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The Lolita Effect: The Media Sexualization of Young Girls and What We Can Do About It
We are constantly bombarded with alarming media images: brand-name thong underwear for ten-year-olds with the slogans ‘Wink Wink’ and ‘Eye Candy’ printed on them; oversexed and underdressed celebrities; Bratz dolls and their ‘sexy’ clothing line for preteens. How do we raise sexually healthy young women in this kind of environment?
In The Lolita Effect, university professor and journalist M G Durham offers new insight into media myths and spectacles of sexuality. Using examples from popular TV shows, fashion and beauty magazines, movies and websites, Durham shows for the first time all the ways in which sexuality is rigidly and restrictively defied in media – often in ways detrimental to girls’ healthy development.
Durham provides us with the tools to navigate this media world effectively without censorship or moralising, and then to help our girls to do so in strong and empowering ways.
M G Durham is professor of journalism and mass communication at the University of Iowa. Her research on adolescent girls and media has appeared in such academic journals as Youth & Society and Critical Studies in Media Communication. She served on the editorial board of The Encyclopedia of Children, Adolescents and the Media. A passionate advocate for children’s rights and social justice, she lives with her husband and two daughters in Iowa City.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2008
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About the author
Meenakshi Gigi Durham
10 books17 followersMeenakshi Gigi Durham, is the (joint) professor of gender, women’s and sexuality studies at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Iowa's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Meenakshi Gigi Durham's work centers on media and the politics of the body, with an emphasis on gender, sexuality, race, and youth cultures. She holds a joint appointment in the Department of Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies. She was named a CLAS Collegiate Scholar in 2012.
Her work has appeared in leading academic journals, including Critical Studies in Media Communication, Communication Theory, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, and Women's Studies in Communication. She is the author of The Lolita Effect (Overlook, 2008) and the co-editor, with Douglas M. Kellner, of Media and Cultural Studies: KeyWorks (Blackwell, 2001, rev. 2006). Her work has earned her widespread public recognition, including media appearances on the BBC, Irish National Television, Iowa Public Radio, Illinois Public Radio, The Dr. Phil Show, and the documentary "Miss Representation," which was aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
She serves on the editorial boards of a number of scholarly journals, including Feminist Media Studies and the Journal of Communication. She also served on the advisory board for the Encyclopedia of Children, Adolescents and the Media. Her essay, "Grieving," published in the Harvard Review in 2010, has been selected for inclusion in the 2011 Best American Essays anthology. She is the recipient of a Faculty Scholar Award from The University of Iowa. In 2013, she was awarded a faculty administrative fellowship in the UI's Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development. She was the 2014 recipient of the International Communication Association's Teresa Award, the Feminist Scholarship Division's highest award for achievement in research.
She teaches classes in gender and media, critical theories of the media, and magazine writing. Her professional journalism experience includes reporting, editing, and design for various newspapers and magazines including The Pensacola News-Journal, The Times of India, and Science Today. She coordinated a statewide public information campaign on family involvement in education for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. She served as publications editor for the University of Wisconsin System from 1992–94.
Before coming to Iowa in the Fall of 2000, she taught magazine journalism at the University of Texas at Austin for six years, where she was the recipient of an honorable mention for the campus-wide Gilbert Teaching Excellence Award in Women's and Gender Studies.
Meenakshi Gigi Durham's work centers on media and the politics of the body, with an emphasis on gender, sexuality, race, and youth cultures. She holds a joint appointment in the Department of Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies. She was named a CLAS Collegiate Scholar in 2012.
Her work has appeared in leading academic journals, including Critical Studies in Media Communication, Communication Theory, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, and Women's Studies in Communication. She is the author of The Lolita Effect (Overlook, 2008) and the co-editor, with Douglas M. Kellner, of Media and Cultural Studies: KeyWorks (Blackwell, 2001, rev. 2006). Her work has earned her widespread public recognition, including media appearances on the BBC, Irish National Television, Iowa Public Radio, Illinois Public Radio, The Dr. Phil Show, and the documentary "Miss Representation," which was aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
She serves on the editorial boards of a number of scholarly journals, including Feminist Media Studies and the Journal of Communication. She also served on the advisory board for the Encyclopedia of Children, Adolescents and the Media. Her essay, "Grieving," published in the Harvard Review in 2010, has been selected for inclusion in the 2011 Best American Essays anthology. She is the recipient of a Faculty Scholar Award from The University of Iowa. In 2013, she was awarded a faculty administrative fellowship in the UI's Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development. She was the 2014 recipient of the International Communication Association's Teresa Award, the Feminist Scholarship Division's highest award for achievement in research.
