"The Culture of Boy-toy Sexuality"

I was struck by a particularly strong excerpt from chapter 6 in Digital and Media Literacy.  Hobbs quotes Downes saying, '"Eroticism in popular culture is a 24-hour all-you-can-eat buffet,' and many children in their early teens are filling up.  Adults are generally unreflective about the sexualization of their own children. Kids lose out in this culture of 'boy-toy sexuality, where girls' nimble and growing brains are impoverished' without the sense of wider possibilities in life because so much of media culture offers them 'a cramped vision of girlhood that enshrines sexual allure as the best or only form of power and esteem'" (105).

As disheartened as I am to admit it, this is something I see reflected in the culture of my school. Many (though certainly not all) female students believe that they have power and popularity as a result of looks and "sexual allure." When a young lady says something that is construed as "stupid", I have heard the phrase "It's OK, she's pretty" on numerous occasions.  I had a student ask another student to tie her shoes for her because her "jeans were too tight to bend over."    Tight clothing is not the only problem; bare skin abounds.

This poses a number of problems for teachers who want to set these young ladies straight.  For example, many male teachers will simply not broach the dress-code issue with female students.  They will find a female teacher and have her address the issue.  Some male teachers feel that enforcing dress code is akin to giving these scantily-clad young ladies the attention they are asking for when they choose to dress that way--and that can be terribly misconstrued by a teenage girl with a need/want to be noticed.

So it falls to the female teachers and administrators to enforce the policy.  This is where I see glaring irony.  The women enforcing dress code are women in power.  We come to school everyday in professional dress and we garner power and respect through our intelligence, our demeanor, and our positions as teachers/principals.  Students see positive role models for 6-7 hours daily, yet it is the media that has the power to influence them.

We are doing these students a disservice if we are not taking the time to teach them how to "read" the media messages they take in everyday.  It is not only shaping them as learners but also as individuals.  Their very identities are at stake.

Young ladies are extremely sensitive about dress code issues.  They do not like being told to change and frequently think school officials are "overreacting" or "being too old school."  We have to find a way to reach these students on a different level.  It is human nature to become defensive when we are confronted or we feel attacked.  Hobbs makes very valid points about how we can use media literacy to get students thinking about these issues without raising their defenses.  I think comparison/contrast activities using famous celebrities are a very good idea.  Even though these activities sound great, I can't help wondering if students will connect what they discuss in class with their own personal lives?  How deep do these media messages go?

A final thought: There is a book titled Classy: Exceptional Advice for the Extremely Modern Lady by Derek Blasberg.  The inside cover begins, "You can't blame a girl for being confused. In the media today, we see young women famous for all the wrong reasons...the modern young lady confronts a unique set of questions and difficulties. Like: should I buy a dress made exclusively of rhinestones? And is it OK to break up with someone via text message? (no and no)...this book encourages young ladies to live a little cleaner and behave a little better..."

Disclaimer: The book mentioned above is absolutely hilarious and covers a range of issues from outfits to underage drinking, but it is not appropriate for younger teens.  It is written for teens, but it has some rather adult comedy threaded throughout.  Preview before giving this to your students.