Becoming Sexual A Critical Appraisal of the Sexualization of Girls

The sexualization of girls has captured the attention of the media, advocacy groups and politicians in recent years. The prolific discourse sets alarm bells ringing: sexualization is said to lead to depression, promiscuity and compassion deficit disorder, and rob young girls of their childhood. However, measuring such claims against a wide range of data sources reveals a far more complicated picture. Becoming Sexual begins with a simple question: why does this discourse feel so natural? Analyzing potent cultural and historical assumptions, and subjecting them to measured investigation, R. Danielle Egan illuminates the implications of dominant thinking on sexualization. The sexualized Girl functions as a metaphor for cultural decay and as a common enemy through which adult rage, discontent and anxiety regarding class, gender, sexuality, race and the future can be expressed. Egan argues that ultimately the popular literature on sexualization is more reflective of adult disquiet than it is about the lives and practices of girls. Becoming Sexual will be a welcome intervention on these fraught polemics for anyone interested in engaging with a high-profile contemporary debate, and will be particularly useful for students of sociology, cultural studies, childhood studies, gender studies and media studies.

R. DANIELLE EGAN is Professor and Coordinator of Gender and Sexuality Studies at St. Lawrence University, and a psychoanalytic candidate at the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis

Table of Contents
Introduction: Sexualization as a Social Problem
Chapter One: What Is Sexualization?
Chapter Two: (Hetero)sexualization, Pathological
Femininity and Hope for the Future
Chapter Three: Sexualized Tastes, Middle-Class Fantasies and Fears of Class Contagion
Chapter Four: Unmanageable Bodies, Adult Disgust and the Demand for Innocence
Conclusion: Reflexive Reticence, Affective Response and the Social Construction of Sexual Problems
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index