She teaches classes in gender and media, critical theories of the media, and magazine writing. Her professional journalism experience includes reporting, editing, and design for various newspapers and magazines including The Pensacola News-Journal, The Times of India, and Science Today. She coordinated a statewide public information campaign on family involvement in education for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. She served as publications editor for the University of Wisconsin System from 1992–94.
Before coming to Iowa in the Fall of 2000, she taught magazine journalism at the University of Texas at Austin for six years, where she was the recipient of an honorable mention for the campus-wide Gilbert Teaching Excellence Award in Women's and Gender Studies.
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March 21, 2021
I suppose the shelf might be more accurate as skimmed. This is a book that touches on and "attempts" to cover an important subject. The author does a good job of trying to look at it. I believe that she is struggling a bit against her own preconceptions and predetermined ideas and attitudes however.
I agree with her that we need to avoid things like censorship. This gives her a problem however which she runs up against when she suggests things like "positive media". The same problem arises when she looks at things like attitudes shared by "girls" (and by extension boys by the way). These inevitably swing back to media. From movies and TV to magazines the images are there.
The writer here is hampered by refusing to even look at the idea that certain "modern" or "currently accepted" ideas might be off the mark. That maybe 3 year olds and 6 year olds may not naturally be "sexual" but that our society has begun to look at children that way. There is lacking here as in almost all attempts to deal with societal problems a sense of "balance". I believe that the book misses a primary key to this danger to our children and a lot of other dangers to our children. It is that parenting doesn't require a village, it requires parents.
Never looked at here is the problem of an utterly selfish society where we "can have it all". The idea that adults need to put their children first and accept "delayed gratification" of and for their own desires even their own "rights" may be what's needed. Acceptance of the responsibility of being parents. We don't need the government or anyone else to sensor what is viewed or read by our children if parents are actually parenting. Explanation by a loving parent...decisions that the TV might be turned off, that certain programs or channels won't be watched, that given movies aren't acceptable...wow, what radical ideas.
There is today a dearth of positive role models for our children (both girls and boys) and any attempt to provide them in media is sneered at. Parents who are an actual married couple who have placed the good of their children ahead of their own wants are becoming more and more rare. Is it any wonder that children find their role-models in Victoria's Secret ads, 17 Magazine, or the latest BIG Movie Star?
The book is good at laying out the problem and looking at some of the misconceptions we have as a culture perpetrated. The title refers back to a big one. That in the novel Lolita is not a "seductress" but a victim. The the word "nymphet" is Humbert Humbert's own twisted view. Our culture has taken to using the term a "little Lolita" to mean a seductive young girl when in the book she is at best unconsciously attractive to Humbert who is an abuser. (I've never been able to read that book in detail because of that and the way things turn out for Lolita).
So, I'd say read this book, it's a good run down of the problem but keep your mind working. We who as adults are here to love and protect our children. Maybe we need to put "parent" back on the list of important careers?
I agree with her that we need to avoid things like censorship. This gives her a problem however which she runs up against when she suggests things like "positive media". The same problem arises when she looks at things like attitudes shared by "girls" (and by extension boys by the way). These inevitably swing back to media. From movies and TV to magazines the images are there.
The writer here is hampered by refusing to even look at the idea that certain "modern" or "currently accepted" ideas might be off the mark. That maybe 3 year olds and 6 year olds may not naturally be "sexual" but that our society has begun to look at children that way. There is lacking here as in almost all attempts to deal with societal problems a sense of "balance". I believe that the book misses a primary key to this danger to our children and a lot of other dangers to our children. It is that parenting doesn't require a village, it requires parents.
Never looked at here is the problem of an utterly selfish society where we "can have it all". The idea that adults need to put their children first and accept "delayed gratification" of and for their own desires even their own "rights" may be what's needed. Acceptance of the responsibility of being parents. We don't need the government or anyone else to sensor what is viewed or read by our children if parents are actually parenting. Explanation by a loving parent...decisions that the TV might be turned off, that certain programs or channels won't be watched, that given movies aren't acceptable...wow, what radical ideas.
There is today a dearth of positive role models for our children (both girls and boys) and any attempt to provide them in media is sneered at. Parents who are an actual married couple who have placed the good of their children ahead of their own wants are becoming more and more rare. Is it any wonder that children find their role-models in Victoria's Secret ads, 17 Magazine, or the latest BIG Movie Star?
The book is good at laying out the problem and looking at some of the misconceptions we have as a culture perpetrated. The title refers back to a big one. That in the novel Lolita is not a "seductress" but a victim. The the word "nymphet" is Humbert Humbert's own twisted view. Our culture has taken to using the term a "little Lolita" to mean a seductive young girl when in the book she is at best unconsciously attractive to Humbert who is an abuser. (I've never been able to read that book in detail because of that and the way things turn out for Lolita).
