. Current estimates are
that 85-90% of secret cutters are girls and women from ages 11 to 22. (About 6%
don't start until their 30s or 40s.)1 4 7 It is clear that women tend to resort to this
behavior more than men do and may undoubtedly have something to do with the
fact that women are socialized to internalize anger and men to externalize it. It is
also possible that because men are socialized to repress emotion, they may have less
trouble keeping things inside when overwhelmed by emotion or externalizing it in
seemingly unrelated violence. The current estimates of prevalence are one in 200
teens. The number of sufferers are rising and there has been increasing public
awareness and concern. Marilee Strong describes, "Self-injury is where eating
disorders were 20 years ago. It's going through the same process of public
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397
perception. Some are calling it the anorexia of the '90s' or the 'addiction of the
'90s.'"'4 8
Self-injury is attracting a lot of attention from the media and many other
sources, from rock stars who glorify self-abuse to teen-oriented magazines that warn
against the dangers and the causes of self-injury. The first major public appearance
of the disorder was in 1995 w hen the late Princess Diana admitted that she cut herself
in a television interview with the BBC (in addition to wrestling w ith bulimia).
Admitting to intentionally cutting her arms and legs, she explained, "You have so
much pain inside yourself that you try and hurt yourself on the outside because you
w ant help."1 4 9 Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci have also admitted that they suffer
from the disorder.
Cutting is rarely discussed even though millions struggle w ith it, and because
no one talks about it, many believe they are suffering alone. Cutters are secretive
because the shame, rejection, and disparaging labels they face w hen they are
dismissed as simply "crazy" or "psychotic" or "attention-seeking" all conspire to
keep them silent, isolated, and underground. Yet interestingly, the thirst for
connection and bonding to similarly alienated people may help explain the cutting
epidemics often seen in adolescent psychiatric wards. Kids who have not previously
identified as cutters may begin slashing away at themselves in groups or in private in
an attempt to establish kinship with other patients an to achieve a "collective
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398
catharsis." Adolescence can already be an extremely painful time. This makes it
even more important that efforts are made to bring the issue to light, so teen sufferers
feel less isolated.
This form of self-loathing and self-mutilation is the topic of a new USA
drama. USA Network's Original movie, Secret Cutting, which aired on May 30,2000,
is a special program that tells the heartbreaking story of a teen who attempts to
please the world but in doing so, denies her own feelings. In an effort to address this
growing problem, Secret Cutting is intended for viewing by all teens but particularly
by any students who either may be at risk of the disorder themselves, or who may
have friends who engage in self-cutting. Unlike most of us, who are able to express
extreme emotions outwardly through words or tears, "Dawn's" only mechanism for
channeling her pain is through self-injury. The physical pain brought on by cutting
or burning herself secures for Dawn relief from the emotional pain that she would
otherwise be unable to release. The movie provides an insightful look into a disorder
that for years has been disregarded or shunned as unfathomable. Dawn's awkward
and unhappy situation is not uncommon among teens- her life consists of a
continuous series of disappointments. With few, if any, real friends at school, and a
family that is falling apart, Dawn finds solace in being able to control one thing in
her life- her "secret cutting." At school, she is made fun of by the girls in the
"popular crowd" and at home, there are obvious tensions between her parents who
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399
not only seem disconnected from one another, but also demonstrate little interest in
changing that reality. When Dawn tries to connect with them individually, her
father seems unable to handle any type of intimacy with his daughter and puts up an
air of passivity and her mom is incapable of discussing anything without relating it
back to herself, thus constantly taking the focus away from Dawn, where it should
be. Tragically, Dawn attempts to find solace from these two shaky worlds in the
arms of a 19-year-old musician who in reality has little interest in her as a person and
really only cares about how she can satisfy him physically.
A series of humiliating experiences at school leaves Dawn running to find
solitude so she can numb her emotional pain by inflicting herself with physical pain.
She is then caught by Lorraine, another social outsider at school with whom she can
relate, and then by a teacher w ho calls Dawn's parents to the school to address the
matter. Humiliated that their facade as a perfect all-American family has been
shattered, Dawn's mother again brings the focus of the situation back to her by
insisting that she does not w ant to be blamed for Dawn's actions. Meanwhile,
Dawn's father remains distant and emotionless as usual. Ironically, the new strains
that her condition has put on her family leave Dawn further unable to cope, and she
winds up in the hospital after seriously burning herself with a cigarette lighter in a
desperate attempt to alleviate the stress.
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400
Lorraine introduces Dawn to her psychiatrist, Dr. Parella (played by Rhea
Perlman), who seems to be the only understanding voice in the torment of Dawn's
volatile and painful world. At first, Dawn is reluctant to discuss her problem with
anyone because she desperately needs to protect the only means she has of relieving
her inner pain. Through counseling, Dawn slowly begins to understand that the
nature of her disorder stems not simply from her constant feelings of abandonment
by the people she loves, but also from her inability to express this pain through
verbal channels. Instead, Dawn uses cutting to communicate what she feels inside.
She learns that she is not unique in having these feelings and having this problem
and that she must learn how to "speak," to express herself outwardly. Her inability
to communicate individually w ith her parents (as well as their inability to
communicate with one another) leaves any hope of emotional support for Dawn
unattainable. Dr. Parella presses her to understand herself and her anxieties.
Unfortunately, Dawn reaches an absolute low point before her recovery begins.
Triggered by the news that her friend Lorraine has been brutally beaten by her
mother's boyfriend (an by her ow n mother's refusal to take her to the hospital to visit
Lorraine), Dawn loses control and again winds up in the emergency room after
having brutally slashed her body. Her mother, feeling she can no longer bear the
blame for her daughter's condition, decides it would be better for her to simply leave
her family. Her departure finally triggers a change in Dawn. When Dr. Parella
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401
comes to visit her in the hospital after her mother walks out, Dawn breaks dow n into
tears, something which before then she had been unable to do. As Dr. Parella points
out, if tears can take the place of blood, then Dawn has at last begun the long road to
recovery. The film does not conclude with tidy solutions, but with the beginnings of
truth and honesty. There is hope for Dawn, just as there is for any teen who suffers
as she does. With the input and advising of prominent "cutting" experts, this movie
is a realistic and effective dramatic portrayal of the problem and serves as both an
entertaining and educational tool. Aside from this TV special, several novels for
teens have been published in recent years on this topic- e.g. Crosses (1991) by Shelley
Stoehr.
