From advertising and merchandising to Bratz and Voodoo Dolls to the Henson affair, Getting Real puts the spotlight on the sexualisation and objectification of girls and women in the media, popular culture and society.

Girls are portrayed as sexual at younger ages, pressured to conform to a 'thin, hot, sexy' norm. Clothing, music, magazines, toys and games send girls the message that they are merely the sum of their body parts. The effects of prematurely sexualising girls are borne out in their bodies and minds, with a rise in self-destructive behaviours such as eating disorders and self-harm, along with anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.

Getting Real brings together writers, advocates and academics including some of the most vocal critics of the widespread pornification of culture. They call corporations, the media and the sex industry to account for creating this toxic environment.

Lively and engaging, this collection is of interest to anyone troubled by what's happening today and those seeking ideas to address and mobilise against the sexualisation of girls. Edited by author, advocate and commentator Melinda Tankard Reist, this is a book for anyone wanting to see a better world for the next generation.

Table of Contents

Preface: The Right of Children to be Children – Noni Hazlehurst

Introduction: The Pornification of Girlhood: We Haven’t Come a Long Way Baby – Melinda Tankard Reist

What Are the Risks of Premature Sexualisation for Children? – Emma Rush

The Seduction of Girls: The Human Cost – Maggie Hamilton

Sex on the Street: Outdoor Advertising and the Sexual Harassment of Women – Lauren Rosewarne

The Psychological and Developmental Impact of Sexualisation on Children – Louise Newman

Good is the New Bad: Rethinking Sexual Freedom – Clive Hamilton

The Faking It Project:  What Research Tells Us about Magazines in Young Women’s Lives – Selena Ewing

The Gaze that Dare Not Speak its Name: Bill Henson and Child Sexual Abuse Moral Panics – Abigail Bray

Media Glamourising of Prostitution and Other Sexually Exploitative Cultural Practices that Harm Children – Melissa Farley

The Harmful Medicalisation of Sexualised Girls – Renate Klein

Sexualised and Trivialised: Making Equality Impossible – Betty McLellan

How Girlhood Was Trashed and What We Can Do to Get it Back: A Father’s View – Steve Biddulph

Finding the Courage to Get Real – Tania Andrusiak

One Woman’s Activism: Refusing to Be Silent – Julie Gale