So, I'd say read this book, it's a good run down of the problem but keep your mind working. We who as adults are here to love and protect our children. Maybe we need to put "parent" back on the list of important careers?
May 13, 2009
I have an 11 year old daughter and like my mother before me, I am sure she felt we matured faster as well, and I find it happens with every generation. When my daughter was in a dance company there was always a balance on that line of child and grown up. We often saw girls as young as 8 looking like hookers in fishnets with kohl lined eyes, cherry red lips. Luckily my daughter's company didn't exploit girls (run by a mother and daughter team). The media (without a doubt) sexualizes women and certainly young girls, and getting younger by the day.For a mom struggling to swim with your daughter on your back in a sea of sexual pushers, this book is a lifeboat. Review will follow as soon as I am done reading it.
Review: A must! I realize a lot of people scoff at the idea that the media pushes images on young girls (women) as a whole, but the evidence is strong. It's easy for a man to dismiss, being a man he has such luxury. No one is pushing an impossible idea on him (though that too is changing). I never realized the degree to how negatively such images slam into young girls until I had a daughter, and hearing my son talk about women in an objectifiable manner after seeing ads and girls gone wild commercials it's hard to not see truth to the accusations. I must say the 'lolita' debate is well defined in this book. Lolita in modern day use is used to describe a deliberately sexual young seductress where the real lolita was naive, natural and abused. She was not some harlot out to seduce a grown man.
I find it shocking when someone as young as 8 wants to be seen as hot, I remember one of my daughter's friends at age 7 doing a dance after imitating Britney Spears that is more suited to a lapdance! These are the images our children have to contend with and yes, children (all humans) are naturally sensual beings, but there is a line between adults and children that seems very blurred in modern day! Kids need to be kids, not mini-adults!
Review: A must! I realize a lot of people scoff at the idea that the media pushes images on young girls (women) as a whole, but the evidence is strong. It's easy for a man to dismiss, being a man he has such luxury. No one is pushing an impossible idea on him (though that too is changing). I never realized the degree to how negatively such images slam into young girls until I had a daughter, and hearing my son talk about women in an objectifiable manner after seeing ads and girls gone wild commercials it's hard to not see truth to the accusations. I must say the 'lolita' debate is well defined in this book. Lolita in modern day use is used to describe a deliberately sexual young seductress where the real lolita was naive, natural and abused. She was not some harlot out to seduce a grown man.
I find it shocking when someone as young as 8 wants to be seen as hot, I remember one of my daughter's friends at age 7 doing a dance after imitating Britney Spears that is more suited to a lapdance! These are the images our children have to contend with and yes, children (all humans) are naturally sensual beings, but there is a line between adults and children that seems very blurred in modern day! Kids need to be kids, not mini-adults!
August 15, 2013
I thought that The Lolita Effect was an enjoyable and informative read, although the cover makes it a book you might not want to be seen with in public. Durham examines the sexualization of children in the media, how (and to some extent, why) it exists, and practical advice that is particularly relevant to parents and educators. She positions herself on a middle ground, albeit one that is left-leaning, between those who believe sex is terrible and damaging to kids and those who think sex is always wonderful and that discouraging sexy things is always repressive. Children are innately sexual / curious about sex, she argues, but they do not experience sexual desire until later. She further distinguishes between being sexual and being sexualized, which is exploitative. Her argument is that we do not really give girls a “choice” or liberation when they can dress in accordance with a narrow, culturally mandated ideal. When girls have the “choice” to be objectified or to express their femininity and independence in only a few ways that are culturally expected and surprisingly traditional, it isn’t much of a choice at all. Many readers might be familiar with such an argument, but I thought she made it pretty well.
One aspect of this book that I really enjoyed is that it is not only focused on the experiences of white, upper middle class girls and families. Durham discusses how these myths operate in relation to class, race, body type, disability, and sexual orientation, and also considers the international context and the third world. I would have liked to see even more focus on some of the above topics, like race or weight, but I was happy to see that these issues obviously informed her work.
Another thing I appreciated was that I did not agree with all of her interpretations or thoughts, but I was still able to benefit from the book. She is not prescriptive. Child prostitutes and toddler stripper pole toys are portrayed as definitely bad; however, her message is about education and discussion as opposed to censorship. She does not demand that you agree with her on every point or tell you that you are bad if you let your child play violent video games or have sex, even though it seems that she isn’t in favor of these things. Books that discuss culture and children almost always fall into a trap of denouncing media as EVIL, or the writers are ambivalent and vague, which detracts from the thesis. She strikes a nice balance.