Living fully in a young woman's body can be physically dangerous in a
world where women are threatened by the ever-present dangers of violence against
women, unwanted pregnancy, AIDS, and social ostracism and denigration. Yet it is
psychologically healthier for girls to resist the dissociation from their bodies
demanded by the image of the desirable woman. It is important for adolescent girls
to have healthy female mentors who can help guide them as they begin to struggle
with problems of relationship- to themselves, to others, to their social world. It is
important for girls to receive the example, the support, the non-judgmental yet
critical perspectives, and the company of adult women- mothers, therapists, teachers,
doctors.
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Endnotes for Chapter 4
1 Smith, Dorothy, "Femininity as Discourse" from Texts. Facts, and Femininity (Exploring the
Relations of Ruling), London: Routledge, 1990,105.
2 Iris Marion Young, "Throwing Like A Girl"
3 Simone de Beauvoir
4 Even denizens of the Fiji Islands are no longer immune to "slim envy" according to a recent
Harvard study that showed an increase in eating disorder symptoms among teenage girls
there after the introduction of western television.
5 AAUW, 1991.
6 Brumberg 123
7 Wardle, Jane & Louise Marsland (1990). "Adolescent Concerns about Weight and Eating; A
Social-Developmental Perspective," journal of Psychosomatic Research, 34 (4):: 377-391.
8 Brumberg
9 Ibid. 128
1 0 Heinberg, Leslie J. & J. Kevin Thompson, (1995) "Body Image and Televised Images of
Thinness and Attractiveness," journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 14 (4): 336.
1 1 The Miss America pageant was chosen as the site of one of the first modern-day feminist
protests in 1968. The protest was based on the belief that the contest reflected women's role as
"passive decorative object."
1 2 Gray & Phillips 37.
1 3 Time, February 5, 2001
1 4 Brumberg 94
1 5 Ibid.
1 6 Ibid 198
1 7 Although contact lenses were available by the 1930s, ordinary adolescent girls did not begin
wearing them until the 1950s. By 1959, there were at least one million teenagers wearing
lenses, and the majority of those were girls.
1 8 Peiss, Kathy, Hope in a lar (The Making of America's Beauty Culture), New York:
Metropolitan Books, 1998,188.
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403
1 9 Ibid. 196
2 0 Ibid. 252
2 » Ibid. 253
2 2 15-year-old participant in the AAUW Sister-to-Sister Summit
2 3 Brumberg theorizes the concept of body-piercing. She believes that girls' piercing of
intimate body parts is significant in a culture where distinctions between public and private
continue to erode- it is a way for them to claim some degree of privacy in a world where the
body has been made public, 134.
2 4 Ibid. 136
2 5 Strong, Marilee, A Bright Red Scream (Self-Mutilation and the Language of Pain), New
York: Viking Press, 1998,149.
2 6 Ibid. 141
2 7 Brumberg xxv
2 8 Smith, Dorothy, "Femininity as Discourse" from Texts, Facts, and Femininity (Exploring the
Relations of Ruling), London: Routledge, 1990,179.
2 9 Brumberg xxiii
3 0 Ibid. 199
3 1 Brumberg 149
3 2 The complete exercise chant made popular in the '50s is : "I m ust I must I m ust/ I must
increase my bust/ The bigger the better/ The tighter the sw eater/ I must increase my bust."
3 3 Steams, Peter, Fat History (Bodies and Beauty in the Modem West), New York: New York
University Press, 1997,88.
3 1 Bordo, Susan, Unbearable Weight (Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body), Berkeley: UC
Press, 1993,206.
3 5 See Balsamo, Anne, Technoloeies of the Gendered Body. Durham: Duke University Press,
1996.
3 6 Bordo 163
3 7 Hesse-Biber, Sharlene, Am I Thin Enough Yet? (The Cult of Thinness and the
Commercialization of Identity), New York: Oxford University Press, 1996,178.
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3 8 Steams 86
3 9 Bordo 27
4 0 Barbie was introduced in 1959 at the New York Toy Fair by Mattel Toys.
4 1 And speaking about gendered notions of academic ability, the first talking Barbie doll-
"Teen Talk Barbie," introduced in 1992, created controversy because one of her sentences was,
"Math class is tough."
4 2 Even computer software for girls engage stereotypically in "girl" issues and subjects such as
Barbie Fashion Designer, Hairstyler, Adventures, Art and Crafts, etc.
4 3 Chemin, Kim, The Obsession (Reflections on the Tyranny of Slenderness), New York:
Perennial Library, 1982,110.
4 4 Bordo 208
4 5 Gray & Phillips 37
4 6 Jaggar, Alison M. & Susan R. Bordo (eds.), Gender/ Body/ Knowledge (Feminist
Reconstructions of Being and Knowing), New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1986,26.
4 7 Gray & Phillips 42
4 8 Willis, Susan, A Primer for Daily Life. London: Routledge, 1991,64.
4 9 Bordo 296
5 0 Exercise for woman as a widely available and socially acceptable endeavor represents a
recent victory in women's struggle for equality with men. One of the positive outgrowths of
the Women's Movement in the sixties has been the invigorating of the female body coupled
with the acceptability of women appearing in public actively engaged in vigorous physical
activity.
5 1 It is interesting to note Catherine Steiner-Adair's 1984 study of high school women which
reveals a dramatic association between problems with food and body image and emulation of
the cool, professionally "together" and gorgeous Superwoman. Diagnostic tests revealed that
94 percent of those who aspired to the Superwoman ideal fell into the eating disordered range
of the scale. 100 percent of those who expressed skepticism over the Superwoman ideal fell
into the non-eating disordered range.
