What’s the harm in a #selfie?
Australia’s Next Top Model on Fox8TV recently launched a
competition for girls (and guys) to take photos of themselves (selfies) and
post them online, in order for judges to select the ‘best selfie’ – how this is
judged I do not know.
Sounds fine, right? Except if you consider that participants
only need be 13 years old to enter in this kind of modelling competition. And especially
if you consider that ‘selfies’ are renowned for being sexually provocative,
usually showing lips pursed ready to kiss, or cleavage exposed in a sexually
styled pose. Girls as young as 8
and 9 have been taking part in this online ‘selfies’ competition. This means
girls as young as 8 and 9 are fully aware of being ‘sexy’ and are encouraged to
take photos of themselves to share online with millions of internet users - and
no security precautions.
If that doesn’t seem problematic enough, then take a moment
to consider websites that host ‘sexy selfies’ or ‘naked selfies’. These
websites assumedly pull 'selfies' from instagram and other social media these kind of websites give shocking insights as to the kind of images young girls are
sharing, these pictures very quickly turn from sexy into outright underage child pornography.
So how does taking sexualised self-images have a place in a
13 years old life?
When I was 13 I knew nothing about being pretty, nor did I
understand the idea of sexy. When I was 13 I wouldn’t have had a clue on how to
take a photo of myself, nor would I have ever cared to do so. I remember being
one of the first young people to get the mobile phone with a camera, but
certainly I’d never considered taking ‘sexy’ photos. It simply was never a
pressure that I experienced.
Its 13 years since I was 13, and now 13 year old girls are openly
encouraged to model and self photograph by TV shows, celebrities and peers
alike, this means that 13 year olds are going to have to be fully aware of
their image, they are going to learn to be self-conscious, they are going to
learn what constitutes pretty, beautiful and sexy, they are going to learn to
judge themselves and others on their ‘sexiness’, and for this ‘sexy’ learning
curve what are the likely outcomes? What will this mean for their relationships
with themselves, with girls, boys and their health?
A quick look at some recent statistics of girls under 16
will give some hard-hitting insights as to the effects of this growing trend.
70% of girls report being unhappy with their body image. While only a small
percentage of children are obese, around 25% of young girls cite wanting to
diet, lose weight and have plastic surgery (NEDC 2013). We are talking about
young girls – unhappy in life, dieting and wanting to surgically mutilate their
healthy bodies! This is not to mention the pervasive effects of eating
disorders on life expectancy and mental health outcomes. Studies have CLEARLY
shown that exposure to TV left girls feeling dissatisfied with their bodies and
lead to disordered eating habits. We are literally KILLING our children with
this media.
We can also take a look at the research surrounding sexual
experiences of young girls, growing trends toward earlier sexual encounters,
growing rates of forced sexual encounters and sexual violence. And in
particular relevance, the growing trend for young girls to share their own
pornographic images.
Is it then fair for Fox8TV to dismiss taking ‘selfies’ as a
fun, light-hearted activity for young people? Does that response do justice to
the millions of suffering girls and boys who feel unhappy in their own skin,
who are going to struggle with happiness and confidence because of this
pressure? Does Fox8’s response do justice to the young people literally starving
themselves to death? Does Fox8’s response do justice to the young people whose
lives are cut short at the hands of an eating disorder? What responsibility
does Fox8 take for the pressure their ‘beauty competitions’ place on young and
vulnerable people?
None.
It infuriates me further to see that these problems are
lumped onto the young girls. Girls are given instruction that they must
‘increase their confidence’ they must ‘learn resilience’ or ‘dress more
modestly’. If we look at the pressure on young girls in today’s world, the
likelihood of being psychologically resilient is basically null and void.
Today’s media forces low self-esteem on girls, particularly by these invasive
modelling competitions, pitting girls against one another, enforcing the idea
loud and clear to all little girls ‘YOUR VALUE IS DEFINED BY YOUR LOOKS’.
Thank you Fox8 producers; I wonder how you sleep at night.
Anyone needing support to cope with pressure, self-esteem or
eating concerns should see their GP immediately. Resources are also available
on
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