I had a few issues, however. At points, especially earlier in the book, the author repeats herself frequently and does not move the book forward. This does improve as you get into the “myths” section. The conclusion also suffered because it felt very inconclusive and didn’t raise any new issues. The bigger issue is accuracy. Like many nonfiction books with a mainstream audience, this book does not cite its claims as well as it should. I sometimes saw something that surprised me (pg. 118 – an ad with topless preteen girls that didn’t spark outcry?) and looked in the back for the citation and found nothing. Similarly, she states some reports of shocking sexual behavior that are not well substantiated. I doubt she’s lying; ironically, it seems that she’s buying into myths. There were a few factual errors that jumped out at me, particularly the claim that teen pregnancy rates are very high and growing, when these rates have in fact been consistently falling. The highest rates of teen pregnancy in the US actually occurred in the late 1950s! This is an issue I encounter in lots of popular nonfiction, so it’s not just this author. But these kinds of errors do call her analysis into question in some ways.
One aspect of this book that I really enjoyed is that it is not only focused on the experiences of white, upper middle class girls and families. Durham discusses how these myths operate in relation to class, race, body type, disability, and sexual orientation, and also considers the international context and the third world. I would have liked to see even more focus on some of the above topics, like race or weight, but I was happy to see that these issues obviously informed her work.
Another thing I appreciated was that I did not agree with all of her interpretations or thoughts, but I was still able to benefit from the book. She is not prescriptive. Child prostitutes and toddler stripper pole toys are portrayed as definitely bad; however, her message is about education and discussion as opposed to censorship. She does not demand that you agree with her on every point or tell you that you are bad if you let your child play violent video games or have sex, even though it seems that she isn’t in favor of these things. Books that discuss culture and children almost always fall into a trap of denouncing media as EVIL, or the writers are ambivalent and vague, which detracts from the thesis. She strikes a nice balance.
I had a few issues, however. At points, especially earlier in the book, the author repeats herself frequently and does not move the book forward. This does improve as you get into the “myths” section. The conclusion also suffered because it felt very inconclusive and didn’t raise any new issues. The bigger issue is accuracy. Like many nonfiction books with a mainstream audience, this book does not cite its claims as well as it should. I sometimes saw something that surprised me (pg. 118 – an ad with topless preteen girls that didn’t spark outcry?) and looked in the back for the citation and found nothing. Similarly, she states some reports of shocking sexual behavior that are not well substantiated. I doubt she’s lying; ironically, it seems that she’s buying into myths. There were a few factual errors that jumped out at me, particularly the claim that teen pregnancy rates are very high and growing, when these rates have in fact been consistently falling. The highest rates of teen pregnancy in the US actually occurred in the late 1950s! This is an issue I encounter in lots of popular nonfiction, so it’s not just this author. But these kinds of errors do call her analysis into question in some ways.
October 26, 2009
Ok, maybe four stars is more accurate; I couldn't decide if I liked it because it was my first feminist theory book that I've read in a while--part theory, part pop culture, and I was excited to get back into the argument or if I really liked it. I certainly took a lot of notes from it. I think it had a point and it was thought out and argued. I particuarly like her point that Lolita's real character in the book is always forgotten and ignored while Humbert Humbert's view of her has become what we think of a "lolita" to be. I sort of ignored the "what we can do" sections only because it seemed aimed at parents or teachers, etc. and I'm not in a position right now to discuss the topic with today's youth. I think she had some great points about the media, etc. (no doubt influenced by "The Beauty Muth" and "Female Chauvinist Pigs,") but I think a strong part to her arguement is how us viewing girls as Lolitas justifies child prostitution and sexual abuse on girls by adults. I was reading the book for it's comments on the Barbie body and body types today, but also for teen sexuality and lack of sex education/accurate information for art projects, but i came away with that and more. That damn cover though really brings the book down. I think that I know what she was going for with it, but it also seems to demean her arguement.
May 7, 2009
Perhaps I'm becoming jaded, but The Lolita Effect left me kind of cold.
It's not that the topic of the early and corporate-driven sexualization of girls isn't important. It's not that I don't see the effects of it in my work with adolescents. It's not that the author isn't passionate in her outrage, and practical in her suggestions for combating the issue. It's not that she hasn't done her research.
Can't put my finger on what didn't quite ring true...
It's not that the topic of the early and corporate-driven sexualization of girls isn't important. It's not that I don't see the effects of it in my work with adolescents. It's not that the author isn't passionate in her outrage, and practical in her suggestions for combating the issue. It's not that she hasn't done her research.
Can't put my finger on what didn't quite ring true...
September 26, 2012
I was initially hesitant about reading this because of the cover (Yes, I do judge) and because I was afraid it would have an anti-sex bend on it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Durham is actually quite pro-sex and believes in teaching accurate, sex positive, sex education to children, keeping in mind the range of age and maturity appropriateness. With this, I have to agree!