5 2 Brumberg 70
5 3 Douglas, Susan, Where the Girls Are (Growing Up Female with Mass Media), New York:
Random House, 1994, 263.
5 4 Ibid. 255
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405
5 5 Berger, John, Wavs of Seeing.
5 6 McCracken, Ellen, Decoding Women's Magazines from Mademoiselle to Ms.. New York: St
Martin's Press, 1993,139.
5 7 Ibid. 122-123
5 8 Los Angeles Times, June 23,2000
5 9 Williamson, Judith, Consuming Passions (Dynamics of Popular Culture), 145.
6 0 Kearney 180
6 1 McCracken 59
6 2 Bordo 20
6 3 Radner 173
w Bordo 21
6 5 Ibid.
6 6 Ibid.
6 7 Haiken, Elizabeth, Venus Envy: A History of Cosmetic Surgery. Baltimore: The Johns
Hopkins University Press, 1997,203.
6 8 Brumberg 125
6 9 Haiken 243
7 0 Ibid.
7 1 Ibid 273
7 2 Ibid. 233
7 3 Ibid. 235
7 * Ibid.
7 5 Ibid. 197
7 6 Ibid. 275
7 7 McRobbie, Angela, Feminism and Youth Culture. Boston: Unwin Hyman, 1991,147.
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406
7 8 Peiss 135
7 9 Ibid. 261
8 0 Ibid. 269
8 1 McCracken 136
8 7 Smith 190
8 3 Chemin
8 4 Michel Foucault
8 5 Brumberg xxi
8 6 Ibid. 25
8 7 Willis 78
8 8 Ibid. 69
8 9 Ibid. 72
9 0 Willis also argues that on the one hand, the health club/spa/gym focuses women's positive
desires for bonding and community as well as strength, agility, and the physical affirmation of
self. Yet on the other hand, it creates "atomized" individuals. The atmosphere of the spa
promotes an aura of body rivalry exacerbated by the ubiquitous presence of mirrors and
further encourages women to see themselves as bodies.(70)
9 1 Bordo 151
9 2 Radner 172
9 3 Douglas 262
9 4 Carter, Erica, "Alice in the Consumer Wonderland: West German case studies in gender and
consumer culture" from McRobbie, Angela & Mica Nava (eds.), Gender and Generation.
London: Macmillan, 1984,205.
9 3 Ibid. 206
9 6 Treichler 55
9 7 Bryant, Jennings & Dolf Zillmann, Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research.
Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1994,395.
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407
9 8 Strasburger, Victor C., Adolescents and the Media (Medical and Psychological Impact),
Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1995,75.
9 9 Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine June 2000
1 0 0 LA Times, June 15, 2000
1 0 1 Bryant & Zillmann 397
1 0 2 Kilboume, Jean, Deadly Persuasion (Why Women and Girls Must Fight the Addictive
Power of Advertising), New York: The Free Press, 1999,109.
1 0 3 Ibid. 116
1 W Research has shown that students who participate in interscholastic sports are less likely to
be regular and heavy smokers. Students who play at least one sport are 40% less likely to be
regular smokers and 50% less likely to be heavy smokers. Regular and heavy smoking
decreases substantially with an increase in the number of sports played. (JAMA, March 17,
1993; 269:1391-95) The lower rates of smoking for student athletes may be related to a number
of factors: greater self-confidence gained from sports participation; additional counseling from
coaching staff about smoking; reduced peer influences about smoking; perceptions about
reduced sports performance because of smoking; greater awareness about the health
consequences of smoking.
1 0 5 Part of the credit for putting women athletes center stage goes to this volleyball superstar-
supermodel Nike spokeswoman. She describes, "There used to be two types of women on the
big screen: moms and sexpots. Now we have the power chick."
1 0 6 Time, June 29 1998
1 0 7 CSAP
id s 7 he Ghl Power! Campaign is a multiphase national public education campaign which
provides positive messages, accurate health information, and support for girls.
1 0 9 Gray, Heather M. & Samantha Phillips, Real Girl. Real World: Tools for Finding Your True
Self. Seattle: Seal Press, 1998,49.
1 1 0 Susie Orbach
1 1 1 Wertheim, E.H., S.J. Paxton, H. K. Schutz, & S.L. Muir (1997)."Why Do Adolescent Girls
Watch Their Weight?," journal of Psychosomatic Research, 42 (4): 345.
1 1 2 Ibid. 349
1 1 3 Gray & Phillips 60
1 1 4 Kaiser Family Foundation
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408
1 1 5 Time, June 29 1998
1 1 6 Ibid.
i'7 Smith 188
1 1 8 Bordo, Susan, "The Body and the Reproduction of Femininity" from Jaggar, Alison M. &
Susan R. Bordo (eds.). G ender/ Body/ Knowledge (Feminist Reconstructions of Being and
Knowing), New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1986,18.
»9 Bordo 1993,148
1 2 0 Ibid. 155
1 2 1 Ibid.
1 2 2 Ibid. 176
1 2 3 Ibid. 177
1 2 4 Bordo in Jaggar & Bordo, 24
1 2 5 Ibid. 103
1“ Bordo 1993,55
1 2 7 Ibid. 56
1 2 8 Bordo in Jaggar & Bordo, 15
1 2 9 Bordo 1993, 201
I” Ibid.
■ 3 > Pipher 169
1 3 2 Bordo 1993,201
1 3 3 Orenstein 102
1 3 4 Bordo 1993,148
1 3 5 Ohrbach 102
1 3 6 Bordo in Jaggar & Bordo, 22
1 3 7 Gray & Phillips 75
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1 3 8 It is also important to note that pressure from parents and peers to be thin and to look good
may be as big a culprit as the media in undermining developing body images. And teasing,
especially by girls' fathers and brothers, is emerging as a powerful influence on those who feel
bad about their bodies.
1 3 9 Scott Lines
1 4 0 Orenstein 107
1 4 1 Strong, Marilee, A Bright Red Scream (Self-Mutilation and the Language of Pain), New
York: Viking Press, 1998,199.
1 4 2 Ibid. 53
1 4 3 Ibid. 125
1 4 4 Strong 55
1 4 5 Favazza, Armando, M.D., Bodies Under Siege (Self-Mutilation and Body Modification in
Culture and Psychiatry), Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
1 4 6 Ibid. 44
1 4 7 Strong 26
1 4 8 Ibid. xviii
1 4 9 See Diana: Her True Story by Andrew Morton
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Conclusion
Because media such as television, the Internet, magazines, and advertising
play such large roles in the lives of young people, it is important that accurate and
realistic images of lifestyles are portrayed. The media has a place in representing
society's "norms" and ideals. Media images also often offer a pervasive standard of
comparison which may be damaging to girls' self-esteem or may encourage
unhealthy behaviors. At the same time, because of their pervasiveness, they may also
"educate" people and to serve as a valuable tool for public health. The period of
adolescence provides a critical window of opportunity to deliver prevention
messages and to provide support for young people. Early adolescence is the phase
during which young people are just beginning to engage in very risky behaviors, but
before damaging patterns have become established. Girls are constantly exposed to
images of perfectly slim yet curvy women, images of the fun and excitement
garnered through engaging in drugs and alcohol, unsafe, spontaneous sex,
irresponsible passion. TV shows and magazines articles consist of both while often
delivering educational and preventive messages. But it is often difficult to negotiate
between seeing "beautiful" images of people in the media engaging in unhealthy
behaviors (or implying the need to engage in such behaviors, such as dieting to
achieve the perfect body) and messages delivered about taking responsibility and
preventive measures in one's life when they are presented simultaneously. It furthers
the contradictions in being female- be strong yet compliant, smart but not too smart,
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411
responsible yet fun- when the message should be to take pride in oneself and to be
responsible for the sake of one's health and ultimately, life. Girl power derives from
this sort of confidence, ambition, and responsibility.
The media can do more than reinforce stereotypes. Because they are so
powerful, the media can be used to break down social stereotypes. By using its
power to break dow n stereotypes, the media can broaden young people's view of
themselves, their world, and their place in that world. Three processes have been
identified by traditional mass communication research and a growing body of
interdisciplinary work by psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, and cultural
theorists in regards to how the media affects every aspect of our lives, both as
individuals and as members of society. One influential perspective is the cultivation
theory which explains that the constant dose of media results in "mainstreaming"-
the conditioning of a shared set of conceptions and expectations about reality among
otherwise diverse viewers.1 Television, for example, continually repeats the myths
and ideologies, the patterns of relationships that define our world. It tells us stories,
defines these relations through prime-time sitcoms and serials, day-time soap operas
and talk shows, news and sports, and the steady stream of commercials that fuel the
entire television industry.
Other researchers see the mass media as agenda-setters that not only tell
people what is important in the world around them, but also how to think about the
events and people w ho inhabit that world. For example, the news media's portrayals
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of the world, their use of particular words and images, becomes the world in the
minds of viewers and readers; it becomes the reference point to which people
compare w hat they already know and can reinforce stereotypes. The news media not
only controls what gets told, but also how they get told. Called "framing," this aspect
of newsmaking helps shape our understanding of events and may affect behavior.2
Thus, the media can shape people's interpretations of events. By framing issues in
particular ways, the media contributes to the creation of moral panics and perceived
social threats (such as the teen pregnancy "epidemic"). By applying the "epidemic"
label to teenage pregnancy, the media help to create an environment that justifies the
use of stringent, authoritarian measures to fight a social disease somehow brought on
by its "victims." This media framing of the issues makes it easy to blame teenage
mothers for failing to take reasonable precautions rather than looking for ways to
improve the material conditions of teenage mothers or the effectiveness of health
education programs. In addition, the news that more and more white teenagers were
becoming sexually active, with more getting pregnant and more carrying to term
without marrying, shook long-standing prejudices about racial differences and
maternity. Over a hundred thousand white teenage girls deciding to be single
mothers said something about family values that the country did not want to hear.3
Cognitive social learning theory has also been applied to the study of media
effects. The theory predicts that people will imitate behaviors of others when those
"models" are rewarded or not punished for their behavior.3 Thus, the theory would
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predict that teens who spend more time watching television programming that
includes graphic depictions of attractive characters who enjoy having sexual
intercourse with each other and rarely suffer any negative consequences will be likely
to imitate the behavior. Others also suggest that media may provide cognitive scripts
for sexual behavior; teens may watch or read to fill in the gaps in their understanding
about how a particular sexual scenario might work (e.g. having sex with a new
partner). This theory would attest to the idea that exposure to sex in the media
causes those who see it to engage in sexual behavior earlier and in riskier ways.
At the personal level, the mass media may provide information and models
that stimulate changes in health-related attitudes and behaviors. At the public level,
the mass media may also raise awareness of health issues among policy-makers and
may contribute to changing the context in which people make choices about their
health. The important power of the media over youth may be harnessed in
prevention and intervention programs for youth health behaviors. We have seen this
already in "Just Say No" and "this is your brain on drugs" ads of the anti-drug
campaign, the use of media celebrities to make important statements regarding safe
sex and substance abuse, milk ads, and so forth. It is also important that media
messages and portrayals of young people are realistic and developmentally sensitive
in order to help increase early adolescents' self-esteem in the hope that this will
diminish susceptibility to health-compromising peer pressures. In turn, perhaps
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peers will pressure more for the "coolness" of engaging in health-e«/w«cmg
behaviors.
Health advocates have developed three basic strategies for using the mass
media in the interest of healthy behavior: public information campaigns, media
advocacy, and entertainment-education. For example, in 1988, a media campaign
aimed at 9- to 14-year olds was launched in Maryland to promote sexual abstinence
and responsibility among young people. The campaign's goal was "to keep kids
from having kids." Television and radio commercials (more than $4 million in paid
advertising and $3 million per year in scheduled public service advertising time and
space), billboard and mass transit advertising, poster, brochures, videos, lesson plans,
and special school events were used. The attention-grabbing messages were
designed by a commercial advertising firm, and included billboards that read
"VIRGIN" in 10 foot high red letters w ith the tag-line: "Teach your kids it's not a
dirty word," as well as hard-hitting television spots. Rates of birth and abortion
dropped in the first three years of the campaign. By 1991, the state was reporting a
13% decrease in teen pregnancies statewide and 10% decrease in Baltimore City,
where pregnancy rates had been among the highest in the country. Research
conducted in 1990 by the Baltimore City Health Department showed that 94% of
students and teachers at five middle schools were aware of the program and could
repeat campaign messages and slogans verbatim. 75% of the young people reported
that the campaign helped them talk with their parents about sex, family life, and
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related issues.5 As can be seen in this example, successful media campaigns have
messages targeted to and appealing to specific groups, use appropriate and multiple
media channels, are sustained long enough to achieve saturation, and the media
messages are integrated with interpersonal communication (support of significant
others in the environment- parents, schools, friends- are necessary for enduring
behavior change).
Ensuring exposure to campaign messages is especially critical when the media
environment is full of competing messages. In California, the state government
supported initiative to reduce smoking has spent about $14.5 million annually on
television and billboard advertising in direct competition with the cigarette industry's
massive advertising campaigns. The major investment appears to be having an
impact- cigarette sales and consumption have declined three times faster than
elsewhere in the country.6 Public service announcements have proven problematic
because only non-controversial messages are aired or printed. The CDC has had to
fight to include the word "condom" in their message about HIV prevention. And
despite polls showing that most American adults believe more open discussion of
sexual topics would lead to fewer teenage pregnancies, and that messages about birth
control should be on television, the networks until recently have forbidden the
marketing of contraceptives on television.
Health activists have also begun to use the media as tools for bringing health
issues to the attention of the public and policy makers. Media advocacy entails
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understanding how the media work and using that knowledge to get issues on the
media agenda. Rather than waiting for the media to cover an issue or to run a public
service announcement, health activists generate news that attracts the attention of the
news media. It is the "strategic use of mass media for advancing a social or public
policy initiative."7 The focus is on public policies that affect health rather than on
individual health behaviors (public attention and debate on health issues), the
rationale being that individuals will not be able to change unhealthy behavior unless
policy supports the desired behaviors. For example, public policies that affect access
to and affordability of sexuality education, contraception, and abortion could be
important targets of media advocacy. Policy makers could also work with the media
to ensure more responsible information about sex and reproduction. Nevertheless,
health coverage still tends to focus on individual responsibility for healthy or
unhealthy behaviors and on medical cures rather than on prevention.
Perhaps the most promising way of reaching the public is to incorporate
socially responsible messages in popular entertainment programming, television,
films, and music. Groups such as the Washington D.C.- based Advocates for Youth
work with writers and producers as advocates for more socially responsible sexual
portrayals in the media. Advocates for Youth funds the Media Project in Los Angeles
that has assisted writers for Roseanne as they developed episodes focusing on the
unmarried older daughter's request for contraception. Beverly Hills, 90210 has also
had editorial consultation from Advocates, including episodes in which the
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characters agree to wait to have sex or use contraceptives. Studies have shown that
for example, Harvard School of Public Health's campaign against drunk driving
which generated more than 80 episodes that included dialogue or depiction of
designated drivers, was successful in increasing awareness and use of designated
drivers.8 An experimental study of the effectiveness of embedding messages about
the use of contraceptives in soap opera scripts found that teens who watched a
version in which contraception was not discussed were less likely to believe the
couple used contraceptives than were those who watched versions in which
contraception was discussed either vaguely or explicitly.9
Inserting socially responsible messages in entertainment media is a potentially
powerful way of affecting sexual behavior because the "selling" of a particular
behavior is not as obvious as it may be in a public service advertisement, and thus
less likely to be resisted. "Edutainment" is also more likely to reach and attract the
attention of target audiences. Entertainment-education (also known as enter-educate,
prosocial entertainment, pro-development entertainment, info-tainment) is defined as
the process of putting educational content in entertaining formats and messages in
order to increase knowledge about an issue, create favorable attitudes and change
overt behavior concerning the educational issue or topic. Advocates of
entertainment-education strategies feel that they are very effective in reaching large
numbers of people through the mass media, competitive with commercial
entertainment, attractive to governments and corporate sponsors, and successful at
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influencing people to change their behavior. They feel that "edu-tainment" works
because it is popular (people enjoy entertainment. TV and radio shows, films,
singers, and other entertainers have enormous and devoted audiences. Health
messages reach this ready-made audience when entertainment channels are used),
pervasive (entertainment is everywhere, reaching people in their homes, at their
workplace, at places of recreation and as they move about in cars, etc. Health
messages disseminated through entertainment channels reach people repeatedly),
personal (for example, a soap opera can make a public health problem such as
unwanted pregnancy immediate and emotional, even to those who have never
personally experienced the problem), persuasive (the stars of TV, radio, film, and
print materials serve as role models. People, especially the young, mimic what they
wear, how they talk, and how they behave. So when entertainers model new, desired
behaviors, such as planning their families, they have a strong influence on the
audience), and profitable (entertainment sells and is profitable. Using the
"edutainment" approach can be a practical way for health communication projects to
generate revenues and move toward sustainable programs).1 0
The longer formats allow more time for developing more complex messages
such as how to negotiate condom use or how to choose an appropriate birth control
method. Generally, longer-term sustained efforts should be sought if entertainment-
education is to be used most effectively. Long-term interventions that can be
sustained over time enhance the probability of real impact, since audiences must be
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419
sufficiently exposed to the proposed behavior change and its benefits to develop
understanding and positive attitudes toward the change. It takes time to build
characters which represent the pro-social values and ideas, as well as to build the
audience's identification with those characters. An attractive entertainment-
education product must also be developed as a way to link audiences with further
information and services. Still, the media are unlikely to include portrayals they
consider potentially controversial. The dependence of entertainment media on
advertising makes then unlikely to tackle sensitive health issues. For example, in the
US despite the frequent sexual content of much entertainment programming and
advertising, any health issues related to sex is considered sensitive. Thus programs
about abortion and AIDS are rare due to lack of advertiser support."
