Hollywood continues to sexualize female teens

By Staff Writer

Many teenage girls develop self-esteem problems because of societal pressures to look a certain way. America's growing obsession with scantily-clad, skinny and full-figured women was examined in a recent study by University of Southern California researchers.

The team collected on-screen information from the top 100 grossing movies from 2008. They found that nearly 40 percent of teenage female characters in these movies were seen in sexy clothing, while 30 percent were dressed in clothes that exposed their cleavage, midriff or upper thigh regions.
On the other hand, only 7 percent of teenage male characters in the most popular films wore sexy clothing, while about 10 percent revealed a significant amount of their skin.

In addition, researchers found that this trend may be associated with the people who are working behind the scenes. For every woman that produced, wrote or directed a movie in 2008, there were approximately five men in the same creative roles.

According to the study's lead author, more female directors, producers and writers may help reduce the amount of women who are sexualized in popular culture.

Adolescents who have confidence issues may benefit from summer camps for kids, many of which offer activities that aim to boost self-esteem levels.