She also accurately touches on the fact that many of the messages in the media that are disguised to be pro-girl are actually more for the sake of exploiting girls and their burgeoning sexuality. I particularly liked her critique of the “If you’ve got it, flaunt it,” myth and how this is really more often for the benefit of people besides the girls themselves.
Another great aspect of this book is that at the end of each chapter, Durham offers tips and pointers on what to do about the sexualization of girls in the media and how to have conversations with girls about this difficult topic. I hate it when I read a book that calls for change in some sector of society and then never gives the reader any sense of what can be done. These kinds of books leave me feeling helpless, like I am on the edge of my seat wanting to change the world but then am left without a course of action. Durham offers concrete steps on what we can do to bring attention to this issue, and more importantly, constructive ways to begin these tough conversations.
She also accurately touches on the fact that many of the messages in the media that are disguised to be pro-girl are actually more for the sake of exploiting girls and their burgeoning sexuality. I particularly liked her critique of the “If you’ve got it, flaunt it,” myth and how this is really more often for the benefit of people besides the girls themselves.
Another great aspect of this book is that at the end of each chapter, Durham offers tips and pointers on what to do about the sexualization of girls in the media and how to have conversations with girls about this difficult topic. I hate it when I read a book that calls for change in some sector of society and then never gives the reader any sense of what can be done. These kinds of books leave me feeling helpless, like I am on the edge of my seat wanting to change the world but then am left without a course of action. Durham offers concrete steps on what we can do to bring attention to this issue, and more importantly, constructive ways to begin these tough conversations.
August 29, 2013
This book made me so angry. I don't watch TV shows, because they're boring, I haven't read a magazine in... months, because they're boring, and in general I am not exposed to the media's ideal. My fashion role models are my mother, who has never placed much importance on looks, and the church, which is Eastern Orthodox and thus still prefers head coverings in church.
Still, it has entered my life and I know I have been affected by it, however small the amount is. If I start thinking that to make a good impression I must show off my chest, imagine the repercussions on children and teenagers (both male and female) who see the representations of women and girls in media. Some of the examples in this book are blood-curdling— they make me want to hit a great deal of people upside the head to knock some sense into them.
Beside providing examples, however, this book also offers tools to allow teenagers and children to become aware of how the media is affecting their worldview. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in this subject, especially parents.
Still, it has entered my life and I know I have been affected by it, however small the amount is. If I start thinking that to make a good impression I must show off my chest, imagine the repercussions on children and teenagers (both male and female) who see the representations of women and girls in media. Some of the examples in this book are blood-curdling— they make me want to hit a great deal of people upside the head to knock some sense into them.
Beside providing examples, however, this book also offers tools to allow teenagers and children to become aware of how the media is affecting their worldview. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in this subject, especially parents.
February 13, 2014
I had high hopes for this book. The thesis is good, and well researched and thought out; that said, the writing is ridiculously repetitive and by the last few chapters, I was sick to death of the author's dry, high school term paper diction and redundancy. The other problem with this entire book was the author's browbeating of the point that beyond talking to young people about this ever present Lolita myth (the only original thought in the book, honestly was this naming of the way society and consumerism has defined the sexuality of young girls), directing people toward web resources, and perhaps not buying products which use this imagery in their advertising, that she offers no real solutions. I found the book tiresome and depressing. One of the wost feminist theory books I've read.
October 25, 2009
no really new observations here: how media warps little girls' self esteem and self assessment, how does acting like eMpTyV eyecandy equal self empowerment, etc. what amazes me is that people still question such ideas. fuck "studies". of course media imagery affects people. give me a break.
February 16, 2023
The message is very clear: there is a huge business incentive for the exasperation of women’s self image woes. What Dr Durham does to drive this point across is establishing a causal relationship between what’s placed in front of us (and has been for decades) in correlated aspects. The consequential nature of the “sexiness of eternal youth” is the normalization of child sex work inspired by and guaranteeing a damned future of mainstream pedophilia. This of course is the derivative of enhanced women’s rights and empowerment. Women today have much self determination compared to their historic equivalent. This creates a class of women that men do not find ideal, they are difficult and demand too much of something like “basic respect” and have new ways of attaining it like “financial independence” much to the annoyance of men. Men are attracted to submission, and what could possibly have less agency than a child? The reason our icons and bombshells morphed from adult Marilyn Monroes to teenage Britney Spearses is not because men have a biological preference for youth, but because of social conditions and a deregulation of healthy sex dynamics paired with greedy industries that prey on women’s insecurities that they largely inspire. In the grand scheme of things, media companies and the beauty industry prove to be a dangerous criminal coalition, actively working against a female liberation process. Why? Because happy or confident women are not spending money on makeup, anti aging products, or cosmetic surgery. The sex industry is by definition anti women, especially since women are never de facto beneficiaries of sex work and the sex portrayed in media (whether teen series, horror films, or pornography) is normally impulsive, destructive, and violent. A hyper sexual society benefits men. It does not make the world less prude or accepting of female sexuality, it does not even guarantee women a higher incidence of better sex.