A 1997 Kaiser Family Foundation survey on "Documenting the Power of
Entertainment Television" takes a look at the impact of health messages in popular
TV dramas. The survey looked specifically at an April 10,1997 ER episode which
mentions emergency contraception for a patient who is a victim of date rape and who
requests information on how to prevent pregnancy. Survey results show that health
topics in entertainment television shows can indeed increase viewers' awareness of
important health issues. The number of ER viewers who knew that a woman has
options for preventing pregnancy even after unprotected sex increased in the week
after the April 10 episode. Some even claimed to have learned about the issue on the
show. Of those who knew there is something a woman can do to prevent pregnancy,
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the number who specified that she could take birth control pills increased. Given the
size of the ER audience (34 million people watched the episode), it is possible that 5-6
million learned about emergency contraception for the first time from the show.1 2
The survey also highlighted the important role television plays in educating people
on public health topics. The majority (63%) of those who already knew about
emergency contraception said they had learned about it from TV, while just 11%
claimed to have learned about it from their doctor or clinic. Considering such claims
and statistics, it is important for the media to present accurate, realistic portrayals of
health issues for public consumption and education. And as mentioned earlier, this is
even more significant for impressionable young people who spend so much time
engaging in various media.
Furthermore, including public health issues in entertainment shows can attract
viewers to the program. 53% of regular viewers say they learn about important
health care issues from ER. 62% of those who say they learn about health issues from
the show also say that is one of the reasons they watch the show, including 25% who
said it was a major reason they watched the show. Survey shows that ER viewers act
on the public health information they learn from the show. 32% of the viewers say
they personally get information from ER that helps them make choices about their
own or their family's health care. 12% of viewers say they have actually taken the
initiative to contact their doctor about an issue because of something they saw on
ER.'3
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The role of advocacy groups as a resource for Hollywood writers and
producers is growing. Their approach-presenting ideas to a creative community that
is constantly in need of ideas is proving effective. Yes, the messages are diluted to fit
sitcom or drama formats. Yes, for every "good value" that makes its way onto the
small screen, there are issues that will counteract it. And yes, when Time cites Ally
McBeal as a factor in the demise of feminism, it is placing absurdly disproportionate
responsibility on a television character and on the creative community that invented
her. Yet if the college women on Felicity practice safe sex, or if a prime-time parent
talks about drugs, or adoption, or eating disorders, or the Holocaust with a child, the
message is likely to resonate w ith an audience comprised of people who relate to
their favorite television characters as if they knew them. Is television the ideal forum
for a culture to define its values? No. As long as television remains a profit-driven
industry, the best we can hope to do, is to work within the existing system to make it
better. And we do need to be realistic about the limits of television in packaging
messages to fit this format.
Furthermore, in recent years, there has been increasing understanding of the
relationship of media literacy to substance abuse, violence, and other societal
problems. A program called Flashpoint teaches media literacy to adolescents in the
juvenile justice system. The American Academy of Pediatrics offers a course called
Media Matters to all its members and urges them to do a media history along with a
health history with every patient. Many other organizations and groups are
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incorporating media education into their agendas. Huge and powerful industries-
alcohol, tobacco, junk food, diet, guns- depend upon a media-illiterate population.
They depend on a population that is disempowered and addicted. And we can fight
back using the tools of media education that enable us to understand, analyze,
interpret, to expose hidden agendas and manipulation, to bring about constructive
change, and to further positive aspects of the media.
As I discussed in Chapter 2, Dr. Drew Pinsky is a trusted source of
information and advice among millions of young adults. Over the past 17 years. Dr.
Drew, a practicing internist and addictionologist, has developed a loyal following
with his popular call-in Loveline radio show (syndicated to more than 50 radio
stations nationwide) and MTV program. Those who are familiar with Dr. Drew and
Loveline recognize that Dr. Drew is himself a health and relationship advisor for teens
and knows how to utilize the media as "health advisor." He is featured not only on
KROQ's late-night (10 PM -12 am) Loveline radio show, with Conway and Steckler at
KLSX, and on Webcasts from his Web site Dr. Drew.com, but also on teen and youth-
directed shows such as Hang Time, California Dreamin', and Big Brother (as relationship
advisor and behavioral analyst)- shows that young people watch and are an
important means though which teens may be advised and educated on health and
other related issues.
Dr. Drew's ubiquitous presence in the media is further validated by his
inclusion in youth events such as serving as a presenter (alongside Loveline co-host
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Adam Caroila) on last year's (2000) Teen Choice Awards. It is important to note Adam
Carolla's comedic function on the Loveline shows. Dr. Drew plays the straight man
and lets Adam be the joker. Adam lightens Dr. Drew's sometimes serious tone with
his obscene and obnoxious sense of humor and it is their symbiotic relationship that
has made the show a success. Dr. Drew is also a regular on Politically Incorrect and
The View and has been a guest on numerous national television outlets such as Larry
King Live. He has authored a book with Caroila entitled The Dr. Drew and Adam Book:
A Survival Guide to Life and Love. He is a regular contributor to USA Weekend, writing
extensively on a variety of topics related to addiction, adolescent health, intimacy,
and relationships and is also a regular columnist for Jump magazine. He has been
profiled in Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, Premiere, and other national
media. The bottom line is that his involvement in the media in order to communicate
with young people is a tremendous community service, a responsible and sober
approach to sex education and relationship education to teens, and that kids listen to
him. Young people feel that they can connect with him because he "doesn't beat
around the bush" and does not condemn them.1 4 Health educators agree that his
style is hard to come by. Celebrity doctors from Laura Schlessinger to C. Everett
Koop reach into more media slots, but none connect to teens the way Dr. Drew does.
