Sexualisation's four faces: sexualisation and gender stereotyping in the Bailey Review

Barker, Meg and Duschinsky, Robbie (2012) Sexualisation's four faces: sexualisation and gender stereotyping in the Bailey Review. Gender and Education, 24 (3). pp. 303-310. ISSN 0954-0253

[img]
Preview
Text
Barker and Duschinsky - sexualisation's four faces.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (87kB) | Preview
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2012.660136

Abstract

This paper explores the considerations of sexualisation and gender stereotyping in the recent UK government report Letting Children be Children. This report, the Bailey Review, claimed to represent the views of parents. However, closer reading reveals that, while the parents who were consulted were concerned about both the sexualisation and the gender stereotyping of products aimed at children, the Bailey Review focuses only on the former and dismisses the latter. ‘Sexualisation’ has four faces in the Bailey Review: it is treated as a process that increases (1) the visibility of sexual content in the public domain, (2) misogyny, (3) the sexuality of children, and (4) the mainstream position of ‘deviant’ sexual behaviours and lifestyles. Through this construction of ‘sexualisation’, gendered relations of power are not only hidden from view but also buttress a narrative in which young women are situated as children, and their sexuality and desire rendered pathological and morally unacceptable as judged by a conservative standard of decency. Comparison of the treatment of sexualisation and gender stereotyping in the review is revealing of the political motivations behind it, and of wider discourse in these areas.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Bailey, gender stereotyping, girls, sexualisation, sex and relationship education
Subjects: L300 Sociology
L900 Others in Social studies
Department: Faculties > Health and Life Sciences > Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing
Depositing User: Ay Okpokam
Date Deposited: 24 May 2012 11:55
Last Modified: 23 May 2022 12:30
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/7401

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics