Porn identity: The sexualisation and objectification of young girls

Abstract

Over the past five years the increasingly explicit sexual nature of a range of clothing and toys for children, mainly girls, sold in Australian shops has become the focus of a sustained public debate. My Masters project aims to contribute to this critical discourse. The project explores the social, cultural and commercial influences on childhood identity that result from an acceptance of the sexualisation and objectification of young girls. It questions the impact that this tendency towards an earlier sexualisation process may have on the sense of identity and wellbeing of the contemporary generation of children and reflects on what may be driving these changes.