Parents often opt out when it comes to sexual issues and young people are starved for
information. They w ant adult guidance which Dr. Drew provides in a way they
understand and feel comfortable with. In a way, his success is also based on his
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424
ability to combine entertainment and medicine all at once. Dr. Drew is willing to
share the stage with rock bands like Limp Bizkit and cast members from TV's Buffy
the Vampire Slayer who talk about life and love. His role as physician and media
figure exemplifies the ways in which the media may serve as an important vehicle for
health advisement for young people.
Media portrayals and media figures contribute to girls' perceptions, helping
them define w hat it means to be a girl and later a woman. Adolescent girls form
ideas about their own lives by observing how girls and women in the media look and
behave, their motivations and their goals, and what they do with their time and with
their lives. The media can reinforce female stereotypes, limiting girls' perceptions
about what they should look like, what they should care about, and who they should
strive to become. But, this power to influence young people also gives the media the
potential to inspire them. The media can offers girls strong female role models whose
behavior, attitudes, and goals broaden their concepts of future possibilities. The
power of media texts is in their ability to provide a discourse for girls which
addresses them as valued individuals struggling with the existential problems of
being a girl in a patriarchal culture. Girls need to be given the unequivocal message
that they are valued for w ho they are, what they do, and w ho they want to become.
Hopefully, the recognition of media's potential to offer girls role models will
encourage the creation of more positive female portrayals throughout the media.
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Despite the portrayal of "glamorized" images of youth, contemporary shows
on television, magazine articles, and Internet sources are making greater effort to
teach young people how to be responsible about their health. We now see more
shows and articles that deal with date rape, sexual harassment, sex, pregnancy, and
drugs and alcohol than ever before. The media has recognized their important role in
informing people accurately and responsibly. In terms of health issues, the media
can, for one, enhance adolescent sexual health by communicating accurate
information and portraying realistic situations. At a time when we are facing a
sexual health crisis among young people, we need to pay special attention to those
media depictions that could influence how young people develop their attitudes and
beliefs about sex. Recognizing the importance of entertainment media in shaping
people's awareness of health issues, non-profit organizations such as the Kaiser
Family Foundation, Advocates for Youth, and the Media Project have established
programs on entertainment media and public health to work with entertainment
media writers, producer, and executives to help them convey important health
messages to the public. These programs emphasize building constructive
relationships with the many people in the entertainment industry who want to play a
positive role, and who understand that it is possible to entertain, educate, and
succeed in the entertainment industry at the same time. The Media Project works
specifically with the entertainment industry on issues of adolescent sexual and
reproductive health.
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426
The National Coalition to Sexuality Education recommends that media
professionals use their influence to convey more realistic, medically accurate, and
health-promoting ideas and images concerning sexuality. The media thus has a
responsibility to portray sexually healthy behavior and sensitivity to diversity. This
includes the following suggestions: When possible and appropriate, include the
portrayal of effective communication about sexuality and relationships between
children and their parents or other trusted adults; show typical sexual interactions
between people as verbally and physically respectful, non-exploitive and promoting
gender equity; recognize and show that the healthier sexual encounters are
anticipated events, not spur-of-the-moment responses to the heat of passion; model
communication about upcoming sexual encounters, including expressions of
partners' wishes and boundaries; suggest intimate behaviors other than intercourse
to inform the public about the possibility of alternative, pleasurable, consensual, and
responsible sexual activity; present the choice of abstinence from sexual intercourse
from the point of view of characters knowledgeable and comfortable with their
sexuality, but dear about their decision to postpone this sexual behavior for reasons
of health, emotional maturity, or personal ethics; portray young people refusing
unwanted sexual advances in order to maintain their decision about abstinence;
when describing, alluding to, or portraying sexual intercourse, include steps that
should be taken for prevention, such as using contraceptives and condoms to prevent
unwanted pregnancy and information about the full spectrum of sexually transmitted
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427
diseases; when an unprotected sexual encounter results in negative consequences,
realistically portray or refer to the possible, specific, short- and long-term
repercussions of the individual's decision-making process; eliminate stereotypes and
prejudices about sexuality and sexual behaviors such as the notion that only
"beautiful people" have sexual relationships, that sexual interaction always leads to
intercourse, or that all adolescents have intercourse; provide diverse and positive
representations of the scope of people who express their sexuality in caring,
consensual, and responsible ways, including disabled adults, older adults,
adolescents, gay men, and lesbians; provide more and positive views of a diverse
range of body types and sizes; promote responsible adolescent sexual behavior by
using articulate characters that teens can identify with; avoid linking violence with
sex; provide ways for young people to obtain additional information about sexuality
and related issues by listing addresses and telephone numbers of public health
organizations and support groups before, during, or after subject-related
programming.1 5 By pairing discussion of planning and depictions of responsible
sexual activity with beneficial outcomes, it is not inconceivable that viewers could
become willing to imitate these behaviors. The discussion and depiction of planning
an d /o r consequences of sexual activity in more programs can increase viewers'
knowledge about STDs and contraception as well as provide models for engaging in
such discussions in their own relationships.
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428
Over the last ten years, both women's and teen magazines significantly
increased the am ount of coverage devoted to sexual issues. Teen magazines focus on
the potential adverse outcomes of sexual activity, such as unintended pregnancy,
HIV/AIDS, and other STDs. They have also continued to work mentions of sexual
health issues- especially related to contraceptives and STDs- into articles not
specifically about sexual health. In general, we need a policy that favors sex ed,
openness about sex, consistent messages about sexuality, and access to contraception.
Understanding one's body and understanding sexuality motivates responsible
behavior. The goal is to fight this culture's sense of awkwardness and fear about the
subject which leaves young people struggling with misinformation and needless risk
and to offer young people reliable information about sex and sexuality so they can
make responsible choices. What works is balanced and realistic sexuality education
that encourages teens to postpone sex until they are older, but also provides the
information and access to family planning services they need to prevent pregnancy
and disease.
Living fully in a young woman's body can be physically dangerous in a world
where women are threatened by the ever-present dangers of violence against women,
unwanted pregnancy, AIDS, and social ostracism and denigration. Yet it is
psychologically healthier for girls to resist the dissociation from their bodies
demanded by the image of the desirable woman. It is important for adolescent girls
to have healthy female mentors who can help guide them as they begin to struggle
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429
with problems of relationship- to themselves, to others, to their social world. It is
important for girls to receive the example, the support, the non-judgmental yet
critical perspectives, and the company of adult women- mothers, therapists, teachers,
doctors.
