The US Department of Health and Human Services provides valuable information about assault, including consent and what it means. This is important to understand for both men and women. Read the information below:
Consent is a clear yes to sexual activity. Not saying no doesn’t mean you’ve given consent. Sexual contact without consent is sexual assault or rape.
- Consent is an ongoing process, not a one time issue. If you consent to sexual activity, you can change your mind and stop at any time, even after the sexual activity has begun.
- Past consent does not imply future consent. Giving consent past sexual activity does not imply that your prior consent is valid now or to of the future.
- Saying yes to sexual activity is not consent to all types of sexual activity. If you consent to sexual activity, it only applies to the type of sexual activity that you are comfortable with at the time. For example, consenting to a kiss does not mean you are consenting to have someone take your clothes off.
College freshman women are particularly at risk of assault. Information about it here:
- Research shows that students are at greatest risk of sexual assault during their first and second semesters in college.2
- Women who identify as lesbian, bisexual, or gay are more likely than heterosexual women to experience sexual assault in college.1
7. Was there anything helpful/eye-opening in the above information?
And this video went viral explain why men do not have so much to fear.
Lisa Wade is an influential sociologist who studied “hookup culture” in college. Her research has focused on the subculture on college campuses and students who are sexually active with each other outside of committed relationships. One interesting conclusion she made was that some males engaged in sexual activity that they regretted because he felt pressured by masculinity to do so. However, it should be noted that she found that the vast majority of college students are NOT involved in this “hooking up” subculture.
Here is her book review from the NY Times.
Here’s a review from the NPR Show Hidden Brain with 24 minutes of Dr. Wade’s audio interview.
Vimeo provides an explanation of the video.
Below is a brief explanation from Dr. Wade:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWt1Ttmk4Ug
For more information, here is an hour-long Dr. Wade Elon University Talk.
Femininity and body image – How are women socialized to think about their selves?
Number 3 at the beginning of this post, most women can name a few people they know who have struggled with body image issues or eating disorders.
This video, titled Onslaught from the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, highlights how the media socializes girls.
This Society Pages post highlights how women are objectified in the media. Click the link and read the post. From the letter
The damage caused by the widespread objectification of women in popular culture is not just theoretical. We now have over ten years of research showing that living in an objectifying society is highly toxic for girls and women as described Part 2 of this series.
8. Which ad from the “Society Pages” link above did you find particularly humiliating or objectifying?
Do you know Amy?
This video shows that Amy doesn’t like to hang out.
There are many studies that show this is true for many young women. Check out the study below and consider if this has been true in your life. Do you know girls who struggle with self-esteem, body image, and eating/eating disorders? If not, can you at least see how the media creates a reality for girls?
A Study on the Effects of Media Socialization on Women
“…after interacting with attractive peers, women’s perception of their appearance changed, whereas interacting with family members had no effect on their body image….Social media engagement with attractive peers increases negative state body imagein 2018 The study, led by Jennifer Mills, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at York University in Toronto, Canada, and Jacqueline Hogue, a doctoral student in the department’s clinical program, examined social media’s influence on self-perceived body image among young women. Mills and Hogue published theirs conclusions iin Body Image magazine. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323725.php
Thin ads + low body image = stress?
Advertisements featuring thin models can damage the self-esteem of vulnerable young women According to a new study, seeing ads for ultra-thin models can make young women feel worse, especially if they have body image issues. Researcher Gayle Bessenoff, Ph.D., reports the findings in Psychology of Women Quarterly. Bessenoff is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Connecticut.
What the research shows: Links between media and girls’ self-esteem Many studies have concluded that there is a clear connection between young women’s self-esteem and the media. * The Journal of Research on Adolescence, a study on body image and self-esteem (Daniel Clay, Vivian L. Vignoles, Helga Dittmar – 2005), suggests that the low self-esteem that girls often experience during adolescence is partly due to for social comparison with media models. in 2006 A study of girls’ body satisfaction and self-esteem conducted by the American Psychological Association (Hayley Dohnt, Marika Tiggemann) also shows that the media has a negative influence on girls’ body image and self-esteem, especially in terms of acceptance. thinness levels.
A particularly disturbing trend in the media is the sexualization of women at an ever-younger age. Medical News Today discusses how suggestive images of young women negatively affect girls’ self-esteem, playing a role in the onset of depression, eating disorders and low self-esteem.
The sexualization of girls is linked to common mental health problems among girls and women Science Daily (February 20, 2007) – A report released today by the American Psychological Association (APA) found evidence that the proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, marketing and the media is harming the image of girls. and healthy development.
Willingness to adapt – literally! Learning to Love Your Body and Yourself by Christine Hartline, MA In the United States, about 10% of girls and women (up to 10 million) suffer from a diagnosed eating disorder. Of these, at least 50,000 will die as a direct result! Recent data from the American Psychiatric Association show that of all mental disorders, eating disorders and substance abuse have the highest rates of death in patients from both natural and unnatural causes.
Adolescent body image Media images have a huge impact on people’s body image, especially women, because the ideals that the media presents to women are far from the typical female body. The Social Research Center (SIRC) reports that in 1972, the ideal woman portrayed in the media (models, movie stars, etc.) weighed less than the average woman, yes, but only by 8 percent. By the late 1990s, the difference had become 23%… One Harvard University study reported by (SIRC) found that by the age of 17, 7 out of 10 teenagers were dieting, and as many as 80%. Adolescents may have a negative body image… 86% of people with eating disorders begin before adolescence.
Finally, watch the powerful video below about how people are conditioned to think about themselves and how it can differ from reality.
9. Is the study and video above convincing evidence that women are at risk from gendered expectations? Have other questions?
