Sexualization of Pre-Teen Girls through the Media

1. Sexualization of Pre-Teen Girls through the Media By Liz Facchini

2. Spread in Seventeen Magazine, November 2009“Bargains for Your Body: $20 & Under”

3. Physical Attributes • Shows each item of clothing that is pivotal to enhancing your bust, waist, and legs • Has a “mix and match” theme • Each clothing item is color-coordinated to the body part it emphasizes • Clothing is very revealing and promiscuous • There are also accessories such as earrings, belt and platform heels that help sexualize a young girl’s wardrobe • Under each item is a blurb that explains what about the item will enhance your figure • Because each item is under $20, each item is affordable and young girls are able to access them more easily (“Who says looking like a million bucks has to cost it?”) • Each item is in a fun, bright color in order to be geared towards a larger audience of younger girls

4. Concepts • The spread features different parts of the body to play up: “bust”, “waist”, “legs.” Each body part has sexual connotations • The spread isn’t directed towards teenage girls because they already know how to sexualize themselves, but rather teaches pre-teen girls how to dress to attract male attention • Implies the male gaze without the use of models through which body part you want to emphasize and how the clothing will make you look better • The spread subtly sexualizes through word choices such as “slim”, “accentuate”, “lean”, “toned”, “flaunt” and “peek” using to describe the clothing and accessory’s functions • Implies that in order to be appealing to boys, you need to sexualize yourself and show skin in order to get attention • By specifically instructing girls how to dress, Seventeen Magazine creates a narrow construct through which pre-teen girls see themselves • Each clothing item is labeled a “bargain”, and this implies that you don’t have to spend a lot of money sexualizing yourself and becoming appealing to boys isn’t going to cost you a lot of money

5. Copy • Each body part is color coordinated to the items used to enhance • The background where the items are displayed are also color-coordinatedbut the colors are faded • The price of each item is in the same color as the blurb that says “$20 and Under” • The word “your” is emphasized and set apart from the others in the title of the spread, creating a sense of intimacy between the magazine and the audience • “Bust”, “Waist”, and “Legs” appear largest on the page • Each separate clothing item or accessory is in capital letters

6. So What? • This spread explicitly tells pre-teen girls what parts of their body need to be exposed and emphasized in order to “look like a million bucks” and be more appealing. It also teaches young girls that they don’t need to spend a lot of money working on their appearance, because revealing clothing items and accompanying accessories can be purchased for under twenty dollars.