Anna Nicole Smith: APA poster girl
by: Karen Cole - Feb 27, 2007 - comment
Oh, irony of ironies.
The secular news media paused for a moment during its coverage of the sad circus surrounding the death of Anna Nicole Smith to report that the American Psychological Association has “found evidence that the proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising, and media is harmful to girls’ self-image and healthy development.”
The APA defined “sexualization” as any one of the following, noting that the last is especially true regarding children:
- “a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics;
- “a person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness (narrowly defined) with being sexy;
- “a person is sexually objectified—that is, made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than seen as a person with the capacity for independent action and decision making;
- “and/or sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person.”
The report found sexualization of women in every form of media studied: television, movies, magazines, music videos, music lyrics, video games, the Internet, advertising, and sports. The researchers also encountered parents who participated in the sexualization of their daughters, even to the point of encouraging plastic surgery in order to attain a physical ideal.
The seemingly endless fascination with women such as Anna Nicole Smith, Britney Spears, and other body-baring celebrities is a telling example of just how sex-saturated our society has become.
“Human sexuality is at the center of a cultural struggle being waged in our day,” said Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission president Richard Land. “Although the ERLC finds little common ground with the American Psychological Association on matters related to sexuality, this is a subject on which we find points of agreement.
“I’m delighted, albeit surprised, that the American Psychological Association would understand and be alarmed by the sexualization of girls by the media,” he continued. “When the APA gets it right, it proves the wisdom of my east Texas grandmother, who said ‘Even a broken clock is right twice a day.’”
Thankfully, a number of Christian women did not wait for APA statistics to begin ministering in the area of sexual purity.
Author and speaker Dannah Gresh, for example, has been promoting the message of healthy sexuality for several years through her Pure Freedom ministry. In popular conferences and books, she helps girls and their parents recognize what biblical beauty means and how to attain it.
Her Secret Keeper materials, which focus on modesty and sexual purity, are written from a “just us girls” perspective.
Land is encouraged by ministries such as Pure Freedom. “Far too many young women don’t know right from wrong when it comes to appropriate behavior and dress because they have bought into the low standards promoted on television and in contemporary movies and music. We must help girls and young women understand that the expression of their sexuality is a beautiful gift from God and that He intends it to be shared with one man in marriage.”
- Fashionable and Modest? Absolutely! – Dannah Gresh
Further Learning
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