Girls have come to regard display of the body as a sign of women's liberation,
a mark of progress, a basic American right. Although young women today enjoy
greater freedom and more options than those of a century ago, they are also under
more pressure, and at greater risk, because of a unique combination of biological and
cultural forces that have made the adolescent female body into a template for much
of the social change leading up to the present. Pressures have accumulated to the
point where girls now are more anxious about their bodies and about themselves
than ever before. Culture has not only taught women to be insecure bodies,
constantly monitoring themselves for signs of imperfection, constantly engaged in
physical improvement; it is also constantly teaching women how to see bodies.
Based on this logic, the anorectic (for example) has learned the dominant cultural
standards of how to perceive. Western cultures tend to ignore the important, and
often distressing, transition from girl to woman. As long as our culture fails to
celebrate and educate about this transition and the role that body fat plays (e.g. in
menstruation), weight loss attempts will continue to be the inappropriate response.
Eating disorders affect relationships, careers, concentration abilities, and mood. Girls
spend their lives being bombarded with messages about the importance of being
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430
thin- diversity of body shapes is still lacking on TV, in the movies, and on the
runways. Combined w ith peer and parental pressure to lose weight, it is inevitable
that girls feel dissatisfied with their bodies and diet and eat in ways that are harmful
to them. Eating disorders also signal emotional pain and scars (past experiences with
emotional, physical, or sexual abuse). Because of the serious implications, the self
perceptions of young women have become the focus of intense research and inspired
a variety of programs to challenge unhealthy ideals. Factors that protect against
weight overconcem include fostering self-acceptance, family influences on body
acceptance (support countering negative peer influences), positive peer influences
(encouraging body acceptance and healthy choices about eating), more realistic role
models, and knowledge about the dangers of diets. This is why it is ever more
important to teach girls how to be comfortable w ith and confident about their bodies
and who they are; to show various body types in the media and to not promote a
particular ideal. Diversity is key. It is important to extend the diversity of imagery so
that young women can find themselves in the images in advertising and the media
instead of feeling inferior or even like outsiders because they do not.
Girls need to recognize the importance of maintaining balance and
moderation in their lives. One should certainly not deny the benefits of diet, exercise,
and other forms of body "management," but should recognize that the goal of
engaging in such practices is for strengthening oneself physically and
psychologically, in building healthy bodies and minds. Messages of improved
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431
health, self-esteem, body image, and physical competency are being communicated
through TV commercials that use female sport role models. It is also fundamental to
offer them a world where they are safe, valued, and free from oppression- a world
that values healing more than destruction, that seeks balance over domination, that
values difference instead of ignoring or degrading it, a world that embraces
contradictions instead of erasing them. It is important to understand that women and
girls want to be able to pursue happiness on the terms of the culture they live in
while also wanting to feel that they are self-determining agents. It thus becomes very
important that they believe their own choices to be individual, freely motivated, "for
themselves."
In this project, I have attempted to show the pervasive force of the media and
its impact on girls in their everyday lives and the extent to which girls' lives and
health behaviors are "mediated" by these industries. I have considered
representations of girls' health issues in the media and what this says about the
relative health of female adolescents in America and the process of growing up "girl"
in this culture. In doing so, I have focused primarily on the physical health issues
which I believe are most important for girls in our society and which are most
commonly addressed in the media today (sexual health, beauty and body image, and
drug and alcohol abuse). Furthermore, I have shown that "normalcy" has proved a
primary concern of young people and their development and the media's role in
setting such standards. The goal is to achieve a balance in such mediated strictures of
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432
"normalcy" so that representations are healthy and inspiring rather than damaging.
Girls possess the critical faculty required to evaluate and resist messages in the
media, but are also vulnerable to the prevalence of their "glamorous" demands. This
is why media literacy should become an integral part of education and why the
media should focus on more realistic and diverse images.
This project has attempted to lay the groundwork and foundation for further
research into these issues as well as for future exploration into other issues (such as
mental health issues and addiction behaviors) that 1 did not discuss due to limitations
in the scope of this project. The media must not be taken for granted as a major
player in the health of young people. When designed to send healthy, realistic
messages, the media is a powerful ally, an effective health advisor to young people.
And being healthy is key to success and girls' health is an important part of girl
power.
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433
Endnotes for Conclusion
1 Brown, Jane D. & Jeanne R. Steele, "Sex and the Mass Media," 1995,18.
2 Ibid. 20
3 Thompson, Sharon, Going All the Wav. New York: Hill & Wang, 1995,9.
4 Brown 22
5 Governor's Council on Adolescent Pregnancy, 1993
6 Brown 26
7 National Cancer Institute, 1988
8 1990, Brown 28
9 Ibid. 29
1 0 Kaiser Family Foundation, "The Use of Mainstream Media to Encourage Social
Responsibility: The International Experience"
1 1 Bryant, Jennings & Dolf Zillmann, Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research.
Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1994,408.
1 2 Kaiser Family Foundation
1 3 Ibid.
1 4 Even though he can be a bit paternalistic when it comes to issues of younger girls and sex.
1 5 Kaiser Family Foundation
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434
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Asset Metadata

Creator Kon, Philantha Sue-Hwa (author)

Core Title Girl health, girl power: Representations of "girl" health issues in contemporary mass media and the effect of the media on girls' health behaviors

School Graduate School

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Cinema-Television (Critical Studies)

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, health,mass communications,OAI-PMH Harvest,women's studies

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Spigel, Lynn (committee chair), [illegible] (committee member), Stacey, Judith (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c16-154756

Unique identifier UC11329535

Identifier 3054766.pdf (filename),usctheses-c16-154756 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 3054766-0.pdf

Dmrecord 154756

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Kon, Philantha Sue-Hwa

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA