Yesterday we talked about sexuality and TV. I came across this interview and these ladies raise some helpful points. Here was just one of the Q & A exchanges:
Q: You say the “sexualization of childhood” affects boys, as well as girls, negatively. Can you expand on this?
A: Boys learn to see girls as objects and judge and value them by how they look and how “sexy” they are. And boys are taught to conform to a very narrow definition of masculinity — being tough and invulnerable and aggressive. This can make it very difficult for boys to become men capable of having positive, caring, and connected relationships. This is a very high price to pay.
If this is correct, and I think it is, we are training boys who will become men to see girls as objects. Then this unhealthy and ultimately destructive cycle leads to the girls–who want to be liked–focus primarily on how they look. We need to introduce truth into this cycle; people are intrinsically valuable because God made them in His image…not how they look or how well that perform.