triking images, and catchy music." (Casta 213) An overwhelming amount of the visualizations that young kids see are the stereotypical images of women and girls. "This almost makes it seem legitimized, states Linda Holtzman, as it is reinforced and perpetuated by the mass dissemination of these images in broadcasting. (Holtzman 112)Children know in their minds that women, like men, come in all ages, shapes, sizes, and colors, but they do not see this represented in the broadcast media. The increasing diversity of women's lives is also omitted in most broadcasting. For example, commercials and programming most often portray women as mothers performing domestic tasks, as economically dependent homemakers, or as sexual lures for products or decorative objects. "Such images constitute a limiting or narrowing of women's, men's, and children's perceptions of themselves and their roles in society." (Dines and Humez 256) The overall content of television nowadays has changed dramatically from that of the past. Today characters deal more and more with important issues such as teen pregnancy, STDs, spousal abuse, and birth control. (Impoco 58) Five to ten years ago, this subject matter was unheard of for use in programming content, as TV families tended to be occupied with trivial things such as outrageous clothing and hairstyles. A recent survey, done by the National Institute of Broadcasting, states that the majority of America’s youth between the ages of four and thirteen will be subjected to up to three hours of sexually suggestive advertisements per day. This totals one thousand and ninety five hours of sex per year. (Holtzman 124) Why so much? "Sex Sells," the old adage goes. (Goffman 89) Sexiness, as a component of the good life, is a staple for advertisers - Coca-Cola decorated its drug-store posters at the turn of the century with coquettish young women who male drinkers wished to date and female drinkers to emulate. (Da...
