TV shows aimed at the young are sexualising underage girls in an attempt to grab ratings, a damning report claimed yesterday.
TV shows aimed at the young are sexualising underage girls in an attempt to grab ratings, a damning report claimed yesterday.
Programs imported from the U.S – such as hit high school musical series Glee – often present youngsters as ‘little more than sex objects’.
Underage girls are more likely to be involved in sexually-themed scenes than adult actresses and rarely put up resistance to physical contact, the study found.
Instances of sexualisation found included verbal sex references, implied nudity and kissing. Almost every instance of an underage girl shown in a sexual situation was ‘unhealthy’, as categorized by psychiatrists.
Ratings: Popular shows such as Two And A Half Men have been accused of 'sexualising' young female characters to boost their viewing figures
Exposing teenagers to such ‘warped values’ can lead to depression, eating disorders and self-harm, U.S. pressure group the Parents’ Television Council claims.
The PTC report looked at 14 shows aimed at 12 to 17-year-olds such as Glee, Desperate Housewives and even The Simpsons.
Shows including Glee are under fire from the PTC for sending the wrong message to the youth
Under fire: Even The Simpsons has been accused of presenting pre-teen characters in 'unhealthy' situations
It found the presence of an underage female ‘was associated with higher amounts of sexual depictions compared to the on-screen appearance of an adult female’ – 47 per cent to 29 per cent respectively.
PTC president Tim Winter said: ‘The results show Tinseltown’s eagerness to not only objectify and fetishise young girls, but to sexualize them in such a way that real teens are led to believe their sole value comes from their sexuality.’
The council is demanding that the TV industry tone down its content to allow young girls to grow up without such toxic pressure being applied to them.
The report looked at a string of popular shows aimed at 12-to-17-year-olds - including The Office, NCIS, Two And A Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, The Vampire Diaries and Grey’s Anatomy.
Also under the microscope were Lost, Family Guy, House, The Cleveland Show and American Dad.
It was rare to see an underage girl say no and only five per cent of pre-teen characters communicated any form of dislike for being sexualized.
In addition, 93 per cent of the sexual incidents among underage female characters occurred within a context that would be considered ‘unhealthy’, according to the American Psychological Association.
Another show under fire is 90210, featuring actresses Jessica Stroup, AnnaLynne McCord and Jessica Lowndes. All of their characters are in sexual relationships, and Lowndes' character also had a pregnancy and a lesbian kiss
Mr Winter said: ‘This report is less about the shocking numbers that detail the sickness of early sexualization in our entertainment culture and more about the generation of young girls who are being told how society expects them to behave.
‘To any parent of a pre-teen or teenage girl, the harm of sexualised imagery is readily apparent. We cannot allow our daughters, not to mention boys and adult men, to accept the message that women should be valued only for their sex appeal - even if it seems every magazine cover, billboard, movie, and television program convey that message.’
The PTC report also attacked broadcasters for failing to warn parents about programs - 75 per cent of shows featuring underage girls don't include the ‘S’ warning beforehand to alert parents to what's coming.
The pressure group came to their conclusion by examining 14 of the top TV shows aimed at those aged 12 to 17 over four weeks.
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