November 24, 2012
Lots of opinion, very little documentation. Could have been condensed to about 30 pages--maybe 3. The author also took a narrow approach to the media-iz-ation of young girls, mainly examining how marketers and advertisers promote their sexualization. Maybe for a book, the broader topic of media influence on young girls, in all its forms, would be more appropriate.
May 7, 2015
Good resource for media and teaching.
Read
April 7, 2009MORE THAN A
LITTLE NAUGHTY
Brenda R. Weber
A review of The Lolita Effect: The Media Sexualization of Young Girls and What We Can Do About It
By M. Gigi Durham
Overlook Press
The Lolita Effect makes alarmingly clear that Lolita, the flirty, 12-year-old protagonist of Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita, has grown into cultural shorthand for a “prematurely, even inappropriately sexual, little girl.” M. Gigi Durham argues that the media oversexualizes girls and supports her case with an accounting of a range of products advertised for them, such as the Little Miss Naughty push-up bras for preteens and Peekaboo Pole Dancing kits for children. These products, as well as television, music, magazines and print ads, conspire to turn young girls into what Durham terms “prosti-tots,” “kinderwhores” and “sex bait.”
Durham is a “pro-sex” feminist. She believes children are sexual beings who have the right to experience and express their sexuality—and by children, she means an age range of roughly 3 to 18. Yet she is concerned by a volatile social and media dynamic dominated by either Christian fundamentalist chastity or hypersexual excess. “Why is there no middle ground?” she asks. The Lolita Effect is her attempt to provide one by teaching parents how to talk with their daughters about sexualized images in popular culture.
The book is based on what Durham describes as the five myths of sexuality. She offers helpful, if generalized, discussions on how they came into being, their pervasiveness in the media and why they have so much appeal for girls, capping each discussion with a list of talking points designed to help parents engage with their kids.
One exercise Durham offers to debunk the myth that violence is sexy is to ask girls to substitute another type of person, or even an animal, for the girl or woman depicted in the media text. When the substitution of an old person or a kitten turns the image from sexy to sinister, girls gain a new tool for understanding. This is the sort of thing Durham surely does in her classroom at the University of Iowa, where she teaches journalism and mass
communication. The degree to which these strategies will be effective with children seems debatable, but that’s why this book is meant more for parents than for girls, particularly since kids can’t obtain most of these products without parents’ help.
Peekaboo Pole Dancing kits, designed “to unleash the sex kitten inside,” were available online through the giant British-based retailer Tesco and cost £49.97 (roughly $100). Tesco argued the poles were meant for adults (as does Amazon.com, which sells them in the U.S.), though the pole appears too flimsy to support a grown-up woman’s weight. Its “cartoon lady” packaging indicates that if not meant for kids, the Peekaboo Pole marketing doesn’t intend to exclude them.
Under public pressure, Tesco removed the Peekaboo Pole from its Toys and Games website, and British Home Store stopped selling the Little Miss Naughty bras. The Lolita Effect does not advocate censorship, but Durham does want adults to more actively and consciously monitor the sexualized products and images that mass media encourage children to consume. This will help prevent the Lolita effect from taking hold of girls, thus keeping Lolita the stuff of fiction, where she belongs.
---
BRENDA R. WEBER is an assistant
professor in gender studies at Indiana
University, where she teaches gender
and popular culture.
LITTLE NAUGHTY
Brenda R. Weber
A review of The Lolita Effect: The Media Sexualization of Young Girls and What We Can Do About It
By M. Gigi Durham
Overlook Press
The Lolita Effect makes alarmingly clear that Lolita, the flirty, 12-year-old protagonist of Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita, has grown into cultural shorthand for a “prematurely, even inappropriately sexual, little girl.” M. Gigi Durham argues that the media oversexualizes girls and supports her case with an accounting of a range of products advertised for them, such as the Little Miss Naughty push-up bras for preteens and Peekaboo Pole Dancing kits for children. These products, as well as television, music, magazines and print ads, conspire to turn young girls into what Durham terms “prosti-tots,” “kinderwhores” and “sex bait.”
Durham is a “pro-sex” feminist. She believes children are sexual beings who have the right to experience and express their sexuality—and by children, she means an age range of roughly 3 to 18. Yet she is concerned by a volatile social and media dynamic dominated by either Christian fundamentalist chastity or hypersexual excess. “Why is there no middle ground?” she asks. The Lolita Effect is her attempt to provide one by teaching parents how to talk with their daughters about sexualized images in popular culture.
