"Girls Next Door"

The image of women portrayed in shows like "Girls Next Door" is certainly an unhealthy one, especially in the context of its impact on young girls. An article published by BBC News a few years ago relays results of a study conducted by the American Psychological Association about the effects of "sexualisation" on young girls. According to the article, sexualisation "was defined as occurring when a person's value comes only from her or his sexual appeal or behaviour, to the exclusion of other characteristics, and when a person is portrayed purely as a sex object." I can't think of TV show that better illustrates this definition than "Girls Next Door." Eileen Zurbriggen, chair of the group conducting the study and associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said, "We have ample evidence to conclude that sexualisation has negative effects in a variety of domains, including cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, and healthy sexual development."

Opponents of this theory will argue that girls can intelligently filter out things like "Girls Next Door" and realize the unrealistic and shallow nature of them. However, media is subconsciously interpreted. The image of women portrayed in magazines, TV, and film is subconsciously processed, interpreted, and stored. This is even more true for young girls than for adults. Although it is virtually impossible to change the image of the thin, tall, blonde, busty woman, as it pervades almost every form of media, it is possible to better communicate to young girls how one-dimensional and shallow this image.