The book is based on what Durham describes as the five myths of sexuality. She offers helpful, if generalized, discussions on how they came into being, their pervasiveness in the media and why they have so much appeal for girls, capping each discussion with a list of talking points designed to help parents engage with their kids.
One exercise Durham offers to debunk the myth that violence is sexy is to ask girls to substitute another type of person, or even an animal, for the girl or woman depicted in the media text. When the substitution of an old person or a kitten turns the image from sexy to sinister, girls gain a new tool for understanding. This is the sort of thing Durham surely does in her classroom at the University of Iowa, where she teaches journalism and mass
communication. The degree to which these strategies will be effective with children seems debatable, but that’s why this book is meant more for parents than for girls, particularly since kids can’t obtain most of these products without parents’ help.
Peekaboo Pole Dancing kits, designed “to unleash the sex kitten inside,” were available online through the giant British-based retailer Tesco and cost £49.97 (roughly $100). Tesco argued the poles were meant for adults (as does Amazon.com, which sells them in the U.S.), though the pole appears too flimsy to support a grown-up woman’s weight. Its “cartoon lady” packaging indicates that if not meant for kids, the Peekaboo Pole marketing doesn’t intend to exclude them.
Under public pressure, Tesco removed the Peekaboo Pole from its Toys and Games website, and British Home Store stopped selling the Little Miss Naughty bras. The Lolita Effect does not advocate censorship, but Durham does want adults to more actively and consciously monitor the sexualized products and images that mass media encourage children to consume. This will help prevent the Lolita effect from taking hold of girls, thus keeping Lolita the stuff of fiction, where she belongs.
---
BRENDA R. WEBER is an assistant
professor in gender studies at Indiana
University, where she teaches gender
and popular culture.
April 6, 2009
It was really interesting to read a book written by a media scholar for a popular audience -- though trying to use your PhD for cred on the cover is not cool when you aren't really a doctor (sorry, communications and journalism are not going to fix a broken bone), I appreciated how much Durham strives throughout to provide parents, educators, and other concerned individuals with concrete advice for working with and supporting girls. Durham also does an excellent job throughout attending to difference (both in terms of race and class within the U.S., but also with questions of region, nationality, religion, and privilege on a global scale), something that "girl crisis" books notoriously avoid.
However, in the end I didn't completely love this book. At times her examples are obtusely drawn (for example, misrepresenting what happens on popular shows such as The O.C.), and at other times they are simply needlessly sensationalistic. No one has yet been able to prove rainbow parties were anything but invented by that guy who wrote the book that then got flogged to death on the Oprah/Dr. Phil circuit, so stop throwing fuel on that fire! Likewise, at times the message gets a bit repetitive and dumbed down, but that could also be me being more used to books aimed at an academic audience.
Overall though I will say Durham's goal -- to expose the cultural myths surrounding the sexualization of young girls while at the same time maintaining a nuanced, sex-positive and pro-media stance -- is extremely laudable. She could have fallen flat on her face even trying, but honestly she manages to hold her head up throughout.
However, in the end I didn't completely love this book. At times her examples are obtusely drawn (for example, misrepresenting what happens on popular shows such as The O.C.), and at other times they are simply needlessly sensationalistic. No one has yet been able to prove rainbow parties were anything but invented by that guy who wrote the book that then got flogged to death on the Oprah/Dr. Phil circuit, so stop throwing fuel on that fire! Likewise, at times the message gets a bit repetitive and dumbed down, but that could also be me being more used to books aimed at an academic audience.
Overall though I will say Durham's goal -- to expose the cultural myths surrounding the sexualization of young girls while at the same time maintaining a nuanced, sex-positive and pro-media stance -- is extremely laudable. She could have fallen flat on her face even trying, but honestly she manages to hold her head up throughout.
October 21, 2012
This was AMAZING. I reserved judgment throughout the first half of the book because I was having trouble deciding whether Dr. Durham was criticizing public sexuality in all forms, and whether that included what I consider to be perfectly legitimate forms of self expression. However, it soon became clear that her criticism of what she calls the "Lolita Effect" encompasses everything that I take issue with as far as the media intersects with sexuality. More importantly, this book helped me to distinguish between the two and mark clear boundaries between what is and is not "empowering" in ways that I previously hadn't had the vocabulary to articulate.
I would recommend this book to any media critic or sex-positive feminist. (For the record, I am both.) I really would like to reread this to cement the ideas that I learned more, but one thing I would like to say after reading this book is that I feel a lot better knowing that I'm not crazy for despising the "teen mag" industry! For awhile there, I was the only one...
I would recommend this book to any media critic or sex-positive feminist. (For the record, I am both.) I really would like to reread this to cement the ideas that I learned more, but one thing I would like to say after reading this book is that I feel a lot better knowing that I'm not crazy for despising the "teen mag" industry! For awhile there, I was the only one...
May 26, 2016
This is a must-read for parents and teachers of girls, and a should-read for everyone else. I've read my fair share of media criticism, especially about gender inequality and representation. What sets this one apart is that the end of each chapter has an action plan. The title of the book is true to form: each chapter dissects the media sexualization of girls, and ends with what we can do about it.
Also useful (especially to me, since I teach similar content in my Popular Culture Studies class) are the pages of resources and notes Durham includes. It is a goldmine of information.
I checked this out from the library, but I will be buying a copy of my own to mark up, develop lesson plans from, and lend out to interested readers. I haven't been this affected by a book about the pressures girls face since I read Reviving Ophelia nearly 20 years ago.
Also useful (especially to me, since I teach similar content in my Popular Culture Studies class) are the pages of resources and notes Durham includes. It is a goldmine of information.
I checked this out from the library, but I will be buying a copy of my own to mark up, develop lesson plans from, and lend out to interested readers. I haven't been this affected by a book about the pressures girls face since I read Reviving Ophelia nearly 20 years ago.
August 5, 2023
Important topic. Great points raised. But became far too repetitive, especially towards the end. I think the author should have ended the book after discussing the five myths because each chapter afterwards feels like a slightly altered version of earlier discussion points. And, while media literacy is undoubtedly an important tool for every human to possess in a media-saturated world, I think the emphasis on individual responsibility (to become media literate and better navigate media representations) detracts from the real problem: social structures and institutions. The solution should not be girls learning how to navigate an oppressive world but to challenge a world that systematically oppresses girls. It’s should not be girls’ responsibility to preserve their body image, confidence, etc. Overall, a good starting point, but hoped for more!
October 26, 2015
I found this book to be okay, a solid 3 stars. Definitely glad people are writing books like this, and this one was a solid review, but as many reviewers before me have mentioned, the concepts covered definitely make it better as an introduction into thinking about media & sexualization of girls. If you're brand new to this line of reasoning, this book could be revelatory and immensely important as a source of confirmation/explanation of a lot of things that might not have 'felt right' growing up (regardless of your personal gender orientation, you will have noticed the dynamics discussed here). But, if you've already waded knee-deep into the proverbial feminism pond, you might want to find a more rigorous text.
January 2, 2012
Strong arguments brought out with some impressive media analysis. The real strength is the consistant and practical message: engage girls in critical thinking about the media. The harmful messages bombarding girls have power because they go unchallenged. Give girls control of their own understanding and they will have a better chance of being conscious actors in their own lives.
March 11, 2012
This book does't offer much new insight and while the author's tone is conversational and the prose easy to read, I was hoping for something more insightful. I appreciate that Durham provides actionable examples of things concerned citizens can do to lower the incidence of The Lolita Effect, however, and wish that more social activism books operated under this structure.
February 14, 2015
Visiting Martians may find useful this description of how the arbiters of late capitalist society -- pop culture, advertising and the media -- have sexualized childhood, particularly the childhood of girls. Resident Earthlings likely will find little in this description that is new and little that is particularly innovative in the suggested responses to it.
January 13, 2013
I used this book for my Extended Project, however, I am an avid media consumer and understand all about sexualisation ect so I found this book very patronising but it was good for quotes in my work!! Great for a basic understanding!
September 6, 2014
This was an interesting book covering a very broad subject. I appreciate each chapter having 'what can we do' about each myth rather than just a chapter at the end.
I wish it included how these issues affect young men as well, it does not affect girls in some sort of vacuum.
I wish it included how these issues affect young men as well, it does not affect girls in some sort of vacuum.
June 18, 2008
Disturbing take on gender trends. It's never too early to indoctrinate the double standard. Save the children!
May 10, 2011
This book gave me a lot of good ideas about how to talk to my daughter about the media and messages that come at us everyday.
October 29, 2011
good read - mostly agree with everything. like her style of providing her own insight throughout the book.
June 12, 2012
If you haven't been reading feminist theory for 25 + years, you will probably get more out of this book than I did. While many of the author's points are important, few are original.
July 14, 2012
It seemed like she was working out her thoughts as she was penning them. Utterly boring and wishy-washy.
September 19, 2013
wha-whaaaa. how many more of these neo-puritan, sex-negative, girl-shaming screeds do publishers think we want to read? not. helpful.
November 5, 2018
undoubtedly more provocative when it was first published. decent enough introduction, but very